Post by Buffy on May 23, 2005 9:35:39 GMT
I did this report for college, and its not just for christians, i just post it because i'd be interested to hear your reactions and i thought you'b be interested too
Postmodernism
“Postmodernism offers both a challenge and an opportunity for Christians in Ireland today” Discuss
I have a friend, who strives to be intellectual. He searches to find answers. To find answers to the questions that he asks every day of his life. Questions that we all ask ourselves, things like, “Where did we come from?” or “Where are we going?” These questions drive us in directions as we search to answer them. My friend, who has allowed these questions to drive his life, has come to scary conclusions. He now, does not believe in any religion of this world. Instead, he has come to believe that they all have degrees of truth to them, all with their own perception, but ultimately they do not answer the question of existence. He believes these “religions” or belief systems give excellent advice for living with a community, and give basic rules and guidelines that help society. Which are all greatly attributed to religion. However, he continues to grow in despair, as he does not believe he can ever begin to understand and relate with God, because the more he looks at the situations objectively, the more he sees their faults.
The problem, for my friend, who is lost in this situation, is that he has become so obsessed with the idea that there is no truth, that his life has become desperate and hopeless. The problem for me is that because of his ‘post-modern’ mind-set, it seems I cannot get my optimism and hope through to him, because my remarks and statements of faith are simply rebuked in the name of ‘your opinion’. It seems I am a believer of something, in a world full of believers of nothing. Not just a world filled with unbelievers, but I repeat, a world filled with believers of nothing.
As a believer and a member of God’s church, I am now battling with a people who do not want to fight. In the old ‘Modern’ mind-set, at least it was a battle for absolute truth. In addition, if were not a believer in Christ, you would believe in something, and the arguments could have been made for absolute truth, which is what the bible aims for. “I am the truth and the light” echoes through the bible, Old and New Testament. There is a definite answer for those who are looking, and a place for people to believe if they would believe without question.
Now, in the culture I am growing up in, I find myself entrapped in a switch in thought patterns, a switch for an optimistic to a pessimistic society. A society who will fight for the right to believe there is no answer. Rather then, fight for the answer. They have come from an old way of thinking, and I believe they want to be above it. They are almost ashamed at the futility of seeking the full truth of the old modernist days. Because of this shame, they push beyond logic, and say there is no absolute truth, and in a huge thirst for being right, and correct, they push this into their minds, and shrug off the desperate hopelessness it brings.
They can be forgiven for believing that the old ‘modernist’ way of thinking was futile, because without God in the centre of those beliefs of absolute truth, the world was soon going to go the wrong way. They did, and now, in reaction to that, they wish to somehow be ‘above it’ and smarter than their predecessors. Therefore, they search for the ‘outside the box’ answer. In addition, because they fear Christianity, they fear the truth because it could not be that simple, the search for the intellectual angle, and found it in the new post-modern way of thinking.
The belief of Postmodernism, is has so far not been taken to extremes, and yet, has not seriously affected science, for example. We all operate on beliefs of truth, were or mind searches for it. For example, if someone was to tell you that, you had an ink mark on your face; your first reaction is a question “Really?” The next series of questions will be establishing if you have been told the truth, and finally you will go search out a bathroom with a mirror to ascertain the problem. That example is a simple one to explain how our minds work to ascertain truth in our daily lives. On a larger subject, such as the meaning of life, the old modernist view would believe we could find that truth. However, because of the failures of that belief, postmodernism moved in. It says that we cannot find absolute truth and that in essence, what can be true for you is not necessarily true for me.
The statement of ‘There is no absolute truth’ cannot be declared, without contradicting itself. To state that sentence is declaring a truth. The second thing that was just mentioned was that our brains search for truth. We established that the ink on your face could be seen as true, and so there is a definite way of speaking truth. However, when the big and as so far unanswered questions come along, like the meaning of life, we ascertain that truth is impossible, as we can only speak opinions. At best, we can establish a decent idea of truth be collecting a series of opinions from different people, and then establish our own belief of the truth from them. A good example of this would be someone who believes all religions have a bit of the truth and should all be listened to. That in essence, they are all wrong but all right.
The fundamental problem with postmodernism is that one second a postmodernist will believe in one truth, and believe IN truth, but the moment a question goes beyond their understanding and intellect, they resort to anti-truth and claim it can’t exist. Simply because they do not understand the answer or the question.
As a Christian, in this post-modern world, who is still looking for answers, what is the best way to reach them with the truth? The gospel sincerely claims to be the truth. There are no ifs, buts, or maybes. There it is, all in one collection of small books and letters; the meaning of life, the meaning of existence, and ultimately the joy and contentment that people are looking for in this world. How can we best show them this truth?
The bottom line is that there are both positives and negatives in postmodernism for the gospel. The negatives are most obvious; the world has rebelled against truth, the gospel claims to BE truth, a simple and most basic clash of belief. In this difficulty, the battle has already lost before the topic can be discussed. Another negative affect of postmodernism for the gospel is that for every argument that we cause, we are simply called that of an older age, someone who is not as enlightened as one from the post-modern era, and we are simply not listened to. If any thing, people will try and turn the gospel believer to their way of thinking.
The good news is that there are positives for the gospel in post-modern society. The primary one being that there is no hope in this truth less society. There is no truth, and therefore no hope. No idea on what we are or where we come from, why we are here and what is the point. How can anyone, who thinks of life, a little deeper than skimming the surface, not rebel against the belief of postmodernism and search again for a truth greater then themselves?
The conclusion is that this belief cannot continue. The belief that there is no absolute truth will not survive for long. The reason it has survived longer than it should is simply because of the world of escapism that we live in. we live in a world were people would rather get drunk then plan their lives. Where every week they go out on the weekend and cannot remember what they have done. THAT is the world in which we live in. The world of despair. Never, more than now has the gospel been more needed or more relevant to the world in which we live.
Bibliography:
Grenz, Stanley A Primer on Postmodernism (1995, Eerdmans Publishing)
Postmodernism
“Postmodernism offers both a challenge and an opportunity for Christians in Ireland today” Discuss
I have a friend, who strives to be intellectual. He searches to find answers. To find answers to the questions that he asks every day of his life. Questions that we all ask ourselves, things like, “Where did we come from?” or “Where are we going?” These questions drive us in directions as we search to answer them. My friend, who has allowed these questions to drive his life, has come to scary conclusions. He now, does not believe in any religion of this world. Instead, he has come to believe that they all have degrees of truth to them, all with their own perception, but ultimately they do not answer the question of existence. He believes these “religions” or belief systems give excellent advice for living with a community, and give basic rules and guidelines that help society. Which are all greatly attributed to religion. However, he continues to grow in despair, as he does not believe he can ever begin to understand and relate with God, because the more he looks at the situations objectively, the more he sees their faults.
The problem, for my friend, who is lost in this situation, is that he has become so obsessed with the idea that there is no truth, that his life has become desperate and hopeless. The problem for me is that because of his ‘post-modern’ mind-set, it seems I cannot get my optimism and hope through to him, because my remarks and statements of faith are simply rebuked in the name of ‘your opinion’. It seems I am a believer of something, in a world full of believers of nothing. Not just a world filled with unbelievers, but I repeat, a world filled with believers of nothing.
As a believer and a member of God’s church, I am now battling with a people who do not want to fight. In the old ‘Modern’ mind-set, at least it was a battle for absolute truth. In addition, if were not a believer in Christ, you would believe in something, and the arguments could have been made for absolute truth, which is what the bible aims for. “I am the truth and the light” echoes through the bible, Old and New Testament. There is a definite answer for those who are looking, and a place for people to believe if they would believe without question.
Now, in the culture I am growing up in, I find myself entrapped in a switch in thought patterns, a switch for an optimistic to a pessimistic society. A society who will fight for the right to believe there is no answer. Rather then, fight for the answer. They have come from an old way of thinking, and I believe they want to be above it. They are almost ashamed at the futility of seeking the full truth of the old modernist days. Because of this shame, they push beyond logic, and say there is no absolute truth, and in a huge thirst for being right, and correct, they push this into their minds, and shrug off the desperate hopelessness it brings.
They can be forgiven for believing that the old ‘modernist’ way of thinking was futile, because without God in the centre of those beliefs of absolute truth, the world was soon going to go the wrong way. They did, and now, in reaction to that, they wish to somehow be ‘above it’ and smarter than their predecessors. Therefore, they search for the ‘outside the box’ answer. In addition, because they fear Christianity, they fear the truth because it could not be that simple, the search for the intellectual angle, and found it in the new post-modern way of thinking.
The belief of Postmodernism, is has so far not been taken to extremes, and yet, has not seriously affected science, for example. We all operate on beliefs of truth, were or mind searches for it. For example, if someone was to tell you that, you had an ink mark on your face; your first reaction is a question “Really?” The next series of questions will be establishing if you have been told the truth, and finally you will go search out a bathroom with a mirror to ascertain the problem. That example is a simple one to explain how our minds work to ascertain truth in our daily lives. On a larger subject, such as the meaning of life, the old modernist view would believe we could find that truth. However, because of the failures of that belief, postmodernism moved in. It says that we cannot find absolute truth and that in essence, what can be true for you is not necessarily true for me.
The statement of ‘There is no absolute truth’ cannot be declared, without contradicting itself. To state that sentence is declaring a truth. The second thing that was just mentioned was that our brains search for truth. We established that the ink on your face could be seen as true, and so there is a definite way of speaking truth. However, when the big and as so far unanswered questions come along, like the meaning of life, we ascertain that truth is impossible, as we can only speak opinions. At best, we can establish a decent idea of truth be collecting a series of opinions from different people, and then establish our own belief of the truth from them. A good example of this would be someone who believes all religions have a bit of the truth and should all be listened to. That in essence, they are all wrong but all right.
The fundamental problem with postmodernism is that one second a postmodernist will believe in one truth, and believe IN truth, but the moment a question goes beyond their understanding and intellect, they resort to anti-truth and claim it can’t exist. Simply because they do not understand the answer or the question.
As a Christian, in this post-modern world, who is still looking for answers, what is the best way to reach them with the truth? The gospel sincerely claims to be the truth. There are no ifs, buts, or maybes. There it is, all in one collection of small books and letters; the meaning of life, the meaning of existence, and ultimately the joy and contentment that people are looking for in this world. How can we best show them this truth?
The bottom line is that there are both positives and negatives in postmodernism for the gospel. The negatives are most obvious; the world has rebelled against truth, the gospel claims to BE truth, a simple and most basic clash of belief. In this difficulty, the battle has already lost before the topic can be discussed. Another negative affect of postmodernism for the gospel is that for every argument that we cause, we are simply called that of an older age, someone who is not as enlightened as one from the post-modern era, and we are simply not listened to. If any thing, people will try and turn the gospel believer to their way of thinking.
The good news is that there are positives for the gospel in post-modern society. The primary one being that there is no hope in this truth less society. There is no truth, and therefore no hope. No idea on what we are or where we come from, why we are here and what is the point. How can anyone, who thinks of life, a little deeper than skimming the surface, not rebel against the belief of postmodernism and search again for a truth greater then themselves?
The conclusion is that this belief cannot continue. The belief that there is no absolute truth will not survive for long. The reason it has survived longer than it should is simply because of the world of escapism that we live in. we live in a world were people would rather get drunk then plan their lives. Where every week they go out on the weekend and cannot remember what they have done. THAT is the world in which we live in. The world of despair. Never, more than now has the gospel been more needed or more relevant to the world in which we live.
Bibliography:
Grenz, Stanley A Primer on Postmodernism (1995, Eerdmans Publishing)