REL 253-4 : Foundations of Mission

Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) was an internationally esteemed British missionary, pastor, apologist, theologian, and ecumenical statesman. His long career included serving as a village evangelist in India, pastor in the United Reformed Church, bishop of the Church of South India, general secretary of the International Missionary Council, and associate general secretary of the World Council of Churches. This reader concentrates for the most part on his later writings, demonstrating his missionary engagement with Western culture following his return to from India to the UK in 1974.

This work demonstrates that in a modern multicultural society with diverse religious loyalties, identities and even laws, a Christian vision is needed, to bring social coherence and freedom. All three authors call for the churches to end their abdication of the public domain.

This book presents the Christian story as a lens through which to view and understand God and the world, demonstrating that Christianity is a viable way to live one’s life today, and that Christians need not retreat to a private world where faith is presumed to be ‘mere opinion’. With his unerring focus on placing the Christian faith squarely at the centre of public life and contemporary debate, Newbigin deftly traces a path between Scripture, philosophy and scientific thought to present the gospel as public truth by which our society can find coherence and direction.

Analyzes the sources of truth and authority in the modern way and how science, the dominant "truth" in our society, has become a means to power, rather than a pathway to a true understanding of the human situation.

This collection records the dynamics of his ideas about mission as he confronts new issues in the church and society: unity in mission, changes in the missionary enterprise, developments in the theology of mission, mission in the modern city, the pastor’s role in the inner city, the future of the parish church, the resistance of modern society to the gospel, the cultural captivity of the church, and the consequences of witness in a world of religious and ideological pluralism.

Lesslie Newbigin affirms the gospel as truth – not only for personal life, but also for life at the public, societal level. He runs counter to the prevailing subjectivism and skepticism in our society regarding the possibility of knowing ultimate truth. He argues that the Christian gospel is a statement of objective, historical truth, and all other modes of thought are to be evaluated in the light of the gospel truth.

Mission of the church.
Christian church Mission

How does the gospel relate to a pluralist society? What is the Christian message in a society marked by religious pluralism, ethnic diversity, and cultural relativism? Should Christians encountering today's pluralist society concentrate on evangelism or on dialogue? Lesslie Newbigin addresses these questions. He provides a brilliant analysis of contemporary (secular, humanist, pluralist) culture and suggests how Christians can more confidently affirm their faith in such a context.

Mission in Christ's way -- A question about the kingdom : a promise about the spirit -- Participating in the passion : witnessing to the resurrection -- A gift, a command, and an assurance.

How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This book treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.

Aimed at bringing contemporary concerns in mission theology to a wide-reading public, this volume flows from Newbigin's extensive experience in the mission field and from lectures developed especially to prepare men and women for missionary service. Newbigin describes the Christian mission as the declaration of an open secret—open in that it is preached to all nations, secret in that it is manifest only to the eyes of faith.

The late Lesslie Newbigin was widely regarded as one of this generation's most significant voices on Christianity in relation to modern society. The first set of chapters deals with Newbigin’s ideas about the kingdom of God in relation to the modern -- severely deficient -- idea of "progress." The second set of chapters deals mainly with the importance of Christian mission. In the last set, Newbigin wonders aloud how future generations will judge today's practice of abortion.