How Understanding Postmodernism Can Help the Church
C.S. Lewis, in his work The Abolition of Man, spoke against modernist education. He declared that modernism would breed men without chests – people so concerned with the scientific that they failed to cultivate virtue and thus gave into their most base desires. It seems today that society is plagued with both chest-less men and men with too much chest. The chest-less modernists have given rise to the all-too-chesty postmodernists. While the modernist sees no objective standard for the non-physical, the postmodernist sees no objective standard for anything. The modernist does not seek to form his chest/heart because he sees no scientific standard for morality. The postmodernist relies too heavily on his heart because he thinks that all paths lead to Heaven.
When average conservative hears the term “postmodern,” he probably thinks of ridiculous self-refuting claims like, “All truth is subjective,” or, “We determine our own truths.” Such statements are deemed so absurd (rightfully so) that most conservatives simply equate postmodernism with stupidity. There are some truths to glean from the postmodern movement, however.
1) Postmodernism demonstrates that humans have an innate need for connection with the divine. While modernism is very empirical and scientific, postmodernism recognizes that truth comes from many sources. The postmodernist tends to see all ideas as equally valid, including spiritual ideas. It is easier for the Christian to converse with someone who admits the possibility of the divine. The Christian only needs to [easily] dismantle the idea that there is no absolute truth. This is laughably easy.
2) Postmodernism presents a much more realistic philosophy of science. Many modernists believe that absolute truth can be certainly discerned from natural experimentation. However, postmodernists rightly recognize that one’s perceptions and biases influence scientific research. This philosophy of science aligns much more closely with a biblical view of investigation. Both a postmodernist and a Christian rightly recognize that certain truth cannot be discerned infallibly from the natural world. Where the Christian and postmodernist differ are in the absoluteness of God and the authority of the Bible.
3) Postmodernism points out that many perspectives may be valuable. There is always a temptation for both Christian and non-Christian to be overly dogmatic. To be sure, there are truths to die on. Nonetheless, the postmodernist rightly challenges dogmatic assumptions. Whenever there is a task that needs to be accomplished, the wise person will gather data and ideas from many sources. Of course, a practical task is not the exact same as a matter of Christian doctrine, but Christian should be intellectually humble when it comes to the nonessentials.
While postmodernism is a danger to society and the Church, there are little bits of truth in every persuasive lie. Christians who want to engage the culture may be wise to understand the opposition in order to find points of common ground while boldly proclaiming the Word of Truth. Postmodernism has rightly rejected the errors of modernism. However, postmodernists replace error for error. By understanding the specific error, the evangelists and apologist may more clearly rebuke the falsehood and communicate the truth.
Mitchell D. Cochran is a family life educator, a financial coach, and a biblical counselor. He is the cofounder of Hope Initiative Consulting, LLC. and is currently attending Calvary University for his M.A. in biblical counseling. Mitchell is active in local politics in Lubbock, TX, where he lives with his wife, Katherine.
