THE PSEUDONYMS OF GOD

The theme that loosely unites this collection of essays and addresses is borrowed from Ignazio Silone: God is found today in unexpected ways and under unexpected names and guises. In two of the essays, this theme is treated theologically and explicitly; in most of the others, it is somewhat disguised. Professor Brown (Stanford University) speaks in response to specific situations which are at first within the context of religious concerns but which later broaden to include educational and political issues and movements. Dr. Brown discusses the Vietnam war, which he regards as an ""unmitigated horror,"" and how it changed his theological understanding and his whole methodology from one of scholarly reflection to one of active participation in protest movements and actions. The essays are, in this respect, autobiographical. As a teacher of seminary students and then university undergraduates, observer at the Vatican Councils, as Presbyterian chairman, and lately as pacifist adviser to draft resisters and participant in peace demonstrations, the author has become not only a figure of popular interest but something of an exemplar of the response demanded of religious men in our time. These essays give some indication why he is so regarded.