Just before Jesus laid down his life, he prayed for all of his future followers. He asked his Father that “they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21 KJV). Jesus knew that the world would believe in him when they saw the unity of his followers.

The Christian church is in disunity. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions stand in stark opposition to Jesus’ prayer. Karl Barth recognized this when he wrote that a person may be “a good Roman or Calvinist or Orthodox or Baptist,” but if that person is at ease with schism in the church “must not think that he can possibly be a good Christian” (in Küng 89).

In this slim volume, Küng collects a series of ten letters he wrote to a Catholic university student on the theological problems facing the world today. The letters deal with critical questions such as:

1. Is there salvation outside the church (i.e. can Protestants find salvation)?
2. Why is the Mass so formal?
3. What will happen to pagans who have never heard the gospel?
4. What is the purpose of doubt in the Christian’s life?

Küng’s analysis is incisive yet understandable. As a Protestant listening in on this conversation, I was encouraged that there are signs of hope in the mission to reunite Jesus’ body.

I’m writing this review over fifty years after Küng first penned these letters. While there has been significant progress (Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, anyone?), there is still a long road to travel before the world can truly look at the Church catholic (i.e. universal) and believe.

Küng, Hans. That the World May Believe. Translated by Cecily Hastings. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1963.