Preface
The following chapters are a somewhat expanded version of the Warfield Lectures given at Princeton Theological Seminary in March 1984. I am deeply grateful to Dr. James McCord, then president of the seminary, who did me the honor of inviting me to give these lectures and to President Gillespie and his colleagues on the faculty who received me with the greatest kindness and hospitality.
At the time I received the invitation I had recently written a small pamphlet entitled “The Other Side of 1984,” an invitation to the British churches to a more forthright missionary encounter with contemporary British culture, and was much occupied with the resulting discussion. I therefore decided to use this invitation as an opportunity to develop more fully the message of that booklet. This book is the result.
It would be impossible to acknowledge the many debts I owe to friends who have helped me in trying to understand what would be involved by a more explicit missionary encounter with our culture. I hesitate to name any of them lest it might appear that they had some responsibility for my errors. However, I must acknowledge the kindness of Dr. David Ford and Professor Colin Gunton, who read a first draft and made helpful suggestions, and of Dr. Arthur Peacocke, who read and saved me from one substantial error. The was prepared by Mrs. Hazel Clawley. And, once again, I must express my debt to Verleigh Cant who, with unfailing skill and patience, converted my illegible writing into lucid type.
LESSLIE NEWBIGIN
Selly Oak
Advent 1985