Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Book Review: "The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society", by Lesslie Newbigin

Overview—Give a brief overview of the book, including its theme, perspective and approach.

Missionary/theologian Lesslie Newbigin offers the reader a critique of pluralism, the dominant worldview of our time. As one who has roots in both western cultural as a citizen of England and eastern culture as a missionary to India, Newbigin is in a unique postion to share his perspectives. Newbigin lays out the issues and then, through both historical, philosophical, and cultural analysis, he points out the weaknesses in a pluralistic worldview. He concludes by affirming the positive ways the church can respond while remaining faithful to the Gospel.

Critique—Offer a brief critique of the book, including elements of strength and weakness.

Newbigin is a thoughtful and insightful communicator. His style is not overly academic, though those unfamiliar with the issues will get bogged down at times. His strengths are seen as he disarms seemingly powerful arguments with simple observations: "In spite of the enthusiasm of many educational experts for encouraging their pupils to have and open mind and to make their own decisions about truth, a teacher who asks her class whether Paris is the capital of France or Belgium will not appreciate the child who tells him that he has an open mind on the matter" (p7). He points out the arrogance in the pluralists claim that there is no absolute, which they seem to know absolutely.

However, at times Newbigin wants to have his cake and eat it too. He argues for the exclusivity of Christ, and yet is agnostic on the subject of universal salvation (ch. 13). He wants to affirm truth revealed in the Bible, yet denies it's absolute authority (ch.8). Finally, his interpretation of Romans 9:22 is simply forced.

Application—Offer some specific application to your own ministry— demonstrating the value and relevance of the material in this book.

I found the most relevant material in his chapters on "The Congregation as Hermeneutic of the Gospel", where he argues for the centrality of the living witness of the church. As the gospel is incarnated in the lives of those who believe it and live by it, there will the watching world will see most clearly the credibility of our message. He takes time to flesh out what such a congregation should look like in worship, in truth, in ministry to their community, and being equipped as priests in the working world. For pastors this means spiritual formation as a community must become a priority. Entertaining and informative "messages" are no substitute to becoming the people of God. He then calls for church leaders to set the pace in equipping the church to become a missionary congregation.

Best Quote—Be sure to include the page number where the quote can be found.

p. 22 "Merely wandering around in a clueless twilight is not seeking. The relativism which is not willing to speak about truth but only about "what is true for me' is an evasion of the serious business of living. It is the mark of a tragic loss of nerve in our contemporary culture. It is a preliminary symptom of death

1 comment:

Andria said...

Good review, Pastor Tom. I considered picking up this book at one point, but now I don't have to! Haha. But seriously, the chapter you recommended does sound pretty interesting. We used to talk a lot in school about the "evils" of pluralism but rarely any practical ways to deal with it.

This is unrelated, but what's up with so many missions writers having feminine names? Lesslie? I'll go to pick up a book about missions I think was written by a woman only to find out it's just another dude with a chick's name. Not fair.