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Lesslie Newbigin, missionary theologianTo be widely used and considered…LESSLIE NEWBIGIN, MISSIONARY THEOLOGIAN As the title indicates, this substantial volume consists of a series of judiciously chosen extracts from the writings of the late Lesslie Newbigin. The passages selected are taken from the whole range of Newbigin’s works and are helpfully arranged in relation to recurring themes in his work: Christ and cultures, the calling of the Church, the gospel and other religions, the missionary challenge of the Western world, and the relationship between the gospel and public life. Each section is preceded by a helpful introduction provided by the editor, who has also written a brief, but valuable and moving ‘biographical sketch’. RetirementNewbigin, who died in 1998 at the age of 88, is remembered today chiefly for a series of publications during the final quarter of the 20th century in which he argued both that modern Western culture constituted the greatest missionary challenge of this, or any other age, and that Christianity in Europe and North America had compromised the gospel and developed a form of syncretism which blinded it to the negative aspects of the modern Enlightenment heritage. What may easily be overlooked is the fact that these extraordinary books were all written during the author’s ‘retirement’ and at the conclusion of a long and remarkably fruitful life of missionary service in India and other parts of the world. The great merit of Paul Weston’s Reader is, therefore, that it utilises material from the whole of this remarkable man’s ministry and sets the late flowering of his missionary theology within this broad context. Puzzling?In many respects Lesslie Newbigin may seem to be a puzzling figure to readers of this journal. A man with a definite experience of conversion to Christ, and a clear commitment to the authority of Scripture and to the orthodox theological tradition (reflected in his affirmation of ‘the centrality and objectivity of the atonement accomplished on Calvary’), yet devoted to the ecumenical cause and active within the circles of the World Council of Churches. The clue to understanding this is, I suggest, in Weston’s sub-title which describes Newbigin as a ‘Missionary Theologian’. His passion for Christian unity was driven by his missionary experiences in India and by the deep conviction that the visible unity of those who confess Christ as Lord is a gospel imperative. It is possible to disagree with the directions in which this took him in practice, but the sincerity of his belief is beyond question, as is the courage with which he challenged deviations from the central tenets of the faith of Christ wherever he encountered them. Valuable servicePaul Weston has performed a valuable service in making these extracts available, so introducing a new generation to the writings of one of the last century’s most remarkable theologians. It is to be hoped that this collection will be widely used and that it will stimulate a desire on the part of many readers to explore further the heritage which Lesslie Newbigin left us. David Smith, © Evangelicals Now - June 2006 |