Non-modern
In a world transitioning from a Modern to a Postmodern outlook, Christianity needs to remember that it is Non-Modern.
Postmodernism is more than a trend, more than a passing fad. It is a philosophical Worldview. It is a paradigm through which several fads and trends have been developed. For the past 100 years it has slowly been growing and becoming the dominate Worldview in the western world. Like it or not, it is here until the next Paradigm is developed and gains the dominate hold on culture. How long will that take? It is anyone’s guess, but Modernism, the previous manner of looking at the world, had its roots in the Enlightenment and has not completely given way to Postmodernism yet, so it will be quite some time.
How does the Christian approach Postmodernism? It has been said that a person cannot be both Postmodern and Christian at the same time. However, Christianity transcends philosophical frameworks. Modernism and its teachings are very anti-Christian, and yet some of the greatest Christian thinkers of the twentieth century (Lewis, Schaeffer and others) were very Modern in their writings. Perhaps it should be said that they found effective ways to communicate transcendent truth to the Modern world. The same thing must be done for the Postmodern Worldview. While many of its aspects are anti-Christian and false understandings of the world, there are other aspects that can be used to show the world truth.
This is not a call to make Christianity Postmodern. It is a recognition that Christianity is Non-Modern… Pre-modern. More importantly, Christianity is reality. As such, any honest seeker of the truth should be able to find it. The key is to adapt the Worldview to reality, not change reality to fit a particular view of the world.
Postmodernism is more than a trend, more than a passing fad. It is a philosophical Worldview. It is a paradigm through which several fads and trends have been developed. For the past 100 years it has slowly been growing and becoming the dominate Worldview in the western world. Like it or not, it is here until the next Paradigm is developed and gains the dominate hold on culture. How long will that take? It is anyone’s guess, but Modernism, the previous manner of looking at the world, had its roots in the Enlightenment and has not completely given way to Postmodernism yet, so it will be quite some time.
How does the Christian approach Postmodernism? It has been said that a person cannot be both Postmodern and Christian at the same time. However, Christianity transcends philosophical frameworks. Modernism and its teachings are very anti-Christian, and yet some of the greatest Christian thinkers of the twentieth century (Lewis, Schaeffer and others) were very Modern in their writings. Perhaps it should be said that they found effective ways to communicate transcendent truth to the Modern world. The same thing must be done for the Postmodern Worldview. While many of its aspects are anti-Christian and false understandings of the world, there are other aspects that can be used to show the world truth.
This is not a call to make Christianity Postmodern. It is a recognition that Christianity is Non-Modern… Pre-modern. More importantly, Christianity is reality. As such, any honest seeker of the truth should be able to find it. The key is to adapt the Worldview to reality, not change reality to fit a particular view of the world.
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