Christian Response to Postmodernism in the Twenty-first Century
Today, a new insidious trend is blazing its way through the twenty-first century church. In the name/guise of keeping Christianity relevant in today's culture, many churches are opening the door to a doctrine/belief system that undermines the infallibility of the Bible. Today, we will discuss postmodernism and its effects on the church. We will also discuss what Christians can do to counter its effect/attack in the spread of the gospel.
The term postmodernism, has been applied to many areas such as literature, philosophy, fiction, architecture, art and so on. It is mainly our response to what is considered concrete data (scientific or objective) about the world around us. Postmodernism suggests that something is reality not only because humanity generally understands it to be so but rather that reality is built upon personal interpretation as the mind attempts to process information only in relation to that particular individual's sense of reality. What this translates to is that postmodernism allows each individual to create his or her own reality based on what their mind considers to be right for them. As a result of its definition, postmodernism feeds on the premise that there are no absolute truths. It seeks to invalidate the arguments/explanations of whole groups of people in different cultures, traditions and races and instead propagates that truth is relative to each individual. Postmodernism is fueled by today's cultural bend towards personal experience in all its fallibility being the decider of truth rather than facts or principles that are universally understood as truth. One might question exactly what is the problem with postmodernism, as many fads have come, gained strength and then burnt out on the basis of its ludicrousness. The problem with postmodernism is that it is not only making its presence felt in the secular world but has crept into the church as well with dire consequences.
Postmodernism has crept into the church under the guise of "authentic" Christianity. Leaders in the church realized that because of postmodernism's influence in the world, culture today did not consider the church as relevant and consequently the church was losing its influence with culture because the methodology hadn't changed to keep up with changing culture. This was a valid point. As generations, society and culture changes methods used to reach people with the gospel have to be changed continually to remain innovative and fresh for the current audience. This is mandatory for churches and many are moving with the times to change the method and keep the message. However, there is also a growing segment of churches who, in their quest to remain relevant have inadvertently fallen into the postmodernism ditch. Two movements have developed as a result of this. The first known as the Emergent Church, seeks to connect with current culture by presenting a mysterious God and a Christianity that is palatable for everyone because of its non-judging, anti-political and environmentally conscious creed. This fad is gaining popularity with college age students as many are still cementing their identity and open to exploration of what truth is. The second is the Emerging Church which states that the Bible holds no absolute truths and that its contents are open to interpretation as meaning changes with time and culture. This movement is dead set against claiming anything as absolute truth so as to maintain their neutrality and political correctness by not taking a stand on any issue. Rather it is all about the dialogue or conversation to discuss what scripture means to each individual rather than what the author was actually expressing.
Postmodernism has gained huge followings in the church world through up and coming leaders such as Rob Bell, Brian McLaren and Dan Kimball. The result of postmodernism in the church is that it has created another schism in the church world. Lines are being drawn as questions are being raised about the infallibility of the Bible. New converts entering the church and weak Christians already in the church are being swayed to receive a gospel that isn't the true gospel. Those who stand firm on the unchanging message of the Bible are considered arrogant, radical bigots who are intolerant of the views of others. Many are accepting the new brand of Christianity because from the postmodernist viewpoint, it makes no demands on the individual. The need for accountability is done away with, the strictures of the Word of God are removed giving people the ability and freedom to live any way they please and still believe themselves to be children of God. In essence, postmodernism in the church is loosening the restraints on society and encouraging them to believe and act in any manner that is true to them and still have God's blessing and stamp of approval on your life. One then has to ask the question, "What can a Bible believing Christian do to spread the true gospel while counteracting the effects of post modernistic thinking in those that he may come in contact with?"
I believe that because today's culture is all about experience as the ultimate teacher, we must utilize our personal testimony and our own experience in our relationship with God as a tool to open the door for evangelism. Today's sinner may not be immediately receptive to someone who approaches them spouting scriptures but my personal story will be more readily accepted because I am relaying my experience. Secondly, I believe we as Christians must continue to stand and advocate Bible truth in love. We know what we believe but browbeating or arguing the truth with a lost person will not gain us any ground. Engage in conversation or dialogue with the individual, showing them with love the fallacies in their belief system and point them to Jesus. Also, we must educate our congregations through conferences, seminars and messages, etcetera about the shift that is occurring in the church world so that strategies can be developed to counter the postmodernist attack head on. In doing this, it may seem like an uphill battle but truth - God's truth will prevail.