twenty-three

Well, I feel like I’ve got postmodernism down now. That wasn’t too tough. Next philosophical movement, please.

I finally finished Stanley Grenz’s Primer on Postmodernism and while I’m no where near understanding even 1/2 of what he said, or what the philosophers and writers he covers in this book meant, I feel like I have a little better grasp on some of the implications of the movement. And, I’m excited. I’m excited to think that there may be people who believe that cut-and-dry, rational perceptions of our world may not actually be the complete picture. I’m excited for some of the implications this book/movement has on things like community. And while it’s just a start and the book is about ten years old, I’m excited about how Grenz talks about the Gospel within the context of postmodernism. I know that a lot of people in the Church have taken his words and those others like him to heart and have begun developing ways to reach the emerging postmodern community with the Gospel. So, I’ll try to touch on some of the things this book made me think about, but I do recommend if you’re interested in this stuff, to check the book out.

First, I think that reading this book has given me a better grasp on the language of postmodernism. Grenz dives straight into the
philosophers who employed concepts like differance and  deconstruction,
drawing a clearer picture for me on what these ideas mean. I don’t know
if it would be wise for me to try and explain these concepts, but I’ll
basically just say that by getting an overview of many postmodern
philosophers ideas, I have a better understanding of why the movement
to turn the Enlightenment on its head came about and what we are to do
with it.  (I’ve included a couple of quotes from the book at the end of this post, things that struck me as interesting and ways to think about the language of postmodernism).

Most fascinating in this exploration is the history and the development of the philosophy. Moving out of the Enlightenment (Bacon, Kant,
Nietszche), there began to be critiques of the ideas of objective,
rational concepts of knowing and of self. The idea of an objective observer in
science or the completely rational man began to be challenged. Many of
these challenges focused on the fact that the Enlightenment project had
used knowledge for power, raising up those who had the
knowledge above those who didn’t. Others observed how even though we
try to make rational judgements and decisions based on "all the facts"
we still operate within a context and within the concepts/ideas that
have shaped us and therefore we cannot be completely objective. Once
the Enlightenment man is torn down and exposed for his flaws, there
seems to be a new world opened up for thought and our perceptions of
the world.

Grenz takes the ideas of postmodernism, gives them a very fair
shake, and then offers his perspective on how Christianity should face
and deal with this change in philosophy. Ideas like doing away with
centralized systems of truth seem to fly in the face of our faith that
talks about God as the center and His word as our guide. This must be
dealt with and challenged in many ways. "Our commitment to the God
revealed in Christ compels us to stand squarely against at least one
aspect or outworking of the radical skepticism of postmodernism: the
loss of a ‘center’." (164) God must remain our center, even if our
perspectives and contexts differ and therefore give us the feeling that
a unifying force of truth is not applicable.

With this "standing our ground" statement made, Grenz turns to
discussing some of the very valuable aspects of our transition to a
postmodern Christianity. For one, the tearing down of our deeply
individualistic perception of self (objective, no need for a
transcendance) helps us become more community minded people.
We become more aware of others, because they their perceptions, their
stories, and their influences shape our lives. The Christian community
can be elevated by the postmodern movement because it places value in
the formation of knowledge through our experiences, shared experiences.

While I may never be able to wrap my head around these ideas, it is clear to me that something is taking place in our world that will change the way we look at pretty much everything. As Christians, we are called to effectively carry the message of the gospel to the world, so if we want to remain effective in the postmodern world, we need to know what it is and live as a part of it. This means thinking critically about the message it sends, examining the new concepts of truth and knowledge against what God’s truth and knowledge look like. And it also means looking at the Bible, at how the Holy Spirit is active in our lives today and being willing to be open to reevaluating our interpretations for better, more godly interpretations. "Our task as Christ’s disciples is to embody and articulate the never-changing good news of available salvation in a manner that the emerging generation can understand." It’s not about changing the truth of the message, but seeing the message within this new framework. I know a lot of people are attempting to do this these days. Groups like Emergent or authors like Brian McLaren (I guess the two are one-in-the-same at times) are opening themselves up to fresh perspectives on God in the postmodern world and are seeing some great things. As I said before, this stuff gets me excited.

I hope that while I haven’t given anything like a complete book report here, that this will challenge you to investigate these ideas and be open to the ways that God will move within Christians who have begun living in the postmodern world.

A couple quotes:
"Of course, relativism and pluralism are not new. But the postmodern variety differs from the older forms. The relativistic pluralism of late modernity was highly individualistic; it elevated personal taste and personal choice as the be-all and end-all. Its maxims were ‘to each his/her own,’ and ‘everyone has a right to his/her own opinion.’
"The postmodern consciousness, in contrast, focuses on the group. Postmoderns live in self-contained social groups, each of which has its own language, beliefs, and values. As a result, postmodern relativistic pluralism seeks to give place to the ‘local’ nature of truth. Beliefs are held to be true within the context of the communities that espouse them." (15)

Discussing Foucault’s ideas on history:
"Like all forms of human discourse, says Foucault, history can make no claims to being value-free or neutral. He denies that the desire to know the past is driven by a disinterested quest for knowledge and truth; he argues that it arises out of the desire to domesticate and control the past in order to validate present structures." (133)

One Response to “A Primer on Postmodernism”