# “The only hermeneutic of the gospel” by Lesslie Newbigin

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2008/09/29/the-only-hermeneutic-of-the-gospel-by-lesslie-newbigin/
- Published: 2008-09-29T12:55:13-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“I have come to feel that the primary reality of which we have to take account in
seeking for a Christian impact on public life is the Christian congregation. How
is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe
that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man 
hanging on a cross?

I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation
of men and women who believe it and live by it. I am, of course, not denying the
importance of the many activities by which we seek to challenge public life with
the gospel– evangelistic campaigns, distribution of Bibles and Christian literature,
conferences, and even books such as this one.

But I am saying that these are all secondary, and that they have power to accomplish
their purpose only as they are rooted in and lead back to a believing community.”

–Lesslie Newbigin, _The Gospel in a Pluralist Society _(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1989), 227.

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