Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Post-Modern Christian in Action
I'm not sure whether or not I have the authority to start a new question, but here I am doing it anyway. If he doesn't like it, Toffelguy can just delete it. My question is this: What does the 'post-modern christian' look like in action? As a fundementalist Evangelical, my main thoughts were generally always focused on evangelism and missions, missions, and more missions. The general feeling I get from fundamentalist evangelicals (even today when I went to church) is that evangelism and missions is pretty much the main focus of our action in the world. Would this be any different for the post-modern Christian? Also, what does the post-modern christian look like as far as spiritual practices go? Do we still do devotions, how do we pray, how do we relate to 'non-christians', how do we teach our children about God, in what ways do we worship? This is a somewhat less technical question, but one that is very important as we hit the ground.
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11 comments:
Well, no time for a thorough response, but I don't believe in the possibility of a truly post-modern Christian. The two ideas are antithetical. I'll post more later on what a Christian in post-modern culture might look like though.
what? post-modern and christian antithetical? this i've got to hear.
Well, in a nutshell, the only totalizing statement that post-modernism (if we can speak of such a thing) makes is that totalizing statements are not allowed. There are no meta-narratives, no ultimate truths, all things are entirely relative.
Christianity is, at its very core, a meta-narrative. We believe that our story explains all of the stories. That idea is water to post-modern oil. The two just don't mix.
Can someone please explain to me what is meant by "meta-narrative" and how it compares with the term "world-view"? I've been against using the phrase "Christian world view" for some time now, but I'm just not sure I'm talking about the same thing as "meta-narrative."
A little help?
I just want to say that I was looking forward to hearing what you all had to say about this more practical question Trevor was asking... but here you are stuck in the theory of it again!!
PFFT.
Tara, I'm curious if you have anything to say about the Scripture question??
I don't mind some theory and theology every now and then, but I'm much more interested in the practical application aspects of this blog... I'm curious how everyone's faith is being lived out in light of their "new" perspectives.
And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only reader here who isn't here just for the big words and fancy discussion...
:o)
If postmodernism allows no ultimate truths is it even possble to be "truly" postmodern? And if a tree falls in the forest...never mind...I think that the point of Trevor's question is what does it look like to live out the Christian faith in our world in the time in which we live? To me it is about balance. It is kind of like a good caramel macchiato. You need to have the right ratio between coffee, milk, whipped cream and caramel. In my little analogy the coffee represents evangelicalism, the milk social justice, the whipped cream is more liturgical in nature and the caramel is more charismatic. Now some people like to have a little more caramel and some like a little less whipped cream and some people prefer decaf or else they are awake all night thinking about things...Anyways, there is something distinctly different between a good Starbucks caramel macchiato and that terrible stuff they pass off as cappucino at the Seven Eleven at Rosetown. There's a difference between a real macchiato and that envelope of fake powdered add water crap. My point is that it is possible to identify something that is not a macchiato and it is possible to identify something that is posing as a macchiato, while still acknowledging that a good macchiato can include a range of preferences.
Lola
mmmm, machiatto.
i'm not sure that we're all defining post-modern the same way, but i guess we can skip the technicalities and get to the broader question lola has identified. still, it seems to me that the way we understand our "postmodern" times will affect our answers.
i'll throw my response onto tara's post.
Hey guys, I know I am not one of the authorized people, but wanted to throw in my two cents anyway.
Colin, I think you may be oversimplifying things a bit with your evaluation of PM’s. To assume that Post-modernism (or whatever you want to label it) as it is actually found outside of academia is a direct correlation to the philosophic fathers of post modern thought is not that accurate. It’s like equating the beliefs of Martin Luther with that of a Pastor in an Anabaptist church a few hundred years later. Yes, there is a causal relationship between the two, but they can be hardly considered the same.
My understanding of Trevor’s question is more focused on the real world. More in this manner: What the latest cultural revitalisation of the church (if you would call it that), whether you call it Post-modernism, neo-romanticist thought or what have you, would look like in its practical outlooks and actions.
My take on it would be that they would see the focus and goal of the Church to work for and be the kingdom of God in the world, both locally and globally. Not in a solely spiritual outlook that often falls into a Gnosticism, but a more holistic care for people and the planet. Devotions and other elements of our faith would be just as necessary for those wanting to have a healthy and living walk with Christ. There may be more openness to practices that weren’t a part of their own experience of the faith community they have been a part of, such as spiritual disciplines from hundreds of years in the past. Teaching about God would definitely be more story based than abstract facts and prepositions.
Of course, speaking of post-modern Christianity like it is one unified whole is like speaking of 1st century Judaism like it was one unified group and set of beliefs. It can be over simplistic and not that accurate, there are surely varying beliefs and focuses among ”emergent” churches (it’s so hard to speak of this group with it’s many loaded names)
I see that others have already said some of this since I started writing, so sorry for the repetition where it exists
Chris
Colleen,
Do you know that enveloping ourselves in technical discussions about the meaning of words is the most effective way to hide from real life? Why do you think I'm still in school? :)
Kidding!
The truth is, I simply don't "get" what all the fuss is about "post-modernism." I'm still trying to figure out what "modernism" is.
Okay, really quick response to Chris before I get off to school this morning.
Sorry if it seemed like I was trying to haul a bunch of ivory tower philosophy into the conversation. That actually wasn't my intention but I see what you mean to a degree. The problem is that we've used the magic word "postmodern." If we're going to use that word then we need to give it some kind of rough definition at least. It seems to me so far that everyone who's posted in this thread probably has a different definition so how can we talk about postmodern Christianity if we don't know what anyone means by postmodern. May as well talk about JFLSKDA Christianity at that point. Actually JFLSKDA Christianity might be more useful because we're not all importing a whole swath of assumptions that way.
I really am going to try to post something in a bit that's about practical Christian living in the 21st century. All I can say now is that I think Lola's post is brilliant.
i just want to say that i reject the false dilemma between theory and theology on one hand and practical matters on the other. but i know what is meant so i'll play along. chris has a good point about the postmodernism of everyday life and the stuff in the universities. however, they feed off of each other, and i don't think we can talk about trevor's question without talking about what postmodernity is to some degree. i'm not as allergic to the term as dustin or colin, but i agree with them that in some ways it is sort of irrelevant to trevor's question what era we're in or not in. At the same time, the question implies that what we're after are the emphases and manifestations of Christianity as it appears in our lives at this time. So nothing could be more relevant than to bandy about some of the key questions, opportunities or challenges that postmodernity might pose.
as a good postmodern i should probably question the implied premise behind all that we are trying to do here. can we ever really propose to distill the scriptures/theology into some practical steps for all to follow? that is a very modern thing to think that we can do that. if there are some practical steps to answering trevor's question they are: Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. If you want to have Christ guide you in how to do that, skip the self-help books in the Christian bookstore and read the Bible and engage in your local Church. THere is and should not be any replacement for the dynamic that is invested in those activities by Christ himself.
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