...But apparently, in postmodern gatherings like this one, even simple truth is unacceptable if it smacks of what is considered to be a “traditional narrative.”
As an emerging blogger complained, “I think many of us at the Emergence Christianity Gathering were shocked that … stories of hope were ignored in favor of one that piled on the same stale guilt that we have come to expect from traditional religion.”
In other words, if it smacks of “traditional religion,” it’s simply bad; even if it’s true. Look, I freely admit that the era when moms generally stayed home while dads earned the bread was far from the Ozzie and Harriet ideal, but to dismiss it and pretend that the massive changes that have happened to the family in recent decades had no negative consequences is bizarre.
Hitching Christianity’s wagon to any passing spirit of the age is a one-way ticket to irrelevance.
Postmodernism’s denial of dominant narratives is in itself a dominant narrative. Plus, like it or not, the Bible claims a dominant narrative that sin has infected the entire world and requires the redemption of Jesus Christ. Postmodern Christianity, rather than being a new way forward, will just lead to another theological dead end.
During Christianity’s struggle with modernism a generation ago, Dr. Carl F.H. Henry offered a balanced way forward in his classic book "The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism." “The Christian life,” he wrote, "must be lived out among the regenerate, in every area of activity, until even the unregenerate are moved by Christian standards, acknowledging their force.”
All who call themselves Christians—emerging or not—can readily agree on that.
Read it all here ...
No comments:
Post a Comment