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The Gospel in a Pagan Society

The Gospel In A Pagan Society
By Kenneth Prior
Christian Focus Publications
191 pages. £4.99
ISBN 1 85792 142 9

If you are a writer and you want your book to be read today then it is not a bad idea to include 'post-modern' or 'pagan' in the title. It comes as something of a surprise, then, to discover that this book was first published 20 years ago.
The new edition is revised and updated but preserves the same message which Prior himself says is 'even more relevant now than when it first appeared.' I wholeheartedly concur.
Prior's thesis is that the old days of evangelism are over. He describes the traditional evangelist as a 'reaper', like Peter at Pentecost. He is a person who has the ability to 'bring people to a decision'. While not decrying such a ministry Prior tells us that 'we now have a generation without any childhood involvement in a church and an almost complete ignorance of the most basic points of the Christian faith'. In such an environment an evangelist cannot be a reaper, he must be a 'pioneer, breaking completely fresh ground'. He suggests that Paul's speech to the pagans in Athens provides a better model for the modern world. The body of the book looks at this Areopagus speech (Acts 17.13-34) showing how Paul sought to persuade and proclaim in language that his hearers would understand.
It is common to hear that we live in a post-Christian world. This book indulges in no nostalgic breast-beating about that, but seeks honestly to address what it means for the witness of the church. We desperately need to learn how to communicate with modern pagans. Kenneth Prior points us in the right direction.

Peter Comont