The Postmodern.
I haven’t met a single person who has really been able to define postmodernism (aside from Driscoll or Sweet, who I have yet to meet in person, so they don’t count).
Most of my experience or consideration of postmodern thinking has been through the lens of the local church, so I’m sure that fuels the problem of finding a clear definition; my exposure has been limited by the fact that I’ve been pulling from a very small pool of opinions.
It’s understandable then, that I was so shocked to find a such a dead-on description of postmodern thought while reading about graphic designers on TheDesignEncyclopedia.org.
From the article…
Postmodernism, or more accurately The Postmodern, was (is) a period of art / culture / theory starting at some point after the 1950s and extending until today, or ending in 1989 or at some point in-between…
Right. umm… what?
…If that seems unreasonably vague that is because The Postmodern was not a traditional movement. The defining characteristic of any “ism” is a set of core beliefs and axioms from which a greater movement is built and expressed. While The Postmodern had a set of shared themes and philosophies there was no unifying ground work to build on. Because of this it is difficult for Postmodernism to make a positive statement. It is skilled at critique and tearing down but not at building up meaning. Because of this, the major defining factors of The Postmodern is style and technique not meaning…
…Where Modernism believed in the universal spirit of man, The Postmodern sees that as diversity-destroying, non-pluralistic, overly-rational, and dangerous. While Modernism believed in purity and truth and rational thinking, The Postmodern saw all things as being skewed by the economic-cultural-historical-gendered perspective of all readers and writers.
- Modernism: Symbols as metaphors for deeper truths.
- Postmodernism: Symbols as stylistic devices that have no deeper truth.
(because there is no deeper truth)[emphasis mine]
I had a long conversation about religion with a non-believing-close friend a while back. In the course of our conversation, I think I actually gave him a three-point sermon on the ‘history of sin’ and ‘why Jesus had to die’ and wrapping up with ‘how to be saved.’
His response was, “What if I just don’t believe it?”
I was totally unprepared. “…Well, um…you just have to believe it. You just have to have more faith, and it’ll work out in the end… don’t you wanna just pray now?!”
This article is a great starting point for deeper conversations. Our society isn’t so simple that we can just say ‘read your Bible and pray’.
We have to be prepared with an answer.
Our society begins with disbelief. With the cultural swing from modern to postmodern, our methods have to move as well. The message is sacred and unchanging, but the method has to constantly evolve.
[Link: TheDesignEncyclopedia.org]
Tagged as emerging church movement, postmodernism + Categorized as Ministry/Christianity, Culture
Actually, dealing with the Postmodern thinker (who does not believe in absolutes) is all the more reason to use the facts. There is such a thing as Truth, it can be known, and the Truth is going to change your life for the better. Just because the Postmodern thinker doesn’t believe in absolutes doesn’t make absolutes (or Truth) non-existent. There is a deep level of deception in post-modern thinking that does not accept absolutes.
if you want to learn about postmodernism i’d recommend a primer on postmodernism by stanley grenz. too many christians mistake postmodernism with relativism. they aren’t the same animal.
See, this is interesting to me. There really is no way to ‘prove’ the existence of God. There are no facts associated with Creation or that Jesus is the Son of God. So when someone says “..what if you just don’t believe?” how do you prepare?
I don’t think this statement has anything to do with The Postmodern or any place in between. It’s just a question that’s been asked for centuries. There’s no right answer. You either believe or you don’t. Proof (and facts) come from experience, not from someone telling you. I never believed until I experienced. I have proof for myself, but it’s not sufficient enough to make anyone who hasn’t been there understand it. Agree or disagree, I thought I’d share my two cents.
I agree with both statements (Nate & Sam).
Truth is absolute. God existence is not based on our belief in Him. Rather, our existence is based on God’s patience and mercy over all mankind. So, I totally agree with Nate in that sense…
But I think Sam, you got more of the angle I was talking about… we can’t just tell someone about God. At times, yes it will work to just tell them. But when they are rooted so deeply in disbelief or doubt, we have to help them SEE, and not just hear.
So it goes deeper than just saying “BELIEVE.”
In our society, it can take a lot more work. It’s not always a clean gospel presentation with smiles and hugs. Sometimes it takes time to work through what people have learned and the thoughts about God that have developed - especially the negative thoughts about God that come up as a result of televangelists and the ‘American church’.
It will involve letting ourselves become vulnerable, opening up and helping them EXPERIENCE God, not just hear about Him.