2.20.2006

Random thoughts - part II

Here are some responses to an old acquaintance, asking about my views as a Christian and a pastor. Some of it might not make sense, as it's just my side of the conversation...

Postmodernism
I would agree that postmodernism basically says: "The world doesn't make much sense." Or, "We don't have many answers to our problems." It's part of my understanding as a Christian that this is only natural. The world won't make sense, unless people take their Creator into account. We have tried to build so much in the past 200 years or so, in the name of humanity. Thomas Paine's Rights of Man comes to mind. The French Revolution, Marxist/Socialist Revolutions all over the world, especially Stalin and Pol Pot. So I would dispute slightly the inference that violence is largely due to conflicting religious convictions, unless we include secular humanism as a religion (which I think we should! It takes just as much faith to believe there is no God as to believe there is.). Middle East situations are the result of sin, of people failing to live up to their religious beliefs, not of living them out as they are meant. Jesus taught us to "Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you." This was sinfully distorted in history by the Crusades, for example. So yes, there is disillusionment with truth claims, but only because some of them haven't really been tried yet.

My interest in postmodernism is how some of it fits with Christianity and some of it doesn't. It makes sense that the world won't make sense, not taking God into account. But it doesn't fit, in other ways: God has given us the meta-narrative in Scripture - a sure hope, contrary to the post-mod's skepticism. "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast" (Hebrews 6:19). Or 2 Timothy 3:16 - "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."

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