The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Paperback)

by Lesslie Newbigin (Author) "It has become a commonplace to say that we live in a pluralist society-not merely a society which is in fact plural in the variety..." (more)
Key Phrases: reigning plausibility structure, whole human story, universal intent, New Testament, Jesus Christ, Old Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
What is the Christian message in a society marked by religious pluralism, ethnic diversity, and cultural relativism? How does the prevailing climate of opinion affect, perhaps infect, Christians' faith? Newbigin addresses such questions in this incisive analysis of contemporary culture, and he suggests how Christians can more confidently affirm their faith in such a context.

Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (December 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802804268
• ISBN-13: 978-0802804266
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely valuable read, February 22, 2002

By	Patrick Oden (Lake Arrowhead, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I initially picked up this book, I thought, "oh, another one of these books." There seems to be a new book on pluralism and postmodernism coming out every day. I had read bits of Newbiggin before, and knew that a missionary in India for forty years would have something to say worthwhile. I was not mistaken. Newbiggin's clear voice and wise, yet succinct, observations make this an extremely valuable book to read. I was greatly influenced by this book, and found new insights and confirmation of my own undeveloped thoughts which encouraged and challenged my thinking.
Newbiggin develops his thoughts by showing why and how a Christian message can be conveyed and understood in a pluralist society. He first shows how a pluralistic understanding views religion in general. Coming from an Indian perspective he has an excellent understanding of this. Pluralist societies tend to be religious, accepting the transcendent as something which is greater than one single philosophy can grasp hold of. Yet, Newbiggin approaches this directly, asking "why?" What makes a person know that the transcendent is greater than one religion? He challenges the view by showing that those who claim this are asserting a source of knowledge on their own, establishing for themselves a point of reference which they deny to others. In addition, Newbiggin shows the now common fallacies which are involved in a true pluralistic view. A person can not be a pluralist in a math class. Thus, there are accepted areas in which Truth can be established. The role now before us is to show, and proclaim, that religion can be this area, and that Christianity is this truth.
Along with the claims of truth that must be continually asserted, Newbiggin has several chapters on missions and evangelism which I found very interesting. He points out that the New Testament epistles are virtually devoid of references, exhortations, or instructions to evangelism and missions. This is an unusual observation in respect to the modern emphasis on such activities. Newbiggin points out that these were not referred to for one main reason. It is that the role of evangelism was never thought of as the responsibility for the believer. Rather, evangelism was a result of the power of the Holy Spirit acting in such a way that people were drawn to see and inquire what this new power was. "The mission of the Church in the pages of the New Testament is more like the fallout from a vast explosion, a radioactive fallout which is not lethal but life-giving." Thus, we understand why Paul exhorted his churches to mature, growing in their faith and understanding of the Triune God. It would be through this maturity that the Spirit would naturally move in the lives of believers to reach out to the community around them. When a church loses this focus, ministry becomes difficult and impossible, especially in an age of pluralism.
Overall this is a tremendously valuable book, which continues to spark new thought and approaches to how exactly Christianity can speak to this current era.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Penetrating Analysis of Gospel and Culture, May 4, 2000

By	John C. Tittle - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lesslie Newbigin has written a penetrating analysis of the gospel in our western, pluralistic society. Although this book is over a decade old, it will remain a standard on issues of gospel, culture, contextualization, and postmodernism for quite some time. Newbigin presents with such clarity the pitfalls of many assumptions from Enlightenment and contemporary postmodern thought. With a "baptized" postmodern approach, Newbigin urges for the harmony of private and public life and thought. The church's application of this in faith and practice will be her most effective apologetic for the 21st century. The author makes a strong case that no one (including scientists or historians) can completely stand outside the influences of their particular culture and tradition. All understanding,whether religious/moral values or scientific information, involves faith and tradition. Other helpful aspects of the book reveal that we need a more wholistic approach to understand ourselves and the goal of history. Christ is the Truth embodied who is the universal clue for all men and women from every culture and age to break through this subjectivity to find their destiny and hope in this life and beyond. Newbigin beckons the church to continually reshape the unchanging gospel message in a culturally relevant way in order to most effectively impact the unreached locally and globally. We must clear away all stumbling blocks to Christ, except for one. The stumbling block of the cross. This attitude demands a willingness to reform traditions to connect with changing perspectives in society. My copy of this book is well marked and is an oft used resource for my ministry.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Look Into Christianity and Modern Culture, December 10, 2002

By	Bethany Saunders (Carson, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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.