Truth to Tell: The Gospel As Public Truth (Osterhaven Lecture)

Rating:
Summary: Insightful, thoughtful, and clearly written
Review: Newbigin brings a solid grasp of the history of thought to his insightful analysis of the contemporary scene. This book is written in an extremely clear manner and is a pleasure to read. Newbigin takes the ideas of Michael Polanyi, a philosopher of science whose thinking had tremendous theological implications, and shows how we can benefit greatly from his philosophical approach. Newbigin analyzes typical arguments from both liberals and conservatives and shows that at many times they both rest on similar flawed assumption. Newbigin also maintains a high view of truth and a strong focus on Christ. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in communicating the gospel clearly in a postmodern culture.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful, thoughtful, and clearly written
Review: Newbigin brings a solid grasp of the history of thought to his insightful analysis of the contemporary scene. This book is written in an extremely clear manner and is a pleasure to read. Newbigin takes the ideas of Michael Polanyi, a philosopher of science whose thinking had tremendous theological implications, and shows how we can benefit greatly from his philosophical approach. Newbigin analyzes typical arguments from both liberals and conservatives and shows that at many times they both rest on similar flawed assumption. Newbigin also maintains a high view of truth and a strong focus on Christ. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in communicating the gospel clearly in a postmodern culture.

Rating:
Summary: The Truth Above All Else
Review: Newbigin gives a daunting challenge in this work for the Christian church. As a church leader I found in this book a provocative challenge to speak the truth in the face of a pluralistic culture that holds up relativism and humanism as gods to be honored. Newbigin calls us to speak the truth which is Jesus the Christ and also warns of aligning ourselves with the political agendas of the right or the left but to remain centered on the truth. This is a must read for all who are unsure what the church is to be and what message it needs to speak to our society.

Rating:
Summary: The Truth Above All Else
Review: Newbigin gives a daunting challenge in this work for the Christian church. As a church leader I found in this book a provocative challenge to speak the truth in the face of a pluralistic culture that holds up relativism and humanism as gods to be honored. Newbigin calls us to speak the truth which is Jesus the Christ and also warns of aligning ourselves with the political agendas of the right or the left but to remain centered on the truth. This is a must read for all who are unsure what the church is to be and what message it needs to speak to our society.

Rating:
Summary: Newbigin Tells the Truth
Review: This is a superb little book on the nature of Christian truth and proclamation. Newbigin is one of those rare thinkers who is able to penetrate the common mistakes and either-ors that so many others fail to recognize.

In this insightful book, Newbigin brilliantly shows the inseperable relationship between faith and knowing. For everyone, even the scientist, all acts of knowing require a subjective faith commitment. Despite the way the modern scientific worldview is presented as being "objective" and "value-free", Newbigin shows that is is jsut as faith based and subjective as any religion.

With this understanding of knowledge as faith established, Newbigin goes on to examine what it means for Christians to embody the truth of the gospel in the church and before the powers. What follows is an excellent account of the nature of Christian truth, its necessary embodiment in the church and bold procalmation before Caesar. This book serves as a good introduction to Newbigin's work as well as being a good book on Christian truth and proclamation. Highly recommended.