Abstract
This is a difficult and confusing book about an important subject. Adams creates an important dialogue between John Hick and Leslie Newbigin in relation to their very different views of dialogue with other faiths. It is also an attempt at a new Christology based on the insights of Andrew Shanks and Peter Hodgson from which he defines Jesus as ‘The Shaken One’. Jesus is He who shakes us out of our and others’ preconceived ideas and so that we can seek a common humanity. However I do not find the language of Jesus the Shaken one very productive. We are more familiar with the idea of God the disturber, which strikes me as more biblical.
His analysis of the writings of Hick and Newbigin is very constructive and he makes telling points about the inadequacies of the theology of both. He begins with helpful brief biographies of both writers, which already begins to show where they are coming from. In his criticism of Newbigin he relies heavily on the book A Scandalous Prophet, which are the papers from a conference on Newbigin’s theology held in Birmingham in 1998. It is interesting, as Werner Ustorf pointed out, that Hock and Newbigin never had a dialogue with each other in spite of the fact they were both in Birmingham. After two chapters dealing with the differing theologies, Adams offers a more radical view than both, based on the Christologies of Dunn and Theissen. This is followed by three chapters looking at how this relates to the other within, the other beyond, and the invisible other. He is passionately seeking new ways for Christians to enter into common humanity and share in a wider world, but one in which we are all shaken and disturbed.
This is not a book for beginners. It assumes a wide knowledge of contemporary theology and of the theologians working in the field of interfaith dialogue. He also has an annoying habit of introducing new names and new theological approaches on almost every page without giving any background. However, those who are willing to work hard will be rewarded with new insights. The author would have done himself and his readers a great service if he had summarised his argument at the beginning, in words void of technical language and open to the ordinary reader. It is very rare for a book reviewer to find himself quoted in a book he is reviewing. However I do find myself quoted in this book, but would be happier if he had spelt my name correctly!