From Lausanne to Manila: Evangelical Social Thought: Models of Missions and the Social Relevance of

by Jacob Thomas

This is a good book, well worth reading. The first four chapters provide an historical overview of evangelical attitudes toward and proclamations about the social dimension of the gospel. The final chapter provides a preliminary evaluation of three basic ethical models for approaching social concerns.

With a Foreword by John Stott. ISPCK [Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge], P.O. Box 1585, 1654 Madarsa Road, Kashmere Gate, Dehli-110006, India, 2003, 220 pages, $15.00.

—Reviewed by Timothy Paul Erdel, Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana; MK from Ecuador and former missionary to Jamaica (1987-1993).

This is a good book, well worth reading. The first four chapters provide an historical overview of evangelical attitudes toward and proclamations about the social dimension of the gospel. The final chapter provides a preliminary evaluation of three basic ethical models for approaching social concerns.

Chapter one recalls the social activism of many nineteenth century evangelicals, followed by “the great reversal” as evangelicals reacted against the “social gospel.” Thomas then traces the impact of seven pivotal evangelical meetings: Wheaton 1966, Berlin 1966, Minneapolis 1969, Bogotá 1969 (CLADE I), Frankfurt 1970, Chicago 1973 and Lausanne 1974. Western evangelicals frequently viewed social action with suspicion. Samuel Escobar (Bogotá) and Tom Skinner (Minneapolis) insisted social issues are a priority in mission along with evangelism. Their emphasis on social responsibility was kept alive in Chicago and at Lausanne.

Chapter two notes the mostly negative evangelical responses to ecumenical conferences at Uppsala 1968 and Bangkok 1973, though Thomas assesses them more positively. In addition to Lausanne 1974, consultations at Pasadena in 1977 and at Willowbank, Bermuda in 1978 pushed evangelicals to keep grappling with social concerns. René Padilla emerged as a forceful critic of the homogeneous unit principle at the Pasadena consultation.

Chapter three documents evangelical voices from the Two-thirds world that gained strength at regional conferences in Madras 1979, in Lima 1979 (CLADE II) and in Soweto 1985. Nevertheless, even in settings marked by overwhelming social crises, the call for social transformation as part of the Good News was somewhat muted.

Chapter four continues the parade of evangelical meetings: London 1980, Pattaya 1980, Grand Rapids 1982, Wheaton 1983 and Manila 1989 (Lausanne II). Social issues moved increasingly to the fore, and yet Western evangelical leaders still hesitated to acknowledge their full significance.

Chapter five evaluates three evangelical approaches to social concerns: the Kingdom ethic, the Creation ethic and the ethic of transformation. While acknowledging genuine strengths in the first two, Thomas suggests that both now also carry negative connotations. For example, the doctrine of Apartheid was grounded in appeals to the Creation ethic.

From Lausanne to Manila causes readers to reflect on a number of difficult questions. For instance, why have Western theological concerns been so driven by reactions to the World Council of Churches rather than by a whole-hearted, biblical affirmation of the whole gospel for the whole person in a social context? The author is Indian and the book was published in India, but the irony is that so many First world perspectives fill its pages, if only to be rejected. Finally, even if the author is on the right track, the book serves primarily as a historical prelude to an ethic of transformation. That ethic has yet to be fully articulated.

Check these titles:
Mott, Stephen Charles. 1982. Biblical Ethics and Social Change. New York: Oxford University Press.

Noëlliste, Dieuméme. 1987. “The Church and Human Emancipation: A Critical Comparison of Liberation Theology and the Latin American Theological Fraternity.” Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern University.

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