Some booknotes:
A. Major General Charles Willoughby. Shanghai Conspiracy: The Sorge Spy Ring. Western Islands, 1965.
This book was originally published in 1952. Charles Willoughby served
as chief of intelligence under General Douglas MacArthur, who writes
the introduction to this book.
This book is about the Communist spy ring of Richard Sorge, a
Communist agent who was part of the Nazi government in Germany. The book
focuses a lot, however, on his espionage towards Japan. Another figure
in this book is Agnes Smedley. Willoughby argues that she was a
Communist, her denials notwithstanding. Part of her job was as a
propagandist for the Chinese Communists, portraying them to the West as
agrarian reformers. A significant part of the book is Sorge’s own
account, which includes how he became a Communist, effective techniques
of espionage, and the goals of the espionage.
Some items of interest:
—-Sorge’s discussion of the techniques of espionage sounded like
common sense. First, you want to be educated about the region where you
are conducting the espionage. Sorge states that he was not particularly
popular among his fellow Communists, but they still came to him because
he knew a lot. Second, Sorge often used intermediaries in Japan. It
would look suspicious to the Japanese if a white guy like him were going
around asking questions. Consequently, he relied on native Japanese.
Some of these native Japanese became Communists because they were
discontent with the Japanese oligarchs. The Communist network, according
to Sorge, was vast: one person would report to someone, who would
report to someone else, and so on.
—-Some of the Japanese Communists whom Sorge profiles were interested
in internal subversion, but the focus of this book is more on Russia’s
geopolitical interests. One purpose of espionage towards Japan was to
see what Japan would do so that Russia could act accordingly. Japan and
Russia were enemies. When Russia learned that Japan was going against
China or the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, it could breathe a sigh of relief,
because at least Japan was not going after Russia at that time. Russia
could then focus its resources on other goals. Sorge occasionally
mentions his personal knowledge about Nazi deliberations. Nazis were
debating, for example, whether to pursue an alliance with Japan or
China.
This book is not as juicy as a lot of John Bircher-type books. Russia
does not come across so much as a monster trying to care over the world
but as a nation seeking to preserve its own interests; other reviewers
on Amazon, however, arrived at a different impression, as might I were I
ever to reread the book. Perhaps Willoughby’s point is that the
Communist network does exist, and the very existence of such a network
should be cause for alarm.
B. David W. Congdon. The Mission of Demythologizing: Rudolf Bultmann’s Dialectical Theology. Fortress, 2015.
I bought this book for a low price in 2015. It was selling like hotcakes! I decided to read it years later.
As Congdon narrates, Barth and Bultmann were estranged from each
other because they felt that their theological approaches were
different. Barth thought that Bultmann’s demythologization was an
attempt to keep Christianity up with the times. But Congdon argues that
their approaches actually overlap and complement each other. Barth’s
approach focuses on the divine side of the equation: God uses the Bible
to act as the Word of God, challenging and transforming the hearer.
Bultmann’s focus was on the human side of the equation: the person’s
existential response to the revelation, after grasping its core.
Part of the problem, according to Congdon, is that people
misunderstand what Bultmann’s demythologization was all about. It was
not about keeping Christianity up with the times, as if modern science
deserves a privileged status. Rather, it was about translating the
Gospel for moderns and unveiling to them its essence. Many people today
have a different worldview from the original historical audiences of the
Gospel, due, in part, to new scientific knowledge. The message
underneath the myth needs to be uncovered, both as a missionary and
translation endeavor, but also so that Christianity can focus on its
essence as opposed to idolizing and absolutizing its mythical trappings.
This essence is an existential encounter with God’s grace, which frees
people to live for others.
The book is over eight hundred pages. It was repetitive in making its
points, but I still feel it was worthwhile to read. Perhaps this is
because it came across as meaty and deep. The biographical aspect of the
book is engaging, as it chronicles the views of Barth and Bultmann
towards each other; the book also goes into the background and the
influences on their thought. A brief appendix discusses examples of
demythologization, for example, with the atonement. The book could have
used more of this.
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