The anonymous Christian.

As the exchange between Rabbi Irving Greenberg and Jon Levenson indicates ("Do Jews & Christians Worship the Same God?" January 28), accepting another's religion without distorting it or betraying one's own faith is very difficult to do. A solution to this dilemma may be found later in the same issue, in James Bacik's article on Karl Rahner ("Is Rahner Obsolete?"). Rahner believed that a mysterious God calls each of us, and we respond differently to that call. Yes, I believe that Jesus is Lord and that his death and Resurrection changed everything. But I also know Jews, Muslims, and atheists who are better Christians than I am. This is not a patronizing acknowledgment of their "natural goodness," but a recognition that they live as if in the presence of a transcendent mystery and seem to be part of a redemptive mission. Rahner also said that perhaps some people are not overtly Christian because they have not yet encountered Christianity in a convincing way. So what are Christians then? We are a people trying to be worthy of the name we bear.

LEO GAFNEY

Lakeville, Conn.