We shall be in a position to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd only when we have stopped using the Christian religion to shield us from the realities of our lostness and our night.

The task of North American theology is to formulate and engage the question whether there is a gospel which, without offering unbelievable earthly answers or unacceptable heavenly ones, will nevertheless make it possible to live with open eyes in the world as it is without ultimate despair.

From its worldly context Christian theology must learn something quite basic to its task: The self-interpretation of a particular society in that particular moment of its history.