jpinnix/@SayersMark Newbigin thread

## @SayersMark Newbigin thread
@SayersMark
9 tweets - 12 Mar 2018
SayersMark/status/973321200179953665

Much of Lessie Newbigin’s work was to convince the Church in the West that they no longer lived in the context of Christendom, but rather in a pluralist society. In which no particular belief was held up above others, and in which all ideologies were subject to critique.

Yet a cursory glance across our news & social media, show us a reality which no longer seems like a society where all views, ideologies & beliefs are treated the same. A singular route to justice, and reading of the worlds ills is advocated in a way that assumes its supremacy.

‘Diversity’ & ‘inclusion’ are invoked, but increasingly inclusion into ‘polite society’ is only achieved by those who acquiesce to the one preferred stream of Western thought which is beyond critique. Thus it seems that we have moved away from pluralism to a single ideology.

And because this singular vision of preferred thought assumes its own dominance, its advocacy of diversity & embrace of multiculturalism is exposed as existing on shaky ground, as globalisation places it next to other competing beliefs & visions of justice and flourishing.

Yet when we move from the news media and online world to the reality of the globalised multicultural street of the West, we see that the dominant ideology is not held as sumpreme here. Pluralism still reigns and grows at street level.

The preferred ideology favours digital silos and monocultural neighbourhoods, whereas the real world of the pluralistic street, workplace or suburb is a place of compromise, embodied living & thick relationality, a hard place for the ideology to operate & live unchallenged.

Thus I can’t help but wonder that globalisation and multiculturalism presents a much greater threat to the dominance of the preferred ideology than the push back of populism. And it’s increased censoriousness attests to a deep insecurity at the difficulty of achieving its aims

Thus despite the seeming dominance of the preferred ideology with its implicit and explicit hostility to faith, the growing reality of street level pluralism means that for the church, Newbigin’s challenge of positioning itself for life in a multicultural society still stands.

The good news is that street level pluralism, a place of embodied living & relationality, is precisely where the way of Jesus and the biblical vision of church grows and flourishes. What seems like a moment of marginalisation is actually an incredible missional opportunity.
	@SayersMark
	9 tweets - 12 Mar 2018
	SayersMark/status/973321200179953665

	Much of Lessie Newbigin’s work was to convince the Church in the West that they no longer lived in the context of Christendom, but rather in a pluralist society. In which no particular belief was held up above others, and in which all ideologies were subject to critique.

	Yet a cursory glance across our news & social media, show us a reality which no longer seems like a society where all views, ideologies & beliefs are treated the same. A singular route to justice, and reading of the worlds ills is advocated in a way that assumes its supremacy.

	‘Diversity’ & ‘inclusion’ are invoked, but increasingly inclusion into ‘polite society’ is only achieved by those who acquiesce to the one preferred stream of Western thought which is beyond critique. Thus it seems that we have moved away from pluralism to a single ideology.

	And because this singular vision of preferred thought assumes its own dominance, its advocacy of diversity & embrace of multiculturalism is exposed as existing on shaky ground, as globalisation places it next to other competing beliefs & visions of justice and flourishing.

	Yet when we move from the news media and online world to the reality of the globalised multicultural street of the West, we see that the dominant ideology is not held as sumpreme here. Pluralism still reigns and grows at street level.

	The preferred ideology favours digital silos and monocultural neighbourhoods, whereas the real world of the pluralistic street, workplace or suburb is a place of compromise, embodied living & thick relationality, a hard place for the ideology to operate & live unchallenged.

	Thus I can’t help but wonder that globalisation and multiculturalism presents a much greater threat to the dominance of the preferred ideology than the push back of populism. And it’s increased censoriousness attests to a deep insecurity at the difficulty of achieving its aims

	Thus despite the seeming dominance of the preferred ideology with its implicit and explicit hostility to faith, the growing reality of street level pluralism means that for the church, Newbigin’s challenge of positioning itself for life in a multicultural society still stands.

	The good news is that street level pluralism, a place of embodied living & relationality, is precisely where the way of Jesus and the biblical vision of church grows and flourishes. What seems like a moment of marginalisation is actually an incredible missional opportunity.