Torch, Fall/Winter 2012

Isn’t this a good thing? Well, yes, challenging the errors of modernism was certainly necessary. On the other hand, the consequences of this shift strike at the very foundation of biblical truth. And these negative aspects of postmodernism are what most people view as dangerous elements for our culture and the Church. The pendulum has swung from legalism to extreme lenience. For instance: • Many postmoderns reject the existence of an overriding worldview that explains everything. They feel that individuals have the right and duty to explain the world only through the lens of their own existence and experience. As a result, they believe there is no objective truth that everyone can discover. • Postmoderns are suspicious of any person or group that tells them it has the answers to life. This is considered an attempt to control people by controlling their thinking. • Many postmoderns claim there are no authoritative interpretations of any text, particularly the Bible. They What Is Postmodernism? Postmodernism is the cultural ocean we all swim in. We see it every day in shopping malls, Internet surfing, American Idol, Facebook, South Park , 24-hour news channels, movies on demand, pulp fiction, iPods, instant messaging, and David Letterman. Academics describe it as skepticism, subjectivity, literary deconstruction, and post-structural architecture. Many Christians get fire in their eyes and breathe out smoke whenever they hear the word “postmodernism.” And they have good reason. But before we get too bent out of shape over postmodernism, we need to remember that modernism was no friend to Christianity either. We lived in modernism for so long we became accustomed to it and allowed it to frame much of Christian thought and practice. In many ways, postmodernism is a rejection of this modernist perspective. We cannot think of postmodernism as a seamless garment of beliefs but rather as a collection of different assumptions about life, the world, and our experience that challenge the modern framework. would say that writings are meant to be individually interpreted. Whatever the author intended in the past is not nearly as important as a person’s personal encounter with the text in the present. The negative aspects of postmodernism are steeped in moral relativism, rebellion, and individualism. Nothing new here. What is new is the acceleration and breadth of the postmodern mood aided by information technology — particularly the Internet — so that each person becomes independent of everyone else as a “stand-alone center” for truth and morality. This individual focus is postmodernism’s most obvious practical characteristic. I call this the “for you” approach to truth. Just add “for you” to every truth statement someone makes, and you have the essence of practical postmodernism: God exists … “for you.” The Bible is the Word of God … “for you.” Jesus is the only way to God … “for you.” Sex outside of marriage is wrong … “for you.” Fall–Winter 2008 3