[In the following review, Green calls Küng's Credo “worth the effort.”]

If Hans Küng's 21st book[, Credo: The Apostles' Creed Explained for Today,] were listed on a computer disk, its file name might be Küng.sea, indicating that this is a compressed file in the form of a “self-expanding archive.” Compression shrinks computer files to use less space on the disk. To make the files usable again, they must be expanded. One of contemporary Roman Catholicism's best-known theologians, Küng has created a compact reader with far more content than its 190 pages would suggest.

Küng introduces each of his six chapters with an example of Christian iconography. He then draws on his admirable mastery of biblical, scientific, psychological and artistic arguments to compare that traditional image of faith with a contemporary conception. Küng writes for people who want to believe, but cannot do so in the manner of earlier times. “Too much has changed in the overall constellation of our time. Too much in Christian faith seems alien, seems to contradict the natural sciences and the humanities and indeed the humane impulses of our time. This book is meant to help here.” Each article of the creed, therefore, is explored both from the perspective of contemporary concerns and in its historical context. The reader is confronted by Küng's thoroughly modern hermeneutic. For example, in his treatment of the resurrection, Küng observes, “The Easter event is not determined by the empty tomb but at best illustrated by it.”

Küng also examines the creed in relationship to ethical issues. Woven into the discussion of eternal life is a provocative treatment of the meaning of dying. Referring to the artificial prolongation of life, he notes that “the end of life is also, more than hitherto, made a human responsibility (not a whim!) by the same God who does not want us to foist on him a responsibility which we ourselves can and should bear.”

Credo is an important resource for theologians, students and any Christians who would like to revisit the creed with an eye toward revitalizing their faith through understanding. This is a book that seeks to bring a solid biblical interpretation to the creed while avoiding “an esoteric or sterile dogmatic interpretation.” It is meant for those “who already believe,” but to be understandable, “as far as possible, also for those who do not believe.” Declares Küng: “Despite all my sorry experiences with my church, I believe that critical loyalty is worthwhile, that resistance is meaningful and renewal possible, and that another positive turn in church history cannot be ruled out.” Read Küng.sea. Expanding its compressed ideas will be worth the effort.