The Gospel in a Pluralist Society | Book Review

Reviewed by Thomas Scarborough

Lesslie Newbigin was (and is, through his writings) a celebrated missiologist. This book continues to be in print after sixteen years, which further bears testimony to the drawing power of his ideas.

Superficially, the book gives one the impression of being an eclectic mix of ideas. However, taking the broad view, there is a fundamental cohesion to the book. In fact it represents a fundamentally new approach to missiology, which is consistently worked out throughout. Christopher Duraisingh of the World Council of Churches writes in the Foreword that Newbigin “provides a fresh frame of reference” for missiology. This is no exaggerated claim. However, Newbigin’s frame of reference is not without its problems — which I shall return to at the end of this review.

THE QUESTION OF EPISTEMOLOGY

The book may arguably be said to have one underlying theme: epistemology, or the theory of knowledge. That is, how can we know? More specifically, in the words of Duraisingh, how can we have confidence in the gospel “in the midst of a plurality of cultures and religions”?

To answer this question, Newbigin has, in his own words, “relied heavily on the work of Michael Polanyi”, a noted physical chemist turned philosopher. Polanyi is the key to understanding Newbigin. Polanyi’s epic work “Personal Knowledge” was published nearly fifty years ago, and reveals what might be said to be a coherence theory of truth, or coherentism. That is, if one’s beliefs should cohere as a whole, without serious internal contradiction, this should be a good indication of truth.

Polanyi, however, adds a radical twist to this. He writes about “the coherence of commitment”. That is, once one has formed a responsible opinion about “truth” (this needs to be in inverted commas), one needs to commit to it passionately, and publish. Only through such commitment and publication can one both display integrity, and submit one’s “truth” to the scrutiny of others — to be affirmed, modified, or perhaps even overturned. Polanyi labels such commitment “universal intent” — a term which is used repeatedly by Newbigin.

It is not hard to see how this relates to missiology. In terms of this view, the gospel requires proclamation. This in turn leads to a confirmation of its truth in various ways — or it may lead to a revision of Christian beliefs and practices.

THE TASK OF SYNTHESIS

Newbigin applies Polanyi’s epistemology to virtually every aspect of Christianity. Taking the broad view once more, one of his central concerns throughout the book is the task of synthesis, or reconciliation, within the Church. It is again not difficult to see how this dovetails with Polanyi:

As one commits passionately to “truth”, and publishes it, so one arrives at a synthesis with other published viewpoints. Newbigin states that it is his “solid experience” that, when Christians from “an enormously wide variety of cultures, with correspondingly varied perceptions of Jesus” persevere together in the study of Scripture, this leads to “a more fully shared perception of [Jesus'] nature and purpose”.

As one example, Newbigin sees Polanyi’s epistemology as providing a solution for “the deep and tragic split which divides Christians between those who are usually labelled liberals and fundamentalists”. Quoting George Lindbeck (while not subscribing entirely to his views), Newbigin suggests that this could represent “a third way of understanding Christian belief”, which could be acceptable to Christians of virtually all persuasions.

Newbigin suggests a synthesis in many other areas of Christianity: Christians exclude neither lay ministry nor ordained; they are neither too close to culture, nor too far from it; they preclude neither personal conversion, nor social reform; they are neither conservatives, nor anarchists; they neither underestimate God’s grace, nor overestimate it. The list of such binary opposites is a long one, as are Newbigin’s suggested syntheses.

CONCLUSION

Having touched on some of the underlying themes of the book, all is not quite as simple as it may seem. Polanyi himself notes that if his philosophy were to be applied to Christianity, there would be “absurdly remote chances” for the enterprise to succeed. Further, the coherence theory of truth is somewhat problematic today, and epistemology in general has come under thoroughgoing criticism. Not least, Newbigin does not seem to give adequate account of how a living God might find a place within an (apparently) closed theory of truth.

All having been said, the book has a wide scope, it is intellectually nimble, and it is written with sincerity. Newbigin further shares many insights which he gained in missions over nearly forty years, as well as observations on the sea-change that took place in the Church in the West during the time he was in the field. What he discovered on his return to the West was in fact what impelled him to seek his “fresh frame of reference”.

CITATION OF REFERENCES

Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel In A Pluralist Society, 1989. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Polanyi, Michael. Personal Knowledge: Towards A Post-Critical Philosophy, 1958. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

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