If Christ Came Back

"I'm not much of a Christian," said Editor Herbert Gunn of the London Daily Sketch last week. But Herbert Gunn is very much of an editor (the Sketch's circulation has jumped from 600,000 to 1,000,000 since he took charge 18 months ago). When he saw how many readers wrote in about antireligion BBC broadcasts by Psychologist Margaret Knight (TIME, Jan. 24 et seq.), he saw a circulation builder. "The boldest discussion ever attempted by a newspaper." the Sketch proclaimed a few weeks later: IF CHRIST CAME BACK.

For two weeks the paper planned to run a daily speculation on the subject by a Big Name. The series was extended to more than three weeks and pulled some 25,000 letters from readers. What sparked the mail was as wide-ranging a set of personal excursions and amateur sermons as ever kept a pub crowded till closing time.

P: If Christ were suddenly recognized in London, wrote Bishop Gorton of Coventry, "great headlines would appear in the papers . . . busloads, special trains and gatherings in the Albert Hall . . . the letters and the telegrams . . . Yet the TV and the wireless and the big public meetings would not really help, because the people I am thinking of want to speak to Him themselves about their own private troubles and great needs."

P:Wrote fiery Dr. Donald Soper. ex-president of Britain's Methodist Conference: "He would have much to say about politics -- probably more than about anything else, for He would know full well that politics today has a part inexorably more important in the lives of men than it had in the first century. In fact, I believe He would say that His kingdom must first be sought in the political field, because that is where . . . the vital things are happening."

P:"The question about our Lord coming back is interesting but academic," wrote Jesuit Father Joseph Christie, one of London's best-known Roman Catholic preachers. "He has never been away. In any Catholic Church you can find Him, and his authentic voice goes down the ages through His teaching church."

P: Laborite M.P. Hector McNeil thought that "if Jesus came back, He would see much to admire and much that would distress Him, and, on balance. I humbly suspect more to applaud than to condemn. For man improves. Compassion . . . has grown more lively in our country . . . the young--and no less the hungry, the enfeebled and the aged--have become a high charge on our national effort."

P: "It is not if, but when." said Evangelist Billy Graham, "because the holy Bible definitely teaches that Christ is coming back to this world! . . . First, He will disturb the economic life. There are thousands of economic injustices . . . Second, He will disturb the political status quo. The dictators, the aggressors, the crafty politicians and corrupt political systems . . . will be objects of His wrath. Third, He will disturb the social status quo . . . Fourth, He will also disturb the religious status quo. The most scathing denunciations that Christ gave 2,000 years ago were against religious leaders!"

P: Bandleader Ted ("The Guy with the Trombone") Heath thought that "Christ would prefer [the] state of mind" of teenagers who frequent dance halls "to that of some of their elders--and so-called betters--who are seen more often in church . . . Teenagers have their faults. Some drink too much. Some don't love their parents as they should . . . But all this could be put right by a teacher with a spark . . . If it were the best way to reach everyone . . . then I think Christ would even appear on television."

P: Stormy Tory Leader Quintin Hogg (now Viscount Hailsham) wrote that if Christ returned, "we should learn again a secret, lost now to all except the saints in heaven--his sheer gaiety and charm, his incredible vitality, his spontaneous wit . . . Can you imagine anything but a smile when he nicknames the gentle John and his brother 'The sons of Thunder'? Is there not a light of amusement as well as seriousness when the impetuous Simon finds himself for all the ages called 'The Rock' . . . ? Christians have puzzled for centuries over the unjust judge and the fraudulent steward, afraid to acknowledge that the divine Lord can point a serious moral with a lighthearted tale."

P: Author Ethel Mannin (Two Studies in Integrity, Late Have I Loved Thee) saw Christ speaking at Hyde Park Corner and Tower Hill. In the U.S. "His command to the rich to 'sell all that thou hast and give to the poor' might make Him suspect of 'Communist' leanings. His preaching might fall into the category of 'unAmerican activities.' But provided He didn't clash too badly . . . He would probably be invited to speak at women's clubs, and His teaching would be regarded as a new cult worthy of the attention of 'progressive' females with nothing better to do."

"I've been accused by some people of running a circulation stunt," said Editor Gunn last week. "I got one letter saying, 'If you are doing this just for circulation, remember Judas.' Well, it did start that way. But after three days, my motives had grown quite complex--until now I think only God can sort them out. We've managed to project God and Jesus Christ in a brash, vulgar tabloid. I think we've done a lot of good."

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