Friday, November 05, 2010

Lesslie Newbigin

There is a confession that I need to make: With the exception of coming across the occasional quote by Lesslie Newbigin, I had never read anything by him and know little of his work. For me, Scot Sherman of City Church in San Francisco is the closest I have really gotten to Newbigin. I am pretty sure that Scot was influential in claiming the Newbigin name for the new seminary project that has, until now, been sponsored by the folks at City Church in San Francisco. At the moment they go by the name “The Newbigin House of Studies.” 

I am aware of numerous partners interested in working with the Newbigin House of Studies as it gets its start, including Calvin Seminary, Fuller Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary and Western Theological Seminary (WTS). I understand that a delegation from WTS will be visiting San Francisco this month for the purpose of negotiating and formalizing a cooperative relationship. 

It was a surprise to me, while cleaning out some boxes in our garage belonging to our children, that I came across a college book of my daughter’s that was written by Lesslie Newbigin. I decided to rescue this book from the recycling bin and took it with me on my trip to Cleveland this week. The book was a quick, yet profound read. It was only 150 pages and was titled “Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture.” (Eerdmans, 1986)

My trip to Cleveland was capped by a rather unique and entertaining leg on the inaugural flight of the “Oprah: The Final Season” plane, but, what stands out more in my memory is reading the Newbigin book. I read it on my way out and during times of reflection found myself thinking a fair bit about ministry in a post-Enlightenment world. And specifically for me, preparing people for ministry in a world that is more caught up with the science of technology and social networks than it is one where people are trying to understand the Bible and how it speaks into one’s life. I was intrigued by Newbigin’s mention of sphere sovereignty and theologians with whom I have become acquainted with such as Kuyper and Dooyeweerd. 

As he wrote about the Bible, Newbigin made a marvelous statement that not only provided food for thought, but also challenged me in my own faith and the role of scripture in it. He wrote: “The scholar examines the text but is not, in any profound sense, examined by it. If he is a believer, he will draw from the text illumination for his own faith. But his faith does not rest on the authority of the text. It is rather that he perceives a congruence between the faith to which the text bears witness and his own.” (Pg. 47)
In his last chapter, Newbigin asks the question “What must we be? The Call to the Church.” He makes the point that “The privilege of the Christian life cannot be sought apart from the responsibilities.” (John 20:20) (Pg. 124) I would suggest that the response to a call to ministry comes with even greater responsibilities. Newbigin provides six points in which he describes what we must be and do to be relevant and minister in the culture in which we find ourselves. I will summarize them briefly… “To have a missionary encounter with our culture:”

  1. “The first must be the recovery and firm grasp of a true doctrine of last things, of eschatology.” (Pg. 134)
  2. “…a Christian doctrine of freedom. Surely the greatest gift the Enlightenment has left us is the recognition of the right of all people to freedom of thought and of conscience.” Pg. 137)
  3. “…A de-clericalized theology…. The missionary encounter for which I am pleading will require the energetic fostering of a declericalized, lay theology.” (Pg. 142)
  4. “… a radical theological critique of the theory and practice of denominationalism. Richard Niebuhr’s dictum, ‘Denominationalism represents the moral failure of Christianity.’” (Pg. 144)
  5. “… the necessity for help in seeing our own culture through Christian minds shaped by other cultures.” (Pg. 146)
  6. “… the courage to hold and to proclaim a belief that cannot be proved to be true in terms of the axioms of our society… Our modern scientific culture has pursued the ideal of a completely impersonal knowledge of a world of so-called facts that are simply there.” (Pg. 148)

    And then Newbigin adds a seventh
  7. “There is one thing more that must be said. This humble boldness and and this expectant patience are not the product of human heroism. They are the spontaneous overflow of a community of praise. They are the radiance of a supernatural reality. (Pg. 149)
Given this brief exposure to Newbigin may provide insight into the new mission of the seminary and house of studies on the west coast. Knowing the leaders of the Newbigin House of Studies suggests to me that some of Newbigin’s work will provide identity to the seminary. And then again, some won’t. None the less, I appreciate this book that challenges all of us to have a missionary encounter with our culture!

Cor

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks Cor, you have provided some good food for thought.