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Title: The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigin ISBN: 0-8028-0426-8 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: October, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.57 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Book
Comment: Lesslie Newbigin offers an insightful look at Christianity today in his book, Gospel in a Pluralist Society. Serving as a Christian missionary in India for almost 40 years has given this author a unique and authoritative perspective on the Christian's response to a society full of so many different faith systems. He is ready and willing to ask the tough questions that Christians are afraid to ask. He turns the reader to the logic of mission and election, the authority of the gospel, the difference between knowing and believing, and finally the call of the church to be the vessel of the Christian mission. Understanding that Christians today have lost their confidence to boldly proclaim the uniqueness and authority of Christ, he calls the Church to remember its calling in light of a pluralistic culture. Rather than focusing on apologetics or forcing adherents of other faiths to "see the light," Newbigin calls for open dialogue between Christians and people who work within other faith systems or have no religion at all. The focus, then, is not on evangelism, but on developing open, trusting conversation where the Christian can boldly and lovingly proclaim the gospel. Once engaged in such conversation, the Christian can follow Newbigin's example of looking at Christianity in history. On the premise that God exists, He has revealed himself through creation and history. Christ is the unique revelation of God in history, and it is faith in this revelation, which lays the foundation for Christianity. This is a book, which requires slow and steady reading to grasp the depth and insight within it. But, even in a quick reading, it is both challenging and encouraging for the Christian living in a society full of so many other religions.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Great Look Into Christianity and Modern Culture
Comment: I first read this book for my History and Theology of Mission class in college. Leslie Newbigin's book was a treat to read. He offers a very good look into the Gospel and modern culture and tries to offer a solution to the question of where Christianity fits in a pluralistic world. In an age where no one can claim to know the whole truth anymore, how can Christians go around proclaiming that we know the only way? In modern culture, this makes us seem arrogant and prideful and causes more and more modern people to view the Church in an increasingly harsh light.
However, evangelism can best be served, he argues, by the living witness of a community of Christians and by the activism of ordained ministers to help guide and teach this community. Jesus formed a community, he says, and the best way to witness is simply by being an active part of a flourishing community that praises, has truth, is involved with the neighborhood, where people are sustained to minister to the world, that is responsible, and that has hope. We are not called to defend the faith but instead to simply witness.
Another answer to the increasingly hostile view of many towards Christianity can be found in dialogue. New begin argues that true dialogue serves as a "starting point in our relation to people of other faiths." (180) All humans share the same need to answer the question "Why?" and he believes that dialogue can open the doors to a renewed sense of spirituality because it involves the telling of the story of Jesus. Of course to have true dialogue we must also listen to those we are conversing with, but instead of seeing this as something fearful that could possibly cause us to lose faith we should instead look upon it as an opportunity to check our own biases. No one is completely outside some kind of cultural background, he says, and to keep us from thinking that our own way is the only correct way and to keep us from truly becoming arrogant, he suggests that true dialogue can be used as a sort of diagnostic tool with which to clean the coloring from our lenses.
This book is an excellent apologetic for the twenty-first century; however it does have a few flaws. The first is his use of circular arguments. For example, in an early part of the book Newbigin's response to the attack on Christianity is to ask the unbeliever how he or she can know for sure that we are wrong because they have no outside frame of reference. No one can know the whole truth. However, what is stopping that from turning back on us? Can't one claim that we cannot know the whole truth either? It also raises some questions that it does not answer sufficiently, such as how we should deal with the problem of syncretism. Newbigin agrees with Rolland Allen that once a new church has a Bible, sacraments and apostolic tradition they should be left on their own to develop the gospel themselves. Yet earlier, on p. 96 he says, "...Jesus has been painlessly incorporated into the Hindu worldview. The foreign missionary knows that this is not the conversion of India but the co-option of Jesus, the domestication of the gospel into the Hindu worldview." How do we deal with problems like this? We had to discuss this in class because Newbigin does not provide a satisfactory answer.
This book is definitely a worthwhile buy for anyone interested in modern missiology. Newbigin lays out many good points and suggestions for how modern Christians can deal with witnessing their faith in the pluralistic world we inhabit. It does have several drawbacks, though, in that some parts of it are not fully developed or thought out. It would probably be best to read this at the same time with someone else you know in order to formulate a discussion on some of the issues Newbigin does not cover satisfactorily.
Rating: 5
Summary: A highly relevant book for students of Christian missions
Comment: The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society is a highly relevant book for any modern student of missions. Newbigin's numerous theological and sociological insights have made this a work of frequent citation in missiological texts by other authors.
In the first five chapters of his book Newbigin draws from Michael Polanyi's Personal Knowledge to critique many of the fallacies of a rationalistic worldview - a worldview which is steadily losing ground to postmodern systems of thought in the present era. He unapologetically asserts that "dogma," long critiqued by proponents of rationalism and positivism as a backward and inferior belief system which characterizes religion, is just as much a part of the modern scientific worldview. All cultures adhere to certain "plausibility structures" or ways of thinking which are unanimously accepted by the members of society. Truth claims are then tested against these plausibility structures to determine their validity. But the plausibility structures themselves are based on unproven, dogmatic assumptions. Newbigin asserts that Christians adhere to a different plausibility structure than society at large - one which is no less certain than the prevalent worldview which so esteems reason and scientific knowledge. He believes Christians should not feel compelled to defend their beliefs according to a popular secular plausibility structure.
Newbigin believes that the Bible is unique in that it relates a universal history of mankind. Although the context of this history lies within a particular group of people in a particular part of the world, its message is applicable to all peoples. This history offers a unique message of hope for all peoples, something which is lacking in many cultures, especially in the modern West. Many Europeans and Americans have no hope at all in the future and therefore have lost all incentive to invest in it. Christ is the center of this history, and his story, as related in the New Testament ultimately envisions a goal which we can work toward - the creation of a better society as we progress in our lives and await the hereafter. Newbigin does not limit Christ's message to a this-worldly social gospel, but nevertheless believes that Christians who focus exclusively on saving souls are missing an important dimension of his teaching. He gives an insightful interpretation of Biblical passages such as Ephesians 3:10 and Colossians 1:15-17, claiming that the "principalities and powers" mentioned in these texts are not demonic beings but rather unjust social structures which can become demonic. Christians have a responsibility to change these structures for the good of all.
Newbigin addresses the issue of how Christians should view those who practice other religions by emphasizing that in the past people have frequently been asking the wrong question, "Who can be saved?" He believes that Christians should approach adherents of other faiths with respect, acknowledging the ways God has worked in their lives, being willing to cooperate with them in worthwhile projects for the benefit of society, and ultimately to share with them the unique story of Jesus.
Newbigin's book is profound and thought-provoking. Although not everyone will agree with all of his insights, they nonetheless merit careful consideration and reflection.
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Title: Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture by Leslie Newbigin, Lesslie Newbigin ISBN: 0802801765 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: April, 1986 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission by David Jacobus Bosch ISBN: 0883447193 Publisher: Orbis Books Pub. Date: April, 1991 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America by Darrell L. Guder, Lois Barrett ISBN: 0802843506 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: March, 1998 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: A Primer on Postmodernism by Stanley J. Grenz ISBN: 0802808646 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: February, 1996 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission by Lesslie Newbigin ISBN: 0802808298 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: February, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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