In the Christian churches today, revolutionaries have seized the moral initiative. Where once the churches were a force for stability and against revolution, they are now on the defensive, in disarray. For the first time, a ranking Christian thinker weighs the advocates of revolution - and especially, looks at their claim to moral superiority in the light of traditional Christian morality.
John Eppstein focuses on his own Roman Catholic Church. He allows eminent Catholic apologists for revolution like Bishop Camara and Abbe Comblin to state their case. Then he picks it apart, drawing on Scripture, papal teaching and Catholic writers through the ages.
Mr. Eppstein refuses to dodge the difficulties in his position, notably some recent papal statements that have encouraged Marxist as well as Catholic revolutionaries. How can these papal utterances be reconciled with traditional Catholic teaching? Mr. Eppstein's analysis is sophisticated, his observations balanced and assured.
After this book, revolutionaries in the Catholic Chruch can no longer assume that the tides of history will flow their way.