The Open Secret | Theology

This is a more "serious" review of a theological book -- namely, The Open Secret: An Introduction To The Theology Of Mission, by Lesslie Newbigin. Christopher Duraisingh of the WCC, in his preface to Lesslie Newbigin's prior The Gospel In A Pluralist Society, noted that Newbigin's "theoretical and epistemological framework [is] heavily influenced by Michael Polanyi" (Newbigin 1989:viii). Thus Newbigin's theology is founded on Polanyi's philosophy, and Polanyi is the key to understanding Newbigin. Polanyi held a coherence theory of truth, which he termed "the coherence of commitment" (Polanyi 1962:303). Central to this was the notion of "universal intent" (Polanyi 1962:309) -- a term which Newbigin borrows from Polanyi, and which stands at the centre of his epistemology and missiology (Newbigin 1989:136). With this in mind, this review will forego the "surfaces" of Newbigin's book, and briefly seek to plumb some of its depths (page references appear in brackets).

CHRISTIANITY AS A LANGUAGE

"Language" is a word that has two major definitions. The common meaning is "a variety of speech" (Macdonald 1967:354). There is, however, a second definition, which is that of the linguists, and frequently of the theologians. This "mingles with the metaphysics of truth and the relationship between sign and object" (Blackburn 1996:211). It was linguist Ferdinand de Saussure's view that signs derive their meaning from their relationships to other signs. He gave the example of a chess game. All the pieces (the signs) form a system, and it is the "relationships to other signs in the system" that create their "value" (Mautner 2000:501). Supposing, then, that we should apply this to religion. A system of signs could show how people make sense of their world by the value they attribute to religious signs. Bearing this in mind, Newbigin states that "the gospel involves using the language spoken by the hearers" (:146). Is he, in this case, using the first definition of language, or the second? Language, he states, "embodies [people's] beliefs . . . about God and man" (:146). However, a language which EMBODIES people's beliefs must refer to the second definition. He further writes about "different languages about Jesus and the gospel", referring to these as particular "understandings" of the gospel (:150). That is, Christianity is to be seen as a system of signs or representations. Michael Budde put it like this: "The process of becoming religious [is] similar to that of acquiring a culture or learning a language" (Budde 1997:59). With this in mind, we have here vital clues that it might not be as easy to discern Newbigin's true beliefs as it might seem at first sight.

THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING

Simplifying in the extreme, Polanyi believed in emergent evolution, or "ontogenetic emergence" (Polanyi 1962:395), directed by a "creative agent" (Polanyi 1962:393). This concept of emergence has entered Newbigin's work inter alia through his notion of "no privatized eschatology" (Newbigin 1989:113). Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (:101) shared with Polanyi the view that "the end of the world" represents an "emergence" (Teilhard de Chardin 1959:316). If, however, we are presently in a process of ontogenic emergence, which is not yet complete, then what is the significance of personal suffering? May we speak of anything more than "incomplete manifestations of the working of the kingdom"? (Van Engen 1990:113). Teilhard de Chardin added an appendix to his magnum opus, The Phenomenon of Man, which he titled: "Some Remarks on the Place and Part of Evil in a World in Evolution" (Teilhard de Chardin 1959:339). The fact that this was relegated to an appendix -- an inconclusive appendix at that -- would seem to serve as a metaphor for the awkwardness of the problem in an evolutionary context. Newbigin would appear to share this problem. Our sufferings, he writes, are "the birth pangs of a new world" (:107). That is, we suffer for tomorrow. In the midst of suffering, we wait patiently for "the freedom that belongs to the end" (:107) -- yet we "share in these pains as those who are full of hope" (:107). Suffering is a "witness against" the present evil of the world (:107). Does our suffering, however, have any personal meaning? This is unclear. Bearing in mind what has been said about emergent evolution, and about Christianity as a "language", it is uncertain whether personal suffering should have any meaning to me PERSONALLY, or how I should respond to it.

NEWBIGIN'S EPISTEMOLOGY

Do we have, asks Newbigin, "reliable knowledge of 'the historic fact of Christ'"? (the inverted commas are his) (:157). Do we have "a known starting point for the journey of Christology"? (:157). He replies that "it is impossible to discuss" within the confines of his book. Nonetheless, he vaguely goes on to ponder the existence of "improved tools" for the quest, and considers that our "assumptions . . . alone can give any significance to any part of [the story]" (:157). That is, the meaning of a story depends on the assumptions that we bring to it. Echoing Polanyi, Newbigin states that one's faith in Christ is "a faith-commitment" (:168), and that this is "the starting point of . . . truth seeking". In a similar vein, Polanyi wrote: "Commitment [is] introduced from the start" -- bearing in mind that we "may hold to be true what might conceivably be false" (Polanyi 1962:312), or that which "the speaker himself believes to be true" (Polanyi 1962:305). Jesus "IS the Christ of faith," states Newbigin, apparently in the Polanyian sense. Where, therefore, does this leave us with regard to "reliable knowledge", to use Newbigin's phrase? Apparently nowhere in particular. The "earliest documents . . . earlier than the Gospels" show us "Jesus Christ as . . . foundation" (:45). However, it is impossible to say how much of the story of Jesus "comes from Jesus Himself" (:39). No matter, "we have here the kind of interpretation of coming history . . . that was the substance of Jesus' message" (:39). "We believe [this story] to be the clue to universal history" (:178). So it all has to be "taken for granted", writes Newbigin. "There is no other starting point" (:166). It would appear, therefore, that Newbigin proposes confident utterance of the gospel as a methodology, rather than "reliable knowledge".

SYNTHESIS

The "secret" which is hidden, yet needs to be revealed, is the secret that "the Lord reigns" (:22). This is therefore The Open Secret, and this is the emphasis of the book throughout. The subtitle is An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. I believe this is misleading. Nowhere in the book did I find the received definition of missions, nor of crucial aspects of the same. Surely this would be foundational to any Introduction, whatever one's own point of view. Not only this, but to the uninitiated, Newbigin could by no means be regarded as being introductory to ANYTHING. One would properly need an introduction to Newbigin. Even if his writing were all that meets the eye, the book seemed to have little consistency, but rather represented a rolling commentary through a jumble of ideas -- albeit important ideas. This having been said, the book has had a major influence on missiology. For more serious study, it should surely be on one's reading list.

CITATIONS OF REFERENCE

~ Blackburn, Simon. Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

~ Budde, Michael L. The (Magic) Kingdom of God: Christianity and Global Culture Industries. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1997.

~ Macdonald, A.M. (Ed.) Chambers Etymological Dictionary. London: W. & R. Chambers Ltd., 1967.

~ Mautner, Thomas. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy. London: Penguin Books, 2000.

~ Newbigin, Lesslie. The Gospel In A Pluralist Society. Geneva, Switzerland: WCC Publications, 1989.

~ Newbigin, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission (Revised Edition). Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1995.

~ Polanyi, Michael. Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy (Second Impression). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1962.

~ Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. The Phenomenon of Man. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1959.

~ Van Engen, Charles. God's Missionary People: Rethinking the Purpose of the Local Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1991.

Thomas Scarborough