rich’s blog

This is another message in the series exploring Christianity & Culture.  If I were giving it again there are some things I’d change both in its style & content.  (I.e., mentioning how Modernism killed the church everywhere but America? Helpful bit of info.)  I’m sure someone who’s alive would want to debate the generalities as I’ve stated them.  I might want to, too!  For what it’s worth, though, here you are: 

Last week: 

Well, last week we talked about sex–What Chrisitanity has to say about it and how we should engage with that basic sexual part of who we are.  We highlighted how we Christians are the recipients of so many “yes’s” from God, how there are boundaries to our sexual expression, but that God has given us pleasure as a good gift.  

 

And sex is engaging, its interesting, it makes for good preaching, right?  It’s something that’s relevant, difficult to get away from.  It’s a lot like the atmosphere. 

 

The Atmosphere:

But the difference between sex and the atmosphere (the difference; there’s only one) is that we notice sex; we don’t really notice the atmosphere.  It’s not something we generally mull over and try to discern how to engage as Christians.  I mean, it’s just there, right?  We live in it, we move around in it, we take it in–we breathe it out.  But we don’t think much about it.  

 

We have this same sort of attitude toward Postmodernity. 

 

Postmodernity:

Postmodernity–or postmodernism–is the label given to what our contemporary society thinks about the way the world “works.”  Does this make sense?  It’s the label used to describe a whole bunch of current attitudes and beliefs people hold about the way the world works.  

 

What we’re doing today: 

Today we’re going to look at some of these attitudes and opinions and beliefs.   We’re going to explore the ways they are different than what was, for generations, previously accepted as normal and reasonable in our society.  

 

Look, I’ll be honest here.  Sex as a topic is a little more riveting than the nuances of our society’s philosophical shift.  It’s just not as sexy.  But the things we’re talking about today are so important for us to understand.  I think it will be clear by the end of the morning why this is true. 

 

There’s a lot of information packed into today’s message.  It’s good information; it’s important information.  And I’ll do what I can to position us to experience today’s information in a transformational way.  But we’ll need God for that.  So let’s pray. 

 

Prayer:

God do allow today to be one more thing you use to transform us into your likeness. Well up your Holy Spirit within us; still my voice if I mispeak.  Accept this message as an offering, Lord, and a praise.  Accept the time and energy that we’ve given to be here, right now, as a show of our desire to meet you.  Meet us, King.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen. 

 

Let me just ask: 

Let me just ask, who here believes that Christianity is supposed to engage the world?  Supposed to speak to the world?

 

But let me just say, quickly, right, that it’s hard to say what Paul says in 1 Cor 9–Remember that part of first Corinthians? vv19-23? Paul’s talking about how he’s trying to communicate to everyone he can, identifying with them, becoming like them–very incarnational–so that people  might actually hear him as he shares what great things God has been up to…?  Oh let’s just read it! 

 

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Cor 9:19-23, tniv)

 

It’s just difficult to say what Paul says here, if we’re not all that sure about who it is we are trying to identify with.  And even if we know who it is we want to “become like,” knowing how to talk to them, knowing what they value, knowing how they perceive the world are just as important as knowing who they are.  

 

Before We Begin:

But before we begin, let me just say–in case you’ve heard otherwise–that postmodernism, postmodernity is not the Devil, it’s not the devil, any more than what went before it was God.  

 

Let’s talk, for a second, about what went before it. 

 

Before Postmodernity: 

Now, remember with me that postmodernism is the label used to describe a whole bunch of current attitudes and beliefs people hold about the way the world works.

 

And Christianity always has something to say about these things, always.  We’ll talk about those things throughout this morning, at least briefly.  But before postmodernism, there was something else.  Before post-modernism, there was a different set of values, beliefs about the world that more or less everyone held.  Guess what it was called. Survey Says: 

 

Modernism!

Surprise!  It was called modernism!  And modernism is a lot easier to talk about, because sociologists, and architects, and scholars, and philosophers have pretty much agreed upon the values that modernism–as a way of thinking about the world–promoted and held onto.  And it’s always easier to talk about what we can look back on and examine, right? 

 

Postmodernism is a bit trickier, because although there are generally agreed upon opinions about what postmodern accepts and promotes, the reality is that postmodernism is still settling out, still settling down.  It’s like someone hit the back of the couch in the nice living room, you know, and the dust is all up in the air and getting light all in it, and you can see the brownian movement as it swirls and settles down.   

 

Philosophically, society has hit modernism, and values and expectations about how the world works are still up in the air, some things can be agreed upon, they’ve settled down, but not everything is all tidy and identifiable yet.  

 

Some people call postmodernism “emerging culture” because what postmodernism will be is still emerging; it’s not fully formed.  Certain parts of Christianity have jumped right into this “emerging culture,” and cast their lot with postmodernism’s perspective on things.  Doing that unreservedly and wholeheartedly is probably as dangerous as ignoring it entirely.

 

But the Church has been ignoring it!

But the church has been ignoring it.  Actually, I shouldn’t say that.  The church has realized that that people are beginning to think life works differently than they did 30 years ago.  The church has realized that the way people think about things like progress, or science, or institutions and authority and community has been changing.  And the church has worked hard to insulate itself against these changes, and been fairly successful

 

Hear me out!

Because–and hear me out here–the church has been a little confused, I think.  Modernism was good for Christianity, honestly–or at least church attendance.  The church (and I’m talking about much of the American church here) figured out how to communicate in a way that modernists could hear, and it grew, and the church benefited in a lot of ways from modernism’s hold in American society.  And over time I think that the church got a little confused between what was Biblical and Christian, and what was simply the perspective of the age. 

 

The result is that as postmodernism has shown up to replace modernism, the church itself has started to feel like it’s value system is being replaced!  It’s gotten a little indignant, and it’s begun blaming postmodernism and society, when really, I think that maybe the church holds some blame for getting a little too comfortable with modernism and what it valued. 

 

Do we see how that could work?  I’m not asking you to accept it, but do we see how maybe over time the church could begin to baptize modernism and the way modernism suggested the world worked, with the end result being that the church has lost both its ability to speak to a postmodern culture, and it’s ability to critically judge the value system of modernism. Makes thing’s tricky if, as Paul says, we’ll judge angels someday.

 

We just got too cozy and too familiar with modernism and how it presented the world to us. 

 

I mean, probably at least part of the reason that anything I say might seem new or insightful or fresh to some of you, is because I have been primarily influenced by the philosophical framework of postmodernism, while you may have been shaped by postmodernism.  I also do think that the Spirit of God works through whatever is happening here. 

 

The most basic perspectives I have on the way the world works–perspectives that Christianity has stained and soaked, but nonetheless, starting sort of perspectives–are more postmodernthan they are modern perspectives.  I have had to take postmodern presumptions to the throne of God, while others of us have had to take modern presumptions to God’s throne, right?  

 

But I’ve talked generally long enough.  Let’s look at particulars.  

 

Particulars:

What we’ll do here is just highlight a few guiding principles that modernism held, and postmodernism holds.  Remember that culture is shifting, it hasn’t shifted–most of us are on a spectrum regarding these beliefs, some of us are a little more modern in one area, a little more postmodern in another.  Some of us are sold out one or the other.  And remember, I am mentioning these things not so that we can play pinata with them, but so that we can understand what’s going on in the world that we’re called to engage with.  

 

Right now:

And here, right now, is where last night at 1:30, I thought to myself, I can’t preach this sermon.  Lord, I don’t have the words; you’ve taken them from me.  I’ve thought about throughout the week, I’ve considered the topic, I’ve read things.  And I was praying about this, drafting my letter of apology to you all, right–thinking about how I pray for God to take away my voice if I’m misleading, and picturing God saying “Okay.” (God sounds like Darth Vader!)

 

And I realized quite quickly that there is very little personal distance between myself and postmodernity’s particulars.  I have been raised in a postmodern world, and I have no–this is what I’m thinking through, right–I have no objectivity here. 

 

And that’s when the Lord broke through.  And as I read here, think about yourself, your children, your parents.  Who am I describing?  Don’t–if you can, and this is postmodern–apply moral labels to these attitudes.  I’ll know you’ll want.  But try to just here them, consider them preferences, think of them as languages–is Russian morally inferior to English?  Not so long ago many of us would have said yes. So hear me:

 

“Objectivity is a joke; we’re all too involved, and too vested, for us to perceive anything ‘objectively.’” 

Because a basic tenant of postmodernity is the notion that there is not such thing as an objective, unbiased perspective on things.  That in fact, all of us carry around in us preunderstandings about what we are engaging with.  Modernity believed that if we were just rational enough, just careful enough with our data, we could pretty much find a solution for everything.  Facts became more and more important, and data and data management and data processing more and more important.  Science–the study of data–and the scientific method became great heroes; nothing could withstand science’s gaze, because science provided us with facts, untainted by the evil of emotion.  Then there were some wars; and science helped kill millions of people, and people began to say that rationality is not immune to emotion; that science doesn’t provide us with all the answers to life, and, in fact, can’t. 

 

“Postmodernity doesn’t believe science and rationality can provide people with the meaning and answers modernism claims it can.” 

Postmodernity, by and large, doesn’t believe that science holds all the answers it claims to have. And in fact, postmodernism says that anyone who claims to have a universal answer, is probably trying to sell you something.  Postmodernism is cynical and skeptical about anyone or anything that says it has the answers to life.  The only answer as far as postmodernism is concerned, is to be true to yourself.  Follow your dreams, follow your heart.

 

“Postmodernism is characterized by a skepticism and self-concern, distrusting authority generally, but institutional authority in particularly.”  

Modernism said or says that if you just listen to the right authority figures they’ll lead you well; they’ll be your trustworthy guides.  Postmodernism counters by saying I can’t trust any authority except my own to look out for my good.  Institutions that modernism built and promoted–think of them–Public Schools, Democracy, Law as a body of codes–and especially the Christian church–can’t be trusted the way modernism trusted them. 

 

Postmodernism says, Democracy is a joke, and only rich people get to play.  Law is manipulated and justice depends on the highest bidder, and the public school system doesn’t educate anybody.  And the Church is proud, and hypocritical.  

 

What happens when a Christian–who was born and raised in modernism’s unwavering belief that institutions can do good–tries to convince a group of postmodern, jaded, anti-institutional people that prayer should be a part of public schools.  The postmodern reaction is either: “Whatever” (because schools don’t matter that much) or “No!” (Because prayer is about religion, and you know what religion is?  It’s suspect; because a postmodern individual realizes that religion has been used to manipulate and coerce and do a lot of bad things.  So it has given up institutionalized faith.

 

The huge rise in non-governmental organizations that provide services governments once did, is partly because individuals have chosen to work outside the institutionalized channels to make things work.  A Christian who is shaped by modernism will say, yes, we have to make homosexuality illegal, yes, we have to ban all abortions.  A postmodern Christian, who is dubious of law’s power to affect change in society, will say, why bother? 

 

“Postmodernism can lead to both inaction and entrepreneurship.” 

Postmodernism can lead to inaction, because none of the channels for change that modernism offered are valued by postmoderns.  But it can also lead to amazing initiative, because postmoderns believe that if they don’t act, no one will–no government, no institution, not the church, no one.  Postmoderns are entrepeneurs and will work for themselves, because of course, they have no belief that any employer cares about anything other than their profits.  Modernism believed that the institution would provide for them; and there was a contract, the institution would provide.  Carolyn’s great Uncle Robert, who died recently, spent more than half his life living on his pension from General Motors.  He was loyal to the institutions of his union, loyal to his employer–his loyalty was reciprocated.  Postmodern individuals are loyal to themselves and to a self-reinforcing micro-community they gather around themselves, and that’s about it. 

 

“Postmodern individuals are driven by a desire to integrate all aspects of their life meaningfully and holistically.”  

They will have an outrageous number of jobs, and some of their parents and all of their grandparents will not understand their drive to find meaning and purpose in their employment.  But the drive of a postmodern person is to have all aspects of their life integrated and united and brought together in one big meaningful picture–but at the same time their tormented because they don’t believe that any one story is true for everyone.  Modernism said meaning was just not as important as duty, as obedience, as conformity, and that one grand story could contain all the truth the world needed.  

 

“Postmodernism extends and promotes adolescence.”

Postmodernism is an age of perennial adolescence, as individual seek meaning and seek truth, wonder about the purpose of life, gather micro-communities of other postmodern people around them like mini-tribes–it’s high school extended into their twenties and thirties.  Modernism valued duty to institutions, to societal norms, not the pursuit of meaning, or the pursuit of experience as a goal.  The primary relationships one had were with family–the greatest modern social institution; while postmodernism has redefined family 

 

“Postmodern has redefined the notion of “family” and other ‘standard’ relationships.” 

to include anyone who can contribute to a person’s pursuit of his or her definition of what is meaningful, and more often than not, postmodern individuals believe that meaning can be derived from the pursuit more than the arrival.  

 

“Postmodernism values journey and process as a goal.” 

For postmoderns, experience is a goal.  Just want to live life, have some neat times, maybe blog about them, and read about other people who are a lot like me and the experiences they have.  Modernism valued destination and arrival; a trip was good–but what mattered was ending up somewhere.  Postmodernism emphasizes not simply the journey but being able to derive meaning from the experience of the journey.  

 

“Postmodernism is aware of its contradictions and stereotypes and enjoys playing around with these qualities of itself in an almost exhibitionistic way.”  

And postmodernism is above all, self-aware.  Modernism has been around for a while; I mean it got rolling in the renaissance, and peaked around half a century ago.  Postmodernism is smug and self-assured, and like any really smart, confident adolescent, wants to push the boundaries, wants people to pay attention to it, wants to show how smart it is by playing around with the knowledge it has.  Postmodernism is showing off, and shrugging off modernism as outdated, and outmoded.  And parts of the church have decided to do the same thing, unfortunately, instead of loving and respecting their elders. 

 

“The dwarfs are for the dwarfs!”

C. S. Lewis, in his book The Last Battle, describes how some bad guys have pretended that Aslan has arrived, and is just isn’t his loving, wonderful self, but really a tyrant, who thinks he’s been too easy on Narnia.  The bad guys are using this mockery of Aslan to more or less get whatever they want.  And some good guys show up, heros, right? Ready to save the day in the name of the real Aslan.  And there’s a battle, and the good guys are winning, and the bad guys are losing, but then all of a sudden the good guys start being killed by dwarves.  The dwarves–who should be good guys, right, Aslan’s people–are sitting on the edge of the fight, shooting bad guys and good guys both.  They’re taking them both out, because they’ve had enough of this Aslan nonsense, they’ve had enough of being manipulated by either side, and so they say, proudly, “The dwarfs are for the dwarfs.” 

 

Postmodernism’s Slogan:

And this, I think, is Postmodernism’s slogan.  I’ve got to be for myself, make my own way, find my own meaning, trust my intuition, and my tribe, and my ideas, because institutions–good guys, bad guys, it doesn’t matter what they call themselves–they’re out for their own good, not mine.  One thing I know, says Postmodernity, is that authority misuses power, that whoever is in authority is just going to manipulate the facts to get what they want–and what they want, whatever else it is, isn’t good for me. 

 

Paul says, in the passage we had read to us today, 

“that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (eph 4:17-24 tniv)

 

There is truth in Jesus.  There is a meta-narrative–an overarching story–in which every single person can find him or herself, which is not out to manipulate or destroy, but wants to bring hope and comfort and ultimate meaning in every single life that is lived.  That story is not modernism’s story, and it’s not postmodernism’s story.  It’s the Bible’s story. 

 

But the Bible has been used for bad things.  And the church can no longer hide that fact.  Christianity says to postmodernity, “in many ways, you are right on:  institutions can get too big for their britches–they make promises that they cannot keep.  Authority has often been used and misused and abused to hurt people and to protect it’s own interests.”  “You are right!  Reason alone cannot save the world; data and facts and science don’t hold a candle to journeying into relationships with others who are committed to your good–so committed, that they will die for you or have already.”   

 

Christianity says to postmodernity, “but you are proud, and in your pride you have made mistakes, that must be confessed and not written off as jokes to play with.”  “You have written off all stories larger than your own immediate one; and placed far too much meaning, and far too much pressure on your own small life, which will end, no matter how long your blogs or facebook pages or art will last.”  

 

Inside Conversation:

Christianity says to those who claim it–to us–that we had better spend a little more energy figuring out what we think about the world and how it works, than calling the person on the other side of the philosophical divide that separates us bad names.  Postmodern and Modern Christians are still Christians.  It takes a church to make a Christian–and a church is filled with all sorts of people.  God worked through modernism in incredible ways for the church.  It has been good for us.  I do not believe that God is incapable of working through postmodernism, even for all it’s differences.  

 

There will come a day generations from now–if history hasn’t ended by then through Jesus’ return–when the church will be incredibly comfortable with Postmodernism, will have figured out how to become postmodern, like Paul became Greek, and weak, and one under the law–but stayed utterly true to Jesus’ call for his loyalty.  And in this future I’m imagining, some philosophical shift in how the world thinks about itself will come along, and the church will be in crisis, “How do I engage?  What do I do?”  

 

“How do I engage? What do I do?”

Now is a time for us to be asking, “How do I engage?  What do I do?”  And we should begin by figuring out ways to articulate to ourselves how we think the world works, what we trust, why, and how Jesus fits into those things.  Do I believe that authority is trustworthy?  Do I believe that institutions are helpful?  And what does the Bible say about all these things?  And where have I confused what the Bible says, and what postmodernism or modernism, says? 

This is a big task.  We have each other, we have the Holy Spirit, and we have the reminder of Jude, to be careful as we engage with the ideas that swirl around in the world.  He tells us that

 

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Jude 17-24, niv)

 

Jude says, look: show mercy, but be careful; go into the fire for people; be merciful to doubters.  Scoffers will come, some saying postmodernity is the devil, others saying modernism is old and useless: we need to remember to be neither of these people.  But instead to be people who wait in the love of God and pray in the Holy Spirit for unity, for wisdom.  If we did this, half the concerns postmodernism has about Church the Institution would crumble.  The other half would go when we started to really act on the truth James shared, that we’ve already heard this morning. 

 

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:13-18 niv)

 

I have scratched at the surface of a huge change in the way the world thinks about itself.  The way society thinks the world works.  If we as Christians, bearers of the message of Christ, could act with purity, could take what we discover about the ways we think the world works, and decide–whether we’re modern or postmodern–to live out together pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, sincere lives, that produce good change in the life of those around us, we would cut right through postmodernity’s skepticism and self-interest, right through modernism’s institutions and rationality, because our lives themselves would prove that God is at work in us.  No other thing would be needed.

 

Our words would align with our deeds, and our witness to the postmodern–and all the pockets of modernism that are carried along with it–would be overwhelmed by the Jesus that we reveal. 

 

Prayer: 

 

God we need you.  We need your wisdom to fall upon us; and we need your mercy to figure out what it is we believe about how the world works, and why.  Help us to be people who test everything we find within ourselves by your word.  Help us to gather together in encouragement and prayer and support of one another no matter our differences!  Let our love for one another be a witness to the world; and help us to speak to the world in it’s native language, not force it to learn a new one.  Even as we speak, though, about the good news of what you’ve done for all of us, help us to be people who bridge the gaps between modernity and postmodernity in the same way, Lord, you bridged the gap between us and you on our behalf.  Astonish us with mercy, and help our mercy to the world overwhelm all its scoffing.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.