WHAT S GOOD ABOUT POSTMODERNISM? 2001 NARBC Annual Pastors Conference Jack K. Willsey. Introduction

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1 WHAT S GOOD ABOUT POSTMODERNISM? 2001 NARBC Annual Pastors Conference Jack K. Willsey Introduction Much has been written and proclaimed about the evils of postmodernism and the perils of submitting to this anti-modern trend. Much of that criticism has been merited. Of particular concern are the extreme forms of literary deconstruction and political suspicion of all communication. Certainly a Christian must reject such claims as that: 1. All communication is for the purpose of exerting control over the hearers or readers. 2. Reality cannot be represented to any significant degree by human communication. 3. All claims to truth are so warped by subjective factors that they are useful only for the one who makes them. 4. Truth is basically inaccessible and is not, in any case, unitary. 5. Meta-narratives have no validity. In spite of these and many other very real problems, however, there is also much to be grateful for in the cultural movement from modernism to postmodernism. Many of the assumptions of the modern era are also faulty, some even hostile to biblical Christianity. Definitions 1 Defining postmodernism is very difficult. Perhaps the only common element in the majority of definitions which have been offered is that it is the rejection of modernism. By modernism is meant the period introduced by the Enlightenment ( A.D. [some argue that the modern period is from the French Revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall, c ]), characterized by rationalism, scientific and social optimism, belief in determinism and radical individualism, confidence in historiography and perspectival objectivity, and rejection of metaphysics. Henry H. Knight, III, suggests that the collapse of modernism has resulted in the following changes: 2 1) From individualism to community 2) From rationalist foundationalism to nonfoundationalism 3) From methodological doubt to traditionalist belief 4) From dualism to holism 5) From optimism to pessimism Some published definitions follow: 1 This section is taken from an earlier paper by the same writer: Pastoring in the Postmodern Era (1999 NARBC Preaching Seminar). 2 Henry H. Knight III, A Future for Truth: Evangelical Theology in a Postmodern World (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997),

2 2 Jean-François Lyotard: Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives. 3 [Metanarrative refers to a universal story which explains whole categories of reality; a narrative that views things from a God s-eye view as an integrated totality; totalizing discourse.] Stanley J. Grenz: Whatever else it may prove to be, postmodernity is the questioning of these theses [of modernity]. Postmodern thinkers have given up the assumptions that reason has no limitations, that knowledge is inherently good and that we can solve all our problems. In response to the compartmentalization characteristic of the modern worldview, the watchword of postmodernism is holism the desire to put back together what modernity has torn asunder. But of great significance for us is a related far-reaching change now transpiring. Postmodernism questions the radical individualism to which modernism gave birth and which has formed a hallmark of modern Western culture. 4 Millard J. Erickson: Certain basic motifs have emerged, countering the modern view. they can be briefly summarized here. 1. The objectivity of knowledge is denied. Whether the knower is conditioned by the particularities of his or her situation or theories are used oppressively, knowledge is not a neutral means of discovery. 2. Knowledge is uncertain. Foundationalism, the idea that that knowledge can be erected on some sort of bedrock of indubitable first principles, has had to be abandoned. 3. All-inclusive systems of explanation, whether metaphysical or historical, are impossible, and the attempt to construct them should be abandoned. 4. The inherent goodness of knowledge is also questioned. The belief that by means of discovering the truths of nature it could be controlled and evil and ills overcome has been disproved by the destructive ends to which knowledge has been put (in warfare, for instance). 5. Thus, progress is rejected. The history of the twentieth century should make this clear. 6. The model of the isolated individual knower as the ideal has been replaced by community-based knowledge. Truth is defined by and for the community, and all knowledge occurs within some community. 7. The scientific method as the epitomization of the objective method of inquiry is called into question. Truth is not known simply through reason, but through other channels, such as intuition. 5 3 Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Theory and History of Literature, 10, trans. Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi (Original French edition, 1979; English edition, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984): xxiv. 4 Stanley J. Grenz, Revisioning Evangelical Theology: A Fresh Agenda for the 21st Century (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Millard J. Erickson, Postmodernizing the Faith: Evangelical Responses to the Challenge of Postmodernism (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1998),

3 3 Benefits of Postmodernism 1. Self-Discovery One of the benefits of any major social change is the opportunity to examine one s own life and presuppositions in the light of new cultural assumptions. Missiologists have long recognized the value of cross-cultural experience for causing Christians to re-examine their assumptions about reality and life-values. The same benefits are available to observant people who live through a major shift in cultural orientation, such as that of the collapse of modernism and rise of postmodernism in the West. Major changes in cultural assumptions produce cognitive and emotional dissonance, which can provide the questions for which new answers may be formulated. The rise of postmodernism marks the end of business as usual for anyone over thirty years of age. 2. Finitude One of the more notable characteristics of cultural modernism, especially as found in the United States, is the determined effort to reject and escape all limits. Knowledge and technology were presumed to provide automatic freedom from the constraints of finitude. Humans would become gods by means of science. Objectivity in all areas of thought was considered both possible and desirable. Obviously, faith in technology has not ended with the collapse of modernism. The Human Genome Project is expected to open the door to gene therapy and genetic engineering which will change the world for better and wipe out many of the gene-based diseases which are now part of the human condition. At the same time, however, many remember that medical science had promised to wipe out all major infectious diseases by the beginning of the new millennium. Not only has that promise failed, but there are frightening new diseases which threaten human existence: Ebola and other varieties of hemorrhagic fever; AIDS; drug-resistant malaria, staff infections, E-Coli, etc.; as well as a resurgence of some of the old diseases. Nor have improved communication and exponentially increased knowledge reduced wars, crime, broken homes, or poverty. The general recognition of finitude in many areas of life is a blessing to Christians. Preachers are no longer expected to be final authorities on all topics. An attitude of learning together has gradually crept into churches. Sincere errors of judgment and honest mistakes are not seen as somehow missing the Lord s leading or being unspiritual. Most important, a new look at the Bible in the light of finitude has brought about a new awareness of the centrality of godly wisdom. Living right before God involves making wise choices with no guarantees about short-term results. The wisdom books of the Bible, especially Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are gaining popularity. This makes it easier to return to central, core values in life: The fear of the Lord that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding (Job 28:28, probably the thematic statement of the book). 3. Mystery As one surveys the majority of the biblical commentaries which were written during the modern era, a pattern emerges which is related to the previous point concerning the rejection of finitude. Most of those commentaries emphasize full and clear explanations of each and every

4 4 text (except, so the cynic suggests, just the problem that one is trying to resolve). Even what may validly be called enigmas in the text have, if not an authoritative explanation, at least a long list of all possible interpretations. Seldom does one find any musing over the mystery of finite life on planet earth while trying to understand and serve the infinite God. Some, to be sure, go to the other extreme and claim to find paradoxes and errors, but that approach actually arises from the same mindset the interpreter can control the text. Life is mysterious, intriguing, complex, even chaotic. The narrative structure of much of the Bible reflects those realities and recent hermeneutical approaches help discover and expose them. Dynamic interaction with texts, recognizing the inability to control them is bringing a refreshing honesty to the hermeneutical task. Although a high view of Scripture as Word of God requires one to reject reader-response interpretation, 6 postmodern approaches have reminded us that the interpreter does do the work of finding (establishing) meaning and that it is not an exact science. As with all human truth claims, interpretations of biblical texts must be held with varying levels of certitude. Further, part of the meaning of the text is how it changes the way the interpreter thinks and interprets. The reader stands not only behind the text, but also before it. 4. Embodiment/Incarnation One of the especially beneficial results of serious rethinking in the face of postmodernism has been a renewed awareness of the importance of the body to full humanness. The modern mentality emphasized the importance of mind and bemoaned the limitations imposed by the body. If only the mind could run free of those limitations, a higher level of experience and reality could be achieved. This was often reflected in sermons which emphasized conceptual thinking to the loss of both practice (application/contextualization) and feeling. Intellect eclipsed emotion and volition. Current thinking is again recognizing that we are whole beings. Our bodies are so important that God will raise them in the resurrection so that we may be whole. The doctrine of the impassibility of God is giving way to a recognition that He really does have emotions, even though they may be described metaphorically in Scripture. An interesting sidelight is that leading thinkers in artificial intelligence have begun to talk less about loading human minds into computers and more about the probability that truly human intelligence can only exist in a body. Urban planners are beginning to recognize the need to build cities to accommodate embodied minds, not merely minds that happen to be locked into bodies. Christian counselors are learning to take seriously the effects of chemical or structural changes in the brain. To some extent, the outward signs of spirituality are being re-evaluated, with the recognition that a godly person with hormonal imbalances may experience chronic depression, for example. Or that being constantly cheerful may have more to do with bio-chemistry than with one s walk with the Lord. This is an area that will require careful theological formulation as an ongoing project. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is finding renewed significance in Christian theology. The coming of God in human flesh was not simply a matter of becoming conveniently visible or mortal, but an essential aspect of becoming human. He is one of us! He embodies the value that 6 Radical forms of reader-response interpretation assume that finding the meaning intended by the original author is impossible, perhaps even undesirable, and that the reader is in control of the text with respect to establishing meaning.

5 5 the Godhead places on body/soul humanness. He rose from the tomb, not with a spirit-body, but with the flesh and bone body with which he was born over thirty years before. 5. Postfoundationalism The modern era was characterized by rationalism and classical ( hard ) foundationalism. Certain truths were considered to be self-evident and accurately discernable by the human mind, apart from cultural influence. Another way of stating this is that some beliefs are immediately justified, thus serving as the basis for other, mediately justified beliefs. The Cartesian/Baconian view of the objectivity of reality became shaped into a doctrinaire assumption that any thinking person would acknowledge certain foundational truths. The scientific method, often expressed as a form of logical positivism, was taken to be the basis for all rational thought. Today, the role of presuppositions (beliefs derived from a point of view) as foundational to all thought is much more widely accepted. 7 Philosophers have pointed out the fact that attempts to demonstrate foundational truths usually result in infinite regress whatever is taken to support a belief must then itself be proven, ad infinitum. Several less authoritarian forms of thought have now appeared, such as contextual foundationalism, holistic coherentism, referential cognitivity, critical realism, etc. Willingness to re-examine deeply held beliefs, not from a position of suspicion, but with a view to defining them more carefully, is coming to the fore. It is much more common to hear of warranted beliefs that is, beliefs that cannot be finally proven, but which are rationally commendable. This change has done much to bring faith and reason back into balance. The modern era was heavy on reason, with the result that beliefs were controlled by defining them. The mood today is much more one of recognizing that as finite beings we cannot control the epistemological basis of our beliefs. We think deeply and carefully, but finally have to admit that we must (take the risk to) believe without intellectual certainty. This has the merit of promoting humility and of encouraging a constant refinement of our understanding of the doctrines which we hold dear. Another benefit is that recognition of personal limits reduces the tendency to an isolationist form of individualism, allowing the community of faith to enter into the theological conversation. More and more, theology is properly being recognized as a conversation which is constantly engaged both with the past and with believers of all cultures. Doing theology is a dynamic task, performed by the Body of Christ, acting in mutual trust and interdependence. 6. Relationships An almost self-contradictory aspect of postmodern culture is that the individualism of modernity has become, in some ways, even more extreme, while at the same time there is great emphasis upon community. It would be fair to say that some aspects of postmodernism result in a hyper-individualism almost epistemological solipsism. Yet, more than at any time for generations, people are finding meaning in group contexts. Truth is identified more with 7 An over-simplified, yet very readable and helpful discussion may be found in the first chapter of: Rodney Clapp, Border Crossings: Christian Trespasses on Popular Culture and Public Affairs (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press [Baker Book House], 2000),

6 6 relationships and corporate identities, than with traditional cognition and apologetics. Ethics has become a corporate activity, rather than individual decision. This change is especially beneficial to Christians. One s own story becomes a basis for effective communication of the gospel, thus giving what used to be called testimony the authority once granted only to logic and apologetics. In the same way, the incarnation of biblical principles in the life of the Christian becomes a relational tool of immense power. The love of Christ, expressed through the community of faith to lonely and frightened people is once again the greatest avenue of evangelism and discipleship. 8 Conclusion No culture is all good or all bad. No culture in this fallen world is Christian. Each culture has hindrances to the gospel and Christian living. Each culture has features that are friendly to these endeavors. Postmodernism has many features which severely challenge biblical witness and conduct. Modernism did, as well. Modernism had many features that helped express the truth of Scripture as objective revelation which could be appropriated in the mind and life of the individual believer. Postmodernism has many features that draw the whole human into a vital relationship with God. To condemn or praise either culture is not the point. Rather, the opportunity to examine unconsciously held beliefs and reshape one s world view is a gift which should not be squandered. Likewise, the opportunity to speak the gospel and live out its power in new and fresh ways should be welcomed. In this respect, perhaps the definition offered by Thomas Oden is helpful: Postmodern consciousness is formally defined simply as that form of consciousness that necessarily must follow the era of modernity. If one takes the premise that the modernity we have described is lurching toward death, and that history will continue, whatever it is that will continue will be postmodernity. If X is ending, then post-x is emerging. If what is ending is called modernity, then what is to follow we call postmodernity. It is not a program but a succession. 9 An additional caution is well worth mentioning. Just as Christians adopted the modernist assumptions and Christianized them, so there will be the tendency to do the same with postmodernism. This will serve to weaken the lives and testimonies of individual believers, to identify their churches with the culture instead of Christ, and to make the Church unprepared for movement into the next phase of culture. Indeed, postmodernism will not last. Many believe it has already given way to post-postmodernism. Our task is to bear witness to the truth to the culture in which we find ourselves, not to adopt it nor to be absorbed into it. 8 When the book Lifestyle Evangelism by Joe Aldrich was first published, there was considerable resistance to the concept. Concerns about reducing evangelism to a private (and limited) activity were expressed. Looking back now, one may postulate that the book was simply on the leading edge of the cultural movement to postmodernism, and that some of the negative response was a complaint based in the assumptions of modernism. 9 Thomas C. Oden, Two Worlds: Notes on the Death of Modernity in America and Russia (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 43. Oden goes on to point out that what is called postmodernity in most academic settings is really ultramodernity and has more to do with deconstructionist hermeneutics (see especially page 56).