James Edward Lesslie Newbigin (8 December 1909 – 30 January 1998) was a British

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, missiologist,

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and author. Though originally

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

within the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

, Newbigin spent much of his career serving as a missionary in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and became affiliated with the Church of South India and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

, becoming one of the Church of South India's first bishops. A prolific author who wrote on a wide range of theological topics, Newbigin is best known for his contributions to

missiology Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology, which began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century. History Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in the 19th century. It was ...

and

ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of the ...

. He is also known for his involvement in both the dialogue regarding

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

and the Gospel and Our Culture movement. Many scholars also believe his work laid the foundations for the contemporary missional church movement, and it is said his stature and range is comparable to the "Fathers of the Church".Wainwright, Geoffrey. ''Lesslie Newbigin: A Theological Life''. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. 2000. page v.

Biography

Early life and education

Newbigin was born in 1909 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. He was educated at

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...

, the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

boarding school in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

. He went to

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1928, during which time he converted to Christianity. Having graduated, he moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

to work with the Student Christian Movement (SCM) in 1931. He returned to Cambridge in 1933 to train for the ministry at Westminster College, and in July 1936 he was

by the Presbytery of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

to work as a

at the Madras Mission. A month later he married Helen Henderson, and in September 1936 they both set off for

where they had one son and three daughters. He also had a sister, Frances, who was a regular worshipper at Jesmond URC (formerly Presbyterian), Newcastle upon Tyne, in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.

Career as Bishop

In 1947, the fledgling Church of South India, an

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

church formed from several

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches, appointed Newbigin as one of their first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s in the

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

RamnadK. M. George, ''Church of South India: life in union, 1947-1997'', Jointly published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Christava Sahitya Samithi, Tiruvalla, 1999.

/ref> – a surprising career path for a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister. In 1959 he became the General Secretary of the

International Missionary Council The International Missionary Council (IMC) was an ecumenical Protestant missionary organization established in 1921, which in 1961, merged with the World Council of Churches (WCC), becoming the WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism.Arthur P ...

and oversaw its integration with the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

, of which he became Associate General Secretary. He remained in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

until 1965, when he returned to India as Bishop of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, where he stayed until he retired in 1974. He was a pacifist.

Career as lecturer and writer

Newbigin and his wife Helen left India in 1974 and made their way overland back to the UK using local buses, carrying two suitcases and a rucksack. They then settled in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, where Newbigin became a lecturer in Mission at the

Selly Oak Colleges Selly Oak Colleges was a federation of educational facilities which in the 1970s and 1980s was at the forefront of debates about ecumenism - the coming together of Christian churches and the creation of new united churches such as the Church of ...

for five years. Of the British denominations linked with the Church of South India, he chose to join the

(URC), which is the result of a merger which included the

Presbyterian Church of England The Presbyterian Church of England was a late-19th century and 20th century Presbyterian denomination in England. The church's origins lay in the 1876 merger of the English congregations of the chiefly Scottish United Presbyterian Church with vario ...

. In retirement he took on the pastorate of Winson Green URC, located opposite the gates of

HM Prison Birmingham HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was operated by G4S from 2011, before it was returned to HM Prison and Probation Service in August 2018. The government takeo ...

and supporting people visiting prisoners. He was

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

of the URC for the year 1978–9. During this time, he preached at

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

's Scottish Country House

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

and continued the prolific writing career that established him as one of the most respected and significant

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

of the twentieth century. He is especially remembered for the time after he returned to England from his long missionary service and travel, when he tried to communicate the serious need for the church to once again take the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

to post-Christian

Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

, which he viewed not as a secular society without gods but as a pagan society with false gods. From Newbigin's perspective, western cultures, particularly modern scientific cultures, had uncritically come to believe in objective knowledge that was unaffected by faith-based axiomatic presuppositions. Newbigin challenged these ideas of neutrality and also the closely related discussion concerning the distinction between facts and values, both of which emerged from the Enlightenment. It was during this time that he wrote two of his most important works, ''Foolishness to the Greeks'' and ''The Gospel in a Pluralist Society'' in which the strong influence of thinkers such as Alasdair MacIntyre and

Michael Polanyi Michael Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Mihály; 11 March 1891 – 22 February 1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy. He argued that positivism supplies ...

is apparent. He returned to these themes in his small volume ''Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship'', published in 1995, in the closing years of his life. Besides MacIntyre and Polanyi, the influence of

Martin Buber Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...

and

Hans Wilhelm Frei Hans Wilhelm Frei (April 29, 1922–September 12, 1988) was an American biblical scholar and theologian who is best known for work on biblical hermeneutics. Frei's work played a major role in the development of postliberal theology (also called ...

is also noticeable in Newbigin's work. ''Milestone'' In his mission time he influenced that first 'MERCY PETITION' for the people who wait for death punishment in independent India, Tamil Nadu.

Final years

After he retired, Newbigin regularly had theology students come over from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

to read chapters of theological texts to him since his vision had diminished. Despite his fading eyesight, he continued preaching; he told parishioners at St Paul's Church in nearby

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the borou ...

that when he preached, he would prepare his entire homily in his head long before he was scheduled to give it, and preach from memory.

Sydney Carter Sydney Bertram Carter (6 May 1915 – 13 March 2004) was an English poet, songwriter, and folk musician who was born in Camden Town, London. He is best known for the song " Lord of the Dance" (1967), whose music is based on the " Shaker Allegro ...

was a regular attender of the services when he preached. He died in

West Dulwich West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between S ...

, London, England on 30 January 1998 and was cremated at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

. At Newbigin's funeral service on 7 February 1998 his close friend Dr. Dan Beeby said, "Not too long ago, some children in Selly Oak were helped to see the world upside down when the aged bishop stood on his head! Not a single one of his many doctorates or his

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

fell out of his pockets. His episcopacy was intact."

Legacy

Theologian and Lesslie Newbigin historian

Geoffrey Wainwright Geoffrey Wainwright (1939 – 17 March 2020) was an English theologian. He spent much of his career in the United States and taught at Duke Divinity School. Wainwright made major contributions to modern Methodist theology and Christian liturgy, ...

commented that when the history of the 20th century church is written, Lesslie Newbigin should be considered one of the top ten or twelve most influential persons. In 2008,

Western Theological Seminary Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a private seminary located in Holland, Michigan. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. ...

in Holland, Michigan opened the Newbigin House of Studies with City Church San Francisco, focused specifically on leadership development of

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

. Lesslie Newbigin is honored with a

commemoration Commemoration may refer to: *Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion *Commemoration (liturgy) In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Li ...

on the

liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...

of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

January 29 Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler o ...

Bibliography

Autobiography

* ''Unfinished Agenda'', St Andrew's Press, 1993,

Major works

* ''A South India Diary'', SCM, 1951 (revised 1960) * ''The Household of God: Lectures on the Nature of the Church'', SCM, 1953 (reprinted Paternoster, 1998, ) * ''Sin and Salvation'', 1956, SCM * ''A Faith for this One World?'' (1961) * ''Trinitarian Doctrine for Today's Mission'', Edinburgh House Press, 1963, (reprinted Paternoster, 1998, ) * ''Honest Religion for Secular Man'', SCM, 1966 * ''The Finality of Christ'', SCM, 1969 * ''The Good Shepherd'', Faith Press, 1977 * ''The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission'', SPCK/Eerdmans, 1978, nd Edition, Eerdmans, 1995, * ''The Light Has Come'', Eerdmans, 1982, * ''The Other Side of 1984'', World Council of Churches, 1983, * ''Foolishness to the Greeks: Gospel and Western Culture'', Eerdmans/SPCK, 1986, * ''The Gospel in a Pluralist Society'', SPCK/Eerdmans/WCC, 1989, * ''Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth'', SPCK, 1991, * ''A Word in Season: Perspectives on Christian World Missions'', edited by Eleanor Jackson, Saint Andrew Press/Eerdmans, 1994, * ''Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship'', SPCK, 1995, * ''Truth and Authority in Modernity'', Gracewing Publishing, 1996, * ''Signs amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History'', edited and introduced by Geoffrey Wainwright, Eerdmans, 2003,

Popular works

* ''A Walk Through the Bible'', SPCK/Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, * ''Discovering Truth in a Changing World'', Alpha International, 2003, * ''Living Hope in a Changing World'', Alpha International, 2003,

References

External links

Over 250 texts by Newbigin and 50 responses to him, in a searchable database, at Newbigin.net

Biography at Newbigin.net

Extensive Newbigin-only bibliography at Newbigin.net

Newbigin Reading Room
– On-line texts by and on Lesslie Newbigin maintained by Donald Goertz, Tyndale Seminary

– Newbigin page and thei

page

from the Anglican Communion News Service, 18 February 1998
Obituary; The Right Rev Lesslie Newbigin
''The (London) Independent'', 4 February 1998 by H. Dan Beeby.

List of audio of Bishop Newbigin's sermons available online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newbigin, Lesslie 1909 births 1998 deaths Missiologists Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English Presbyterian missionaries Calvinist pacifists British Christian theologians 20th-century Protestant theologians 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland People educated at Leighton Park School Anglican bishops of Madras Presbyterian missionaries in India Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Scottish Presbyterian missionaries United Reformed Church ministers Anglican saints Anglican bishops of Madurai-Ramnad