Foolishness to the Greeks-Part 2

Chapter 2 of Foolishness to the Greeks is entitled "Profile of a Culture." Building on the truism that a missionary must know his culture, Newbigin wonders how a missionary from Western culture can reach the nations characterized by Western culture. He suggests that listening to other cultures is a beginning point, but acknowledges that language barriers make this an unlikely place to start. So he suggests analysis of Western culture's genesis: the Enlightenment.

Newbigin describes the Enlightenment as the collective sigh of Europeans (at least the thinking ones) as they were liberated from the darkness of superstition and ignorance that characterized much of the Medieval period of European history. There were many contributing factors to the Enlightenment such as the translation of Aristotle into Latin, the rise of universities, renaissance learning, reformation tumult, advances in science (particularly by Newton), and Descartes' philosophy. In the author's opinion, Newtonian science is the most important. His discoveries in science based on cause and effect forever changed the way humans looked at their surroundings. According to Newbigin, the result of Newton's work was the rejection of "purpose" as a category for understanding physics and astronomy. The new means of explanation came from cause and effect, so much so that identifying the cause became synonymous with explanation. There was neither need for or ability to identify the purpose behind natural occurrences that operated according to mathematical laws. Scientists could discover these laws by the use of reason: analysis and mathematical reconstruction.

This method of analysis soon spread to all levels of society and all aspects of life. No longer was it only applied to science; soon every area of life was subjected to the scientific method. Newbigin thinks this is the key for understanding contemporary (as of 1986) Western culture. The basis for all that we see is the dismissal of "purpose" as a valid category for interpreting reality. All that humans are left with is cause and effect. And yet, Newbigin points out, purpose remains a vital aspect of human existence. So, modern Western culture is forced to make a division between public and private, fact and value. The cause and effect process of science leads to hard, "value-free" facts as opposed to the intensely private values of individuals. The one (fact) holds absolute sway and authority in the public arena while values are relegated to the private sphere and wield no universal authority.

This absolute dichotomy robs modern Western culture of any basis for making value statements about how citizens "ought" to behave. The right to pursue happiness takes as many different forms as there are people--and no one has the right or ability to distinguish what is good or not. Scientific "fact" must be submitted to by all, but values must be restricted to personal preference.

This, Newbigin, argues is the modern Western mindset that has grown out of the Enlightenment. Reason reigns and everything else must submit. But, Newbigin asks, "what if this is not reality?" What if there is a God who has made all things and is calling every person to loving devotion? Could it be that modern Western culture for the past 250 years has been living in an illusion? Is the present decay of society a sign of that illusory dream?

That is as far as the author takes us in this 20 page chapter. Next, Newbigin explores the Bible and its authority.