Christianity and Postmodernism
I used to have a poster in my office with a picture of a couple of Orangutans. It said, “I know you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” This sentiment sums up the difficulty of Christianity and Postmodernism.
Christian apologist, Josh McDowell aptly describes Postmodernism as “A worldview characterized by the belief that truth doesn’t exist in any objective sense but is created rather than discovered.” It is the kind of thinking that led to statements in the 1960s like this, “I believe what I believe and you believe what you believe and if we happen to agree that’s wonderful.” Postmodernism is what allows a president to say, “It depends on what you mean by ‘is’.” It is the philosophy that allowed ENRON to borrow money and call it income.
In recent years there have been clashes and divisions in several Mainline Christian denominations over matters of Church Doctrine. These have mostly been over issues of sexuality. However, they have really been the result of traditional orthodox thinking running smack into Christians with a postmodern world view. In debate after debate both sides walk away frustrated because they use the same words but mean different things. They are talking past one another and no one is really listening.
In the late 1990s I was in a meeting of Episcopal clergy. The newly elected Presiding Bishop had come to Jacksonville Florida to calm the fears of some clergy in a relatively conservative area of the church. In his address he made reference to the Bible passage from the Gospel of John that says the “Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth.” The difficulty for many in the audience that day was they clearly understood he did not mean “the truth”: a fixed body of knowledge or beliefs, as in Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Rather, it was evident he believed truth was an ever changing, moving target the Holy Spirit might help us keep in sight.
Christianity has always had a challenge to be in but not of its cultural settings. We have to come to terms with postmodernism even as the church had to relate to modernism in the past. However, it is not going to be easy. Rigid literal Bible interpretation is going to become more and more marginalized and insignificant. On the other hand, total embracing of postmodernism will make the Gospel message irrelevant. Like Solomon we need to pray for a wise and discerning heart to share a Gospel that is “true” in all times and places.
I wrote this article about 10 years ago. Much has changed and not for the better. The post modernists have morphed into the WOKE Cancel Culture, they now deny the obvious truth of men and women as uniquely different and immutable sexes. Recently it has been reported that one can have their official birth certificate retroactively changed to the opposite sex. Meanwhile traditional families are under pressure. There is a significant decline in the birth rate and childless couples.
The church always struggles to be in but not off the culture. So, stand firm in your traditional understanding of the faith.
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