Christians and Postmodernity

One of the things that I haven’t tackled greatly so far is the issue of postmodernity.  Last week I spent alot of time setting up reasoning for the study of eschatology and why I feel that it is important in our current social milieu.  I do want to take a couple of posts now and asking some questions and think about the greater idea of postmodernity and how it is involved with Eschatology.

At its root level, postmodernity is a reaction to the era of modernity in Western culture.  The modern era is generally described as a cooperation with rationalism and enlightenment.  In plainspeak, this means that society lifted up prove-able and quantifiable data.  Also, society began to believe in the power of humanity, instead of a divine being that created and controlled the world.  This was mainly due to philosophic developments that influenced the greater arena of culture.

One of my favorite quotes regarding the issue of modernity comes from Robert Jenson was mentioned in my previous post of Pop Culture and Eschatology.  This is part of a greater article relaying how our world is now coming to the realization that it has no narrative of its own.  We are bankrupt and have no story line.

Many Christians are weary of the idea of postmodernity and there are a great deal of confusions regarding the theory.  There are no “postmoderns” in relation to people, or a “postmodern generation”.  This is a societal shift in reaction to the Enlightenment and Rationalism, not a clique or particular type of people.  While the last 20 years of engagement with postmodernity have been among Scholars and people that read philosophy and theology, we are starting to see true societal integration. 

The most postmodern person I know is a 14 year old male from Eastern Kentucky.  I say this not because of his intelligence, or his ability to think in a non-linear manner....but because of the many conversations I have had with him regarding good and evil.

Like many of his friends, he is his own plumbline of truth.  What is best for him is good, and what is bad for his most immediate situation is evil.  He doesn’t believe that he is a part of anything larger than meeting the needs that are right in front of him.

Friends, this is postmodernity.

Tomorrow:
Absolute Truth and Postmodernity

Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

Comments

[Isaac]

One of the dangers the naturally flows from the postmodern viewpoint that you listed in your last couple of sentences is true hedonism. Is it any surprise then that along with the postmodern shift in culture we are also seeing a renewed, unapologetic hedonism bleed into the culture as well? The new question of the day for youth moving into adulthood is this, "How am I gonna get what's mine?"

[chad]

I would maybe not use the language of hedonism, just because of the cultural confusion and connotations that come with it, but I would agree with you.

I think part of it is a distrust in anyone other than the self, even close family. In regard to rise of individualism, I think it can be better catagorized at "hyper-modernism", because many people are also drawing fictional tribal lines and aligning themselves by shared interests and not traditional boundaries.

[JosephWinston]

Is it the job of the Church to warn of the dangers of the post-modern world or to present Jesus as the real alternative to what the world offers? There is a world of difference between the two. One way makes Jesus the chief lawgiver and the primary enforcer of the law. Of course, there is some truth in this approach. But it seems to me that it misses the rest of the story that we have in the Scripture. It leaves out Jesus who eats with the outcasts. It forgets the tradition that tells us Christ's crucifixion was because He enjoyed Himself a bit too much. It omits the message that Jesus does not come to condemn. The job of the Church in my mind is to tell people what they are looking for. Why are they hungry? What do they thirst for? Why are thy scared?