Scarcely any concept of Christian doctrine in the present time stands so greatly in need of clarification from the ground up as that of the ‘Church’… . It is a fact to be welcomed that Mr. Nelson has ventured to fix his eyes upon the problem of the Church form both sides–namely, from that of historical-Biblical research and that of theological reflection… . Essentially this book is a circumspect and deliberate presentation of those previously produced writings which have worked out the questions sharply and taken a critical position towards the results. Therefore, it will be welcomed by all those who are participating in ecumenical discussions as a comprehensive survey of the whole area of contemporary study of the Church, doing justice to both Anglo-Saxon and Continental European research.
–From Foreword