Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History [Paperback]

Mr. Lesslie Newbigin (Author), Mr. Geoffrey Wainwright (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003

The late Lesslie Newbigin was widely regarded as one of this generation's most significant voices on Christianity in relation to modern society. Now that he is gone, there is a call for his unpublished writings to be made available. To that end "Signs amid the Rubble" gathers some of Newbigin's finest statements on issues of continuing relevance. The first set of chapters consists of the 1941 Bangalore Lectures, in which Newbigin speaks powerfully of the kingdom of God in relation to the modern - severely deficient - idea of "progress." The second group of writings, the Henry Martyn Lectures of 1986, deals mainly with the importance of Christian mission. In the last piece, his address to the World Council of Churches conference on mission and evangelism in Brazil in 1996 - which editor Geoffrey Wainwright calls his "swan song on the ecumenical stage" - Newbigin wonders aloud how future generations will judge today's practice of abortion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; 1ST edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802809898
• ISBN-13: 978-0802809896
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Lectures by Newbigin on Eschatology and Evangelism, September 7, 2009

By 

Andrew D. Rowell (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History (Paperback)

This collection of Newbigin's lectures demonstrate his ability to think theologically, logically, fairly and passionately about Christian engagement in the world. It is not surprising that many have found Newbigin to be a helpful guide through these difficult waters.

Signs Amid the Rubble contains three sets of lectures by Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) introduced by Duke University theologian Geoffrey Wainwright, author of Lesslie Newbigin: A Theological Life.

The first are a set of 4 lectures given in Bangalore, India in 1941 when Newbigin was 32 years old called "The Kingdom of God and the Idea of Progress" (pp. 1-55). Newbigin criticizes the prevailing view that the world is becoming better and better. He points out the evidence against this view and then makes the case that the concept of the Kingdom of God is far more useful as a framework for understanding reality. In particular he singles out C. H. Dodd for his over-realized eschatology. "The eschaton, the end, enters into our present experience by qualifying all present action: that is its significance. But the point is whether it does not lose that significance unless it be also a fact which is really going to happen" (33-34). Indeed, Newbigin goes on to emphasize that in fact he believes the eschaton is "really going to happen"--it is not just a symbol.

The second set of three lectures are The Henry Martyn Lectures delivered at the University of Cambridge in 1986 when Newbigin was 77 years old (57-109). These have the theme of "mission then and now" (97). Newbigin addresses some of the most difficult questions that missionaries face. Will all people be saved or only some (66-75)? Newbigin writes, "As I find myself in D'Costa's book classified as an exclusivist, I will try to say why" (72). He goes on to criticize the trendy terms "dialogue" and "conversation"--arguing that there is a legitimate place for "preaching" and action (75-77). He then looks at the ways missionaries have engaged culture--arguing that conversion is a legitimate pursuit despite the errors of colonialism (78-94). Christianity is something that affects "facts" of life (the important stuff!) and not just the "values" (one's preferences and feelings) (90). Finally, in the last lecture of the Martyn lectures, Newbigin soars. This piece perhaps could be read by itself for its clarity on the question of the relationship between evangelism and social justice (95-109). He explains that social justice is not a substitute for evangelism but that it is still appropriate to love through healing and caring ministries while proclaiming the gospel. "Election" (103) reminds Christians that they are blessed by God that they might be a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2). Newbigin also addresses the relationship between the church, the kingdom of God and politics. The church is to be "a sign, instrument and foretaste" of the reign of God (103).

The third set of addresses by Newbigin takes up just 10 pages (111-121) at the end of the book. They are brief remarks Newbigin made in 1996 (at age 87) to the The World Conference on Mission and Evangelism in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil in December 1996. They are blunt and informal remarks about the importance of evangelism. He criticizes the god of the free market and the lack of prioritizing of telling the story of Jesus. He goes on to criticize abortion on demand, point out the challenge of Islam, and recommend the pursuit of the glory of God from a heart of joy.

I would recommend reading these addresses in reverse order. Read the ones from 1996 first, then the 1986 Martyn lectures, then the 1941 Bangalore lectures. The Bangalore lectures are slightly more philosophical and thus slightly more difficult. The Martyn lectures wonderfully summarize many of the themes in Newbigin's later works The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture, and The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. The most accessible place to learn about Newbigin though is his own autobiography: Unfinished Agenda: An Updated Autobiography, which I have reviewed on Amazon.

Christians looking for a guide on how to think about engagement with the world will find a trustworthy, experienced, and wise voice in Newbigin.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gift from God, March 1, 2009

By 

L. Seaman "student of the world" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History (Paperback)

What a beautiful gift - Newbigin was blessed by the Holy Spirit to share these teachings - deep insight into the broken reality in which we live, yet blossoming with hope for the even deeper whole and pure reality of God's eternal love and healing plan. Highly academic prose, but if that's something you appreciate, dig in, because it is rich in its message!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timely (and Timeless) Reminder, April 26, 2009

By 

Merl Ledford III (People's Republic of California, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History (Paperback)

Newbigin was an early proponents of congregational worship fellowships as the true Body of Christ in opposition to the turf-protecting parochial, and primarily political denominations that came to prominence in support of world missions and, in the USA, in support of Midwestern colonization by anti-slavery forces prior to the US Civil War (efforts that were too costly to be meaningfully supported by individual fellowships). He did not throw the baby out with the bath water, working as he did within denominational Protestant church groups his whole life; but he always came back to the evangelistic model of small, independent fellowships with indigenous leaders as a worship ideal.

As our 19th/20th C. "Age of Reason" thought paradigm made Biblical scholarship increasingly the province of specialists, with graduate degrees conferred by Denomination-supported seminaries becoming roughly equivalent to ordination of literate scholars by Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations during the "Age of Faith" - Newbiin saw the same kinds of faith-obstacles develop that lead to to profound changes during both the Protestant Reformation and reformation(s) within the Roman Catholic Church.

Fortunately, Newbigin's experience as a village evangelist, denomination-leader/politician, and thoughtful person of prayer, lead him to ask, "What's next?" If the Age of Faith transitioned to the Age of Reason during that period of incredible upheaval, creativity, and flux we call the Renaissance, what will our next epoch look like after our own 200 year "Renaissance" period or re-thinking?

Newbigin's answer is realistic, if somewhat distressing: no matter how clever we think we are, in the comfort of our culture's de facto worship of science, progress, and advances in humanitarianism, everything we consider good, and noble and just - all that the Word of God that Christians and Jews accept by faith as historic facts and that other people of faith affirm as "written on their hearts"- will all be blown to ashes. How it happens makes little difference: whether by human mistake, by human cruelty (which he points out is advancing apace with progress in making our world a better place), or as the result of the inescapable explosion of our sun as it cycles through its own life as a super-nova, white dwarf, or eventual black hole, everything we know or do or say will be reduced to dust.

Still, the old missionary sees "Signs Amid the Rubble." His hope, in faith, is that the love, goodness, and caring we show one another in the here-and-now, the same stuff of everyday life that will be quickly and completely forgotten no matter what immediate consequence our little lives may see to have in the moment, will ultimately be preserved by G-d in ways that we can't imagine now and, in that way, our puny, imperfect offerings to our Creator will ultimately be perfected and incorporated into a new heaven and new earth, fully redeemed yet also fully alive "more abundantly" than fallen creatures like us could ever see on this side of our own certain deaths.

We do not know if Jane Goodall's predicted "Age of Love" will follow these immediate, restless times. But Newbigin offers hope that, from what he sees for us as G-d's children, it doesn't matter. Our Creator will take our best and perfect it as the earth and all who inhabit it are redeemed.