Andy Parker giving his view of a "Postmodern Christian?"

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn once said, “One word of truth outweighs the entire world.” I think it is more fitting to say, the One who is truth outweighs the entire world. By restating this we can see that all truth has a source. Thus, any attempt to deconstruct the written word, and personalize truth is nothing more than an attack on Jesus Christ and the revelation of Scripture. So when faced with a statement like that given in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” the postmodern thinker says, “that’s great for you, but not for me.” There is absolutely no regard for the authoritative Word of God or the Christ which the Scriptures reveal.

It has not been addressed up to this point, but it would seem obvious that any holding to a postmodern ideal would not call themselves Christian, right? If the tenants of postmodernism are true and there is no worldview or meta-narrative (creation, fall, redemption, consummation), then there can be no purpose, no plan, no meaning to life whatsoever. If there is no such thing as universal truth, than logic, mathematics, and language would not be possible. The logical conclusion to postmodern thinking is suicide, but fortunately postmoderns don’t believe in logic. Given the absolute conflict between the truth claims of Christianity and the truth claims of postmodernism it is hard to believe that anyone could hold to be both postmodern and Christian.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. In recent years the church of Jesus Christ has been violently infected by the insidious filth of postmodernism. Far from the intellectual elite found in the ivory towers of academia, this brand of postmodernism is resonating with the person in the pew and seems to be procreating at rabbit speed. These false teachers include Grand Rapids very own Rob Bell, and the godfather of this rapidly growing rebellious cult, Brian D. McLaren.

In order to get an idea of what “postmodern Christianity” looks like I would like to take a look at some of Brian McLaren’s writings. McLaren is a prolific writer/speaker and much of what he says is widely accepted among those who call themselves Christians today. The reason I think it is important that we address McLaren is because he is specifically addressing the common man and thus, he has a much greater audience than does someone like a David Griffin. McLaren is also a perfect example for us to look at because, through him, we can see most of the basic tenants of postmodern thought already discussed.

Given that absolute truth is inherit in Christianity and the lack thereof is inherit in postmodernism how does this play out in the work of McLaren?

We must admit that our quest for ultimate and absolute truth is impossible, if not for the reasons postmodern philosophers raise, then for this reason: the ultimate truth is not an objective concept, not an objective principle, but rather a Person, the Subject of such splendor, dignity, wonder, winsomeness, and glory that to know him is to love him, worship him, enjoy him, and seek to please him with one’s very existence. When God comes to us, God doesn’t say, “Seek for absolute, objective, propositional truth,” but rather, “I am the way, the truth, the life.”[1]

At first glance, many may think this sounds great because he disguises his foolishness in colorful and romantic language, but like any other wolf in sheep’s clothing when you get close enough you realize how incredibly hideous he really is. It is almost hard to imagine that someone so profoundly ignorant could sell so many books, but unfortunately this is the culture we live in.

First, McLaren claims that “the quest for ultimate and absolute truth is impossible.” Do you think he believes that to be absolute? He is using an absolute to affirm that absolutes do not exist! Next, he claims that ultimate truth is not an objective concept but a Person. Christians would not disagree that the source of truth is the person and work of Jesus Christ, but we believe this because God has revealed it in propositional form. So when McLaren goes on to say that, “God doesn’t say, ‘Seek for absolute, objective, propositional truth,’ but rather, ‘I am the way, the truth, the life’” he is to dense to realize that it is not necessary to say, seek for absolute, objective, propositional truth because everything He says is in propositional form, and He is saying it to creatures that have been designed to think propositionally. McLaren proves this very point when he says that God says, “I am the way, the truth, the life” – this is a proposition! The late great apologist, Francis Schaeffer illustrates the danger of abandoning propositional truth:

Christianity demands antithesis, not as some abstract concept of truth, but in the fact that God exists, and in personal justification. The biblical concept of justification is a total, personal antithesis. Before justification, we were dead in the kingdom of darkness. The Bible says that in the moment that we accept Christ we pass from death to life. This is total antithesis at the level of the individual man. Once we begin to slip over into other methodology – a failure to hold on to an absolute which can be known by the whole man, including what is logical and rational in him – historic Christianity is destroyed, even if it seems to keep going for a time. We may not know it, but when this occurs, the marks of death are upon it, and it will soon be one more museum piece. To the extent that anyone gives up the mentality of antithesis, he has moved over to the other side, even if he still tries to defend orthodoxy or evangelicalism.[2]

Because Brian McLaren believes that there is no such thing as absolute truth he thinks that when presenting the gospel we should not simply present objective evidences that demand a verdict. Rather, we should offer a story that can’t be objectively proven, but which can subjectively ring true and make sense of our lives.[3] Not only is this complete existentialism, but it presents the obvious question, “What authority does the Bible have?” McLaren, himself says, not even .01 percent of the Bible presents itself as objective information about God.[4] If this is the case than why would anybody read the Bible if it’s just another book?

McLaren claims to have a very high view of the Bible[5] but what does he mean when he says this?

Interestingly, when Scripture talks about itself, it doesn’t use the language we often use in our explanations of its value. For modern Western Christians, words like authority, inerrancy, infallibility, revelation, objective, absolute, and literal are crucial. Many churches or denominations won’t allow people to become members unless they use these words in their descriptions of Scripture. Hardly anyone realizes why these words are important. Hardly anyone knows about the stories of Sir Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, the Enlightenment, David Hume, and Foundationalism – which provide the context in which these words are so important. Hardly anyone notices the irony of resorting to the authority of extrabiblical words and concepts to justify one’s belief in the Bible’s ultimate authority.[6]

Perhaps McLaren has a good point. Maybe we should also do away with the word Trinity as well! Given this, it should come as no surprise that McLaren writes elsewhere that postmodern minds like his think that doctrine is about as interesting as grass clippings,[7] and that there are so many other things to do with the Bible other than study it.[8] Really! What! Unfortunately, McLaren provides no real examples.

How does McLaren then interact with verses like 2 Tim. 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” If we should not use words like authority, inerrancy, infallibility, revelation, objective, absolute, and literal to describe the Bible, and doctrine is about as interesting as grass clippings than would we be right to conclude that the Bible is not inspired and that the apostle Paul is a liar?

Amazingly, McLaren still has the audacity to use the word inspired when speaking of the Scriptures, but his definition is far from a biblical understanding. He writes, “The Bible is an inspired gift from God – a unique collection of literary artifacts that together support the telling of an amazing and essential story.”[9] What does this mean? What McLaren means by inspired is that in this primal, sacred narrative the creative breath of God gives permission to whatever possibilities might become actual.[10]

If I understand what McLaren is saying it is something like this: The Bible is a great book of moral maxims just like any other book. It is a compilation of books with regards to moral teachings somewhat akin to compiling the works, of Buddha, Gandhi, and Dr. Phil. The fact that McLaren uses the word inspired is a perfect case of someone still using Christian terms and then raping them of their meaning and then trying to sell himself to the public as a man of God.

Let me explain this in simple syllogistic format. Unfortunately, men like McLaren have logically concluded that logic has no meaning so this wouldn’t make much sense to him, but nonetheless I think it is necessary to point out.

Major Premise: God is excluded from the class of beings that can lie (1 Kings 17:24, Ps. 31:5, 86:11; Isa. 45:19, 65:16; John 14:6)

Minor Premise: Scripture is given by the inspiration of God (2 Tim. 3:16)

Conclusion: Therefore, Scripture cannot lie

This is a far cry from the babbling and bubbling definition of inspired that McLaren uses. He colors his definition with colorful terms that make him seem thoughtful, and perhaps even intellectual, but behind his words he is simply communicating a cacophony of filth designed at removing man from being morally capable before the hands of an Almighty God.

Given that we can’t use words like, authority, inerrancy, infallibility, revelation, objective, absolute, and literal when describing the Bible are we to conclude that the Bible is errant, fallible, not revealed by God, subjective, relative, and mythological? Cornelius Van Til writes, “It is the Christ who speaks to us in Scripture. In it he tells us who he is and what we are. He tells us that he has come to save us from our sins. For that purpose the Father sent him into the world. In order to bring that work to completion in individual men the Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and gives them unto us.”[11]

A Bible full of errors obviously leads to a Christ full of errors. However, McLaren feels the error is on the part of orthodoxy with their rigid view of sin and salvation. He feels the emphasis on grass clippings has led us to misinterpret the text. Of course, one has to ask how confident he is in that assessment given that there are no absolutes, there are errors in the text, and everybody’s interpretation is correct. This doesn’t seem to stop McLaren from putting the message of salvation into his own words. According to him, Jesus is really saying something like this:

Salvation doesn’t mean slitting Roman throats and getting power. Salvation means being liberated from the cycle of violence, liberated from the need for power. God wants to save you from your present life of hatred and fear, and instead reconnect you with God’s original plan for the descendents of Abraham. Even as an oppressed people, you can be a blessing. Instead of slitting a Roman soldier’s throat, carry his pack for him. Instead of cursing him, pray for him. I am here to save you from the whole system of insult and revenge – not by giving you political victory (as you wish I would), and not by telling you to give up on this life and instead focus on salvation from hell after this life (as some people are going to do in my name) – but by giving you permission to start your participation in God’s mission right now, right where you are, even as an oppressed people. The opportunity to start living in this new and better way is available to you right now: The kingdom of God is at hand![12]

It is clear in McLaren’s theology that Jesus is a liberator, but a liberator of what? What is Jesus liberating His people from? Bad feelings or attitudes? Fear or hatred? Discomfort, or sickness? In seeking to elevate man to god-like status as Adam did in the Garden, McLaren completely reduces the doctrine of original sin into bad-feelings. In his book with Tony Campolo titled (ironically enough), Adventures in Missing the Point, McLaren wrote a chapter on sin where he never once uses the word sin, guilt, imputation, damnation, wrath, hell, punishment, guilt, sorrow, redemption, salvation, Savior, Jesus Christ, atonement, the cross, and so on. Although, he does tell us an emotional story about his son who suffered from Leukemia.[13]

Now that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth has been reduced to a wise liberator like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. it would then make sense that you would see much of the same religious pluralism that is currently dulling the intellectual fabric of our society in Brian McLaren.

In an age of global terrorism and rising religious conflict, it’s significant to note that all Muslims regard Jesus as a great prophet, that many Hindus are willing to consider Jesus as a legitimate manifestation of the divine, that many Buddhists see Jesus as one of humanity’s most enlightened people, and that Jesus himself was a Jew … A shared reappraisal of Jesus’ message could provide a unique space or common ground for urgently needed religious dialogue – and it doesn’t seem an exaggeration to say that the future of our planet may depend on such dialogue. This reappraisal of Jesus’ message may be the only project capable of saving a number of religions, including Christianity, from a number of threats, from being co-opted by consumerism or nationalism to the rise of potentially violent fundamentalism in their own ranks.[14]

It is no wonder that McLaren believes that one can be a follower of Jesus Christ and still remain a Buddhist, Hindu, or a Jew.[15] And to think, all this time we have really been fighting over nothing! After all, what’s in a name? I wonder how Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists feel about being followers of Jesus? Let us never forget that Jesus was never accused of being sinful, or of not being a great teacher. Jesus was nailed to a cross for claiming to be God, and unless one confesses with their mouth that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the living God and repents of their sins the punishment they will experience in hell will be much worse than being nailed to a cross.

For all of McLaren’s adroit speech and emotional language he presents a vacuous doctrine that has no meaning at all. He dresses up in sheep’s clothing and vigorously appeals to the disposition of fallen man. He tells them that he has discovered a secret gospel.[16] This is not the violent, militant, and authoritative orthodoxy, Oh no! This is nice gospel in which people are called to live better lives. However, for all of McLaren’s moralistic appeals he is really just a spiritual vagabond vacillating from place to place and pirating Christian terms.

He claims to be a Christian, but unfortunately, he looks a bit more like Frankenstein’s monster. Regrettably, for McLaren, this is not a story. No matter how many dead ideas and vain philosophies he tries to sow together he will not find a living breathing doctrine outside of the pages of God’s authoritative, inerrant, infallible, revelatory, objective, absolute, and literal text. Going out to the impoverished multitudes McLaren doesn’t share the gospel of Jesus Christ as given in the divine Word of God. Rather, he tells a story about a man who lived long long ago in a galaxy far far away. As those living a spiritually imperiled life hear this perverse doctrine they store their hope in jars of clay ignoring the inevitable damnation that awaits the unrepentant heart.

Brian McLaren’s moral appeals at building a better world like Jesus wanted to do but couldn’t are destined to fizzle like cotton candy in the mouth. It presents a spiritual high to the depressed heart but in the end there is no sustentative value. Without the norm and standard of Word and truth all of man’s endeavors only lead him deeper in debt. Like a man who tries to dig his way out of a hole – he doesn’t realize he is digging his own grave. Carl F. H. Henry points this out:

Why is it that the magnificent civilizations fashioned by human endeavor throughout history have tumbled and collapsed one after another with apocalyptic suddenness? Is it not because, ever since man’s original fall and onward to the present, sin has plummeted human existence into unbroken crisis of word and truth? A cosmic struggle between truth and falsehood, between good and evil, shadows the whole history of mankind. The Bible depicts it as a conflict between the authority of God and the claims of the Evil One. Measured by the yardstick of God’s holy purposes, all that man proudly designates as human culture is little but idolatry. God’s Word proffers no compliments whatever to man’s so-called historical progress; rather, it indicts man’s pseudoparadises as veritable towers of Babel that obscure and falsify God’s truth and Word.[17]

In our day more than 70 percent of Americans don’t believe in any form of absolute truth.[18] It is no wonder why false prophets who come to us postulating some new secret or vain philosophy that appeals to fallen man would find listening ears. But how are we to respond? Satan has been attacking the church ever since the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It is obvious that he attacks the church from without but he is most effective when he attacks the church from within. This is clearly seen with church split after church split, but who could have ever imagined a day when people who call themselves Christians would attack the very notion of truth. How is it then that a Christian should respond to this heresy in such a morally and intellectually impoverished time?

Andy Parker explains "What is Postmodernism?"

What is Postmodernism?

In order to determine what exactly postmodernism is there are a few preliminary statements that must be made before we can begin. First, by its nature postmodernism is a movement that is by no means uniform. In it’s intellectual formation there are four primary strands. In their book, Varieties of Postmodern Theology, Griffin, Beardslee and Holland evaluate these different strands quite thoroughly.[1] Given the nature and objectives of this paper it will not be possible to cover any of these varieties in any detail. However, I do feel it is important to see the different directions this movement is taking in the academic realm.

Second, we must also note that many have made the distinction between postmodernism and postmodernity:

As we try and understand our contemporary world, it is necessary, I believe, to distinguish between postmodernism and postmodernity. The former is an intellectual formulation of postmodern ideas on the high end of culture. It is their expression in architecture, in literary theory, philosophy, and so on. Postmodernity, by contrast, I am taking as the popular, social expression of the same assumptions but in ways that may be unselfconscious and often not intellectual at all, making this a diffuse, unshaped kind of expression. If the one is found in books and art, if it is debated on campuses and in the academy, the other is found in rock music, in the malls, on television, and in the workplace.[2]

I will not make such a distinction between postmodernism and postmodernity for purposes of this paper. I mention this distinction because scholarship is making this distinction and it is important to note. However, I only wish to look at some common tenants of postmodern thought. These basic tenants will show themselves in the academy and in pop culture whether or not the origin of thought can be traced back to one or the other. Trying to determine whether or not the academy influences pop culture or visa versa is a bit like trying to determine which came first, the chicken or the egg.[3] Therefore, I will use the terms postmodernism and postmodernity interchangeably throughout.

Although postmodernism comes in all shapes and sizes there are some basic tenants which can be seen as a common thread throughout. Foundational to postmodern thought is that it rejects all tenants of modernity. Thus, postmodern pundits see modernism as dead and believe a new age of thought has been ushered in. Hence, the designation, post-modernism, or after-modernism. One can begin to understand the antagonism that runs throughout postmodernism if they see that it is really an anti-movement as opposed to any new revelation in thought or discovery. This distinction between modernism and postmodernism reveals itself in many forms.

Of the many distinctions that have been attempted between modernism and postmodernism, perhaps this is the most common: modernism still believed in the objectivity of knowledge. In its most optimistic form, modernism held that ultimately knowledge would revolutionize the world, squeeze God to the periphery or perhaps abandon him to his own devices, and build an edifice of glorious knowledge to the great God Science. But this stance has largely been abandoned in the postmodernism that characterizes most Western universities. Deconstructionists have been most vociferous in denouncing the modernist vision. They hold that language and meaning are socially constructed, which is tantamount to saying arbitrarily constructed. Its meaning is grounded neither in ‘reality’ nor in texts per se. Texts will invariably be interpreted against the backdrop of the interpreter’s social ‘home’ and the historical conditioning of the language itself.[4]

Basic to modernism was that there was such a thing truth. Not only truth, but absolute truth, and not only did the modernist believe in absolute truth but they believed it could be discovered through scientific inquiry. Postmoderns vehemently deny any such thing as absolute truth. One may even say they hold to this claim absolutely! The desecration of absolutes has led to the abandonment of worldview, truth, and purpose.

One of the most popular American postmodern philosophers is the deconstructionist, Richard Rorty. Rorty is a weird combination of deconstructionist, and social pragmatist. As a deconstructionist he finds commonality with the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida’s understanding of words. Basically words have no meaning and are viciously self-limiting. In short, words only refer to other words.[5] Rorty writes, “This is exactly what I take language to be like. It is indeed a seamless web, which can best be understood if we abandon the traditional distinctions. A conception of language as smooth and homogeneous is just the right one to have, and adopting it does indeed lead to quietism.”[6]

One may think that Rorty, as well Derrida would deny that any meaning can be derived from the text. Surprisingly, both argue that meaning can be derived from the text. But this is not an objective meaning which the author intended to communicate using linguistic symbols. Rather, this is whatever meaning the interpreter assigns to the text. Since there are no absolutes there is no criteria by which to judge one interpretation superior to another and thus, all interpretations are equally valid. Rorty states, “For a quietist like me, there is no discourse, debate, theory, or vocabulary that is devoid of meaning. I try to avoid the expression devoid of meaning. Any linguistic expression, even an expression like ontological status, has a meaning if you give it one. To give meaning to an expression, all you have to do is use it in a more or less predicable manner – situate it within a network of predicable inferences.”[7]

On the surface, it is not hard to see the absurdity inherit in the hermeneutical deconstruction of postmodernism. First, if there is no correct criteria by which to interpret text, and all interpretations are valid then they really have no basis on which to expound or defend their claims. If their view is correct how could they defend their own view? They should expect that all who read their work would not agree with them because all interpretations are independent and determined by the interpreter. If words only refer to other words then why bother writing books or giving speaking engagements to try and convince others that your approach to literary studies is the correct one. I highly doubt that these authors write with the intentions of people making up whatever they want them to say. In fact, the every act of responding to criticism and engaging in debates would point to the contrary.

Second, one also must question the sanity of a person who claims that words have no meaning while using words to communicate the ideas that one believes to be true. Carl F. H. Henry writes, “Those who resort to words to tell us that words distort reality and truth engage in a futile of self-refuting activity.”[8] This is the equivalent to saying, “I don’t believe in speech or truth and let me tell you why!” Not only does this position make all communication impossible, but it simply does not chide with personal experience.

In the real world, for all the difficulties there are in communication from person to person and from culture to culture, we still expect people to say more or less what they mean, and we expect mature people to understand what others say, and represent it fairly. The understanding is doubtless never absolutely exhaustive and perfect, but that does not mean that only the alternative is to dissociate text from speaker, and then locate all meaning in the reader or hearer. True knowledge of the meaning of a text and even of the thoughts of the author who wrote it is possible, even if perfect and exhaustive knowledge is not. That is that way things are in the real world – and that in turn suggests that any theory that flies in the face of these realities needs to be examined again.[9]

Another sign (or symptom), of postmodernism is the growing tolerance/acceptance of other religions. It is true that other religions have always been a part of our culture, but due to the cancerous concepts postulated by postmodernity, especially that there are no absolute truths, only personal truths, religious pluralism has found a great degree of acceptance among the popular culture.

This overarching theme of religious acceptance is a new development within Western culture. Harold Netland explains, “Until recently it was assumed that since incompatible truth-claims are being made not all of the claims made by the various religions can be true. At least some must be false. Thus, it has traditionally been held that the Muslim and the evangelical Christian cannot both be correct in their beliefs about the identity of Jesus.”[10] With the loss of objective truth we are left with nothing more than extreme subjectivity. When this is played out in the marketplace of ideas it makes any religion that claims to be absolutely true seem intolerant, insensitive and even extreme. Thus, the enemy of the many is not one more, but rather the One!

Within postmodernism, any religion that claims to be exclusivist will necessarily be perceived as being evil or at least extremely bigoted. On the surface, one would initially think that this position would rule out all religions because at the heart of every religion is an exclusivist position. Every religion makes an absolute claim, even if that absolute claim is that they absolutely affirm to not make any absolute claims. This, however, is not a problem for postmoderns.

Postmoderns don’t see this as a problem because in order to bring harmony to the conflicting religious truth claims, they simply look for areas of mutual understanding, and disregard the differences. There are two major forms in which religious pluralism can be represented. The first is that of Wilfred Cantwell Smith. Smith thinks that it is completely arrogant and even ignorant to think that Christianity is any more true than Islam. He sees this as a result of Enlightenment thinking. Smith rejects prepositional truth claims in favor of “personalistic” truth claims. He writes, “It is a surprisingly modern aberration for anyone to think that Christianity is true or that Islam is – since the Enlightenment basically, when Europe began to postulate religions as intellectual systems, patterns of doctrines so that they could for the first time be labeled “Christianity” and “Buddhism,” and could be called true or false.”[11] Smith’s position is a completely existential position which can be seen more clearly in statements like this, “Christianity, I would suggest, is not true absolutely, impersonally, statically; rather, it can become true, if and as you or I appropriate it to ourselves and interiorize it, insofar as we live it out from day to day.”[12]

Another form of religious pluralism that has become popular is that of John Hick. Hick realizes the need for prepositional truth and thus does not reject it out right. Given this, he also realized that not every claim that all religions make can be true, but he rejects the notion that this makes some of the religions claims false. Netland writes, “Hick proposes a comprehensive theory that allegedly portrays the distinctive nature of each religious tradition, recognizes significant differences in claims being made by each religion, and yet does not necessitate our concluding that at least some of these claims must be false. His theory calls for nothing less than a revolution in the way in which we think about the relation between religions.”[13] So for Hick, every religion is simply making a human response to the “Eternal One” and these human responses are conditioned by culture. So Yahweh, Allah, Krishna, Shiva, Brahman, and so on are just different manifestations of the “Eternal One.”

How do we respond to these differing pluralistic positions presented? First, the idea that there is no such thing as prepositional truth and only personal truth is ridiculous. All truth by definition is exclusive. If a given statement is true than a statement which contradicts the true statement must then be false. This is basic logic. If all A is A than A cannot be non A. Man cannot simply do away with prepositional truth simply because they don’t like the outcome. No matter how much fallen man would like to abandon prepositional truth it is simply impossible. In fact, to make the statement that all truth is personalistic truth is in itself a proposition. Also, it should be noted that one cannot accept a truth to be personal unless they have first accepted it as a proposition. Netland points this out as follows, “The belief that Allah is a righteous judge will only “become true” in a personalistic sense if the adherent of Islam first accepts the proposition expressed by “Allah is a righteous judge” to be true. Similarly, religions such as Islam or Buddhism can only “become true” in a personalistic sense if certain relevant beliefs are accepted by the respective adherents as true in a propositional sense.”[14]

Second, the claim that all religions are really just different manifestations of the same “Eternal One” is not only wrong, but foolish. Although Hick desires to create a comprehensive philosophy, similar to Hegel’s attempts,[15] he still is confronted with conflicting truth claims. For example, Christianity claims that God is ontologically distinct from all creation. He is eternal and everything else is created. Also, the Christian God is a Triune, self-contained, personal God who has revealed Himself. This means that God can be known truly though not exhaustively. There is no common ground between the Christian God and the nothingness of Buddhism, or the impersonal god of Islam. So when the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known the Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him” (John 14:6-7), He was making an exclusive claim.

Jesus did not leave room for other interpretations of who He was. Either He was God incarnate or He was insane. He cannot be God and yet not God. Christ was not simply playing language games when He said that He was God. Therefore, any attempt to find common ground with other religions is nothing more than an attempt to alleviate the crushing burden of sin that one experiences at the foot of the cross. This is why in every pluralistic system Jesus is nothing more than a good guy – it takes away any form of moral culpability. But this means that one has to then believe in imputed moral guilt before a Holy God. Though, fallen man vehemently denies this all of their actions point to the contrary and their desire to suppress the truth leaves them guiltless before God.

As was mentioned above, this is by no means a comprehensive summary of postmodernism or postmodern thought. This movement is very splintered by its very nature. I do, however, feel that we now have enough of an idea of the main points that postmodernism is pontificating to respond, but before we do so let us take a look at what it means to be a postmodern Christian.

The Introduction to Andy Parker’s article: The Lapdogs of Satan

Introduction

Truth is a concept that has always plagued the mind of fallen man, and modern man is no exception. As the Lord God Almighty stood before the authorities of this world, Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king. Jesus responded by saying, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Pilate responded, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

Standing eyeball to eyeball with the Creator of all life, the Lord Jesus Christ, Pilate could not see that the standard of truth and righteousness was standing before him. As those redeemed in Christ we have the grand privilege of seeing the arrogance and blindness of the fallen mind. We often look at Pilate as being the epitome of such blindness, but Pilate is no different than any other son of Adam.

Today, we would like to think that we are much different. After all, we do have the fullness of revelation through the resurrected Christ and the sixty-six canonical books of the Bible. We also have over two thousand years worth of philosophy recorded and at our disposal. Unfortunately, all of the annals of time, the insights of man, and the breakthroughs discovered in science have not satisfactorily answered this question. Rather, all they have done is create further and further diverging lines of thought.

As a new millennia has dawned, the church of Jesus Christ finds herself being brutally attacked by the disparity and sarcasm in those asking the very same question Pilate asked our Lord. “What is truth?” is not an evil question in and of itself. Rather, when asked honestly this question can direct one to a fuller understanding of our Lord, which in turn allows us to further glorify Him through the proper use of our mental capacities. When asked under improper motives, this question becomes nothing more than an assault on the sovereignty of God because fallen man holds himself to be the final determinate of truth. Instead of acknowledging that all knowledge derives from God, man makes himself the final source of all knowledge.[1]

By making himself the final source of all knowledge man cursed all of his progeny thereafter. Thus, at the heart of the fall was the concept of truth. Is truth derivative or does man make it up as he goes along? Up until recently, approximately the last forty years or so, there was a common belief among philosophers and theologians that there was such a thing as absolute truth and that it could be discovered, whether through the mind of natural man or through revelation. Today, it is of majority opinion that there is no such thing as absolute truth, while some still struggle to hold on to the idea of communal (small “t”) truths.

Many have called the cultural landscape that we find ourselves in, postmodernity, or after-modernity meaning the philosophical underpinnings that defined modernity are dead. What exactly is postmodernity? Is it a philosophical movement or simple a term given to describe the cultural times, or perhaps both? Is this something that is good or bad for Christianity? How are Christians to interact with this worldview that is so prevalent today? These are just a few questions that will be addressed throughout the course of this paper.

Postmodern philosopher, Pascal Engel asks the question, “Why, if we no longer believe in truth, is there such a longing for it?”[2] It is the purpose of this paper to reflect and dissect the basic philosophical underpinnings of the postmodern movement and determine what exactly it means for the community of the redeemed. In order to do this we must first begin by asking the question, what is Postmodernism?