How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This book treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.
Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture
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About the Author
The late Lesslie Newbigin, a highly respected Christian leader and ecumenical figure, served for nearly forty years as a missionary in India. He died in 1998 at the age of 88.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent resource that presents a fresh approach to its topics and offers a creative and effective presentation of the role of theology in public life and discourse. I would say that its minor weakness would be an incomplete understanding of economics and an (understandable, given the time of its writing) preoccupation with the polarity between capitalism and communism. The result is that Newbigin's economic critique is a bit off-target. There are legitimate critiques of capitalism to make from his perspective but they require a better appreciation of the virtues of capitalism than he demonstrates. One hopes a latter day disciple will issue a fresh edition with a new foreword that could address this minor shortcoming in an otherwise superb small volume.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By John Pittard
Format:Paperback
In this work, Newbigin explores the relationship of Christianity to power with a searching honesty that few others have matched. While appreciative of Christendom's accomplishments, Newbigin suggests that the power granted the church in Christendom overestimates Christians' grasp of the truth and underestimates the tendency for power to corrupt the church. But the failures of Christendom do not thereby justify completely abandoning the attempt to influence the powers of secular society. Newbigin forcefully argues that Christians cannot simply set aside efforts to influence worldly powers in favor of "sectarian protest" against those powers. Society and it institutions will be guided by some vision of the good life (they cannot be neutral in this regard), and if that vision is the wrong one, much needless harm and spiritual suffering will result. In service to the world, then, Christians must offer their vision of the good life as the truth which should guide individuals and their institutions. Newbigin attempts to articulate an intermediate position (along the lines suggested by Abraham Kuyper) that falls somewhere between Christendom and sectarian protest. Serious questions may be raised about Newbigin's proposal, but his unwillingness to settle for the extremes makes this work a wonderful launching point for further reflection. Whatever model one adopts for Christian activity in the secular sphere, Newbigin suggests that for any engagement with secular culture to be successful Christians will have to first grapple with postmodern pessimism towards the concepts of truth and knowledge. Newbigin considers postmodernity's legitimate insights into the relationship between knowledge and power but moves beyond postmodern skepticism to sketch an epistemology that is appropriately humble yet also hopeful about the possibility of gaining insight into the truth.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Lesslie Newbigin Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986).
Reviewed by Darren Cronshaw
Newbigin was a missionary in India for nearly 40 years and when he returned to England analysed modern Western culture from the perspective of an outsider using tools of cross-cultural communication. He urged treating the West as a mission field; 'a pagan society ... far more resistant to the gospel than the pre-Christian paganism with which cross-cultural missions have been familiar. ... the most challenging missionary frontier of our time.' (p.20).
Central to his discussion is how biblical authority can be a reality for those who are shaped by Western culture, and he goes on to consider the interaction of the gospel with science, politics, and economics. Since Newbigin the world has moved on, but he understood how the world had changed because of modernity and foresaw how it was changing with new trends. He articulated how the world is seen from a scientific framework, but also recognised the influence of new science. He commented on Augustine's relevance and Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions and paradigm shifts which are important to understand for our modern/postmodern transition. He argued the church should not be relegated to the private sphere, but neither is it a new political order. Although written twenty years ago and with only glimpses of postmodern thought, his conclusions are still worth hearing about the need for freedom, dialogue, "declericalized" theology, local ecumenical efforts, looking at cultures with the help of outside perspectives, and learning to proclaim truth with categories that ultimately can't be proved within modern frameworks. His other books, especially The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), are also worthwhile contributions, and George Hunsberger interprets Newbigin as he relates to gospel, church and culture in Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Lesslie Newbigin's Theology of Cultural Plurality (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).
Originally appeared in Darren Cronshaw, `The Emerging Church: Introductory Reading Guide', Zadok Papers, S143 (Summer 2005).
Reviewed by Darren Cronshaw
Newbigin was a missionary in India for nearly 40 years and when he returned to England analysed modern Western culture from the perspective of an outsider using tools of cross-cultural communication. He urged treating the West as a mission field; 'a pagan society ... far more resistant to the gospel than the pre-Christian paganism with which cross-cultural missions have been familiar. ... the most challenging missionary frontier of our time.' (p.20).
Central to his discussion is how biblical authority can be a reality for those who are shaped by Western culture, and he goes on to consider the interaction of the gospel with science, politics, and economics. Since Newbigin the world has moved on, but he understood how the world had changed because of modernity and foresaw how it was changing with new trends. He articulated how the world is seen from a scientific framework, but also recognised the influence of new science. He commented on Augustine's relevance and Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions and paradigm shifts which are important to understand for our modern/postmodern transition. He argued the church should not be relegated to the private sphere, but neither is it a new political order. Although written twenty years ago and with only glimpses of postmodern thought, his conclusions are still worth hearing about the need for freedom, dialogue, "declericalized" theology, local ecumenical efforts, looking at cultures with the help of outside perspectives, and learning to proclaim truth with categories that ultimately can't be proved within modern frameworks. His other books, especially The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), are also worthwhile contributions, and George Hunsberger interprets Newbigin as he relates to gospel, church and culture in Bearing the Witness of the Spirit: Lesslie Newbigin's Theology of Cultural Plurality (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).
Originally appeared in Darren Cronshaw, `The Emerging Church: Introductory Reading Guide', Zadok Papers, S143 (Summer 2005).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic but contemporary
Although written in 1984, Newbigin's comments are as relevant today as they were then. His insights about doing church in a secular culture still challenge us.
Published 3 days ago by Ircel Harrison
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dated, but way ahead of its time.
In Lesslie Newbigin’s book Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture, he lays out what he believes to be the best way to reach western culture with the gospel, by... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Zachary Jacob Games
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy anything by Lesslie Newbigin
That's my own personal take on the late LN. He served in India for over 30 years as much more than just a missionary, although that would be enough. Read more
Published 3 months ago by drdon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book to challenge your perspective on Christianity and...
There is an emerging awakening to look at how Christianity/Gospel dialogues and influences public life and culture. Read more
Published on April 6, 2009 by Timothy D. Balow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Academic, Powerful, and Profound
Lesslie Newbigin's asks the question, how can the Gospel transform a western culture that has fragmented life into two categories: Facts and Values. Read more
Published on January 8, 2005 by Benjamin J. Snyder
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 37
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy by Michael Polanyi on 6 pages
- After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre on page 36, page 75, and page 134
- After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory by Alasdair Macintyre on page 36, page 75, and page 134
- The Needs of Strangers by Michael Ignatieff on page 121, and Back Matter
- Church and Nation in a Secular Age by John Habgood on page 112, and Back Matter
See all 37 books this book cites
- A Scandalous Prophet: The Way of Mission After Newbigin by Thomas F. Foust on 12 pages
- A Word in Season: Perspectives on Christian World Missions by Mr. Lesslie Newbigin on 7 pages
- Political Visions and Illusions: A Survey and Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies by David T. Koyzis on 7 pages
- Revelation and Reconciliation: A Window on Modernity by Stephen N. Williams on 6 pages
- Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary Theologian: A Reader by Lesslie Newbigin on 6 pages
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