WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?
By Martin Goldsmith & Rosemary Harley
Authentic/OMF. 198 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978-1-85078-455-5
The buses that come out of Ipswich each morning heading for the BT centre at Martlesham are loaded with Indians. About 1,000 work there, all short-term contractors here for six months, then shipped back ‘offshore’. Welcome to multi-cultural Britain, and the biggest gospel opportunity imaginable.
But where do we start in trying to understand Hinduism, separate it out from Islam, not to mention Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, and the irrepressible JWs? (My long blacklisting by the local Kingdom Hall seems to have worn off!) Are we scared that we might mess up and make some huge cultural faux pas? More to the point, is there a way in for sharing the gospel with particular people groups that will work?
To answer these questions, this book is the essential place to start. It is worth the price just for the chapter on cultural understanding. Nowhere else will you find such a concise yet thorough treatment of the key elements of all major world religions, plus some wacky cults thrown in: Moonies, Christian Science et al. It also follows the Romans principle of ‘to the Jew first’ by giving a fascinating treatment of Judaism. Martin and Rosemary write from rich experience across Asia, and seem the ideal people to advise on how to sit down for a meal with someone from another culture and talk about spiritual things. The world lives on your doorstep. Buy this book and read it to understand your changing neighbourhood.
