"it was the intellectual conviction that only in terms of the Christian view of things could I make sense out of the social history in which we live and the ethical decisions we humans have to make." - Langdon Gilkey Santung Compound , p. 73 (Harper and Row, New York, c. 1966) I am currently reading Langdon Gilkey's Shantung Compound . In my reading, I was struck by how Gilkey describes his acceptance, as a young adult, of the Christian religion. His experience and decision to choose Christianity based upon his interest in what the religious faith stands for and represents stands in contrast to my experience of Christianity as a religion that results from a relationship with Jesus Christ. His description describes so aptly the religious faith of some of my classmates that I am curious to see how his understanding of Christian identity changes (within this cultural study/biography) and how the class discussions about Gilkey's faith will wander and progress. Based up