Lesslie Newbigin gives two reasons for his deliberate emphasis on the word "truth" throughout the book. First, he challenges the current perspective of modern societies "that the Christian Church is not so much a source of true knowledge as it is an agency which stands for good values" (pg. 2). Second, he notes that "the society in which we have to affirm the gospel is marked by a prevailing skepticism about the possibility of knowing truth" (pg. 2-3). His concerns are epistemological in nature.

In chapter one, "Believing and Knowing the Truth," Newbigin fingers the dualism of Renee Descartes as the root of modern society's intellectual dichotomy. Descartes' fatal flaw is that "he sought a basis of certainty in his own mind and not in the faithfulness of God" (pg. 27). Newbigin calls for a return to Augustine's intellectual starting point as expressed in his dictum, Credo ut intelligam, "I believe that I may understand" (pg. 31).

In chapter two, "Affirming the Truth in the Church," Newbigin anticipates a negative reaction to his call for a return to God's revelation in Jesus Christ as "the starting point for true thinking about the world and the human situation" (pg. 41). He finds an ally in M. Polanyi's effort "to reform the epistemological basis of science…against the illusion that we can evade personal responsibility for our assertions of truth" (pg. 51).

In chapter three, "Speaking the Truth to Caesar," Newbigin explores further "the question of what might be involved in the attempt to prove the validity and power of the Christian faith in the public life of the nation" (pg. 66). Drawing upon the example of the Barmen Declaration, Newbigin calls upon the Church to be faithful to expose the false ideologies of modern culture even at the risk of persecution from Caesar.

Newbigin originally delivered the material in this book as the Osterhaven Lectures at Western Theological Seminary on "the mission of the Church to modernity" (pg. 1).

Reviewed by: Steve Faivre