Christians Living in a Postmodern World

2039 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: SUMMARIZE AND Analyze the Christian worldview

John: 8:32 “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (NRSV)

In tying it all together and having navigated many different paths of “worldviews” my ability to think world-viewishly has been shaped in that I was challenged by countless interpretations as to what constitutes authentic truth/reality in a postmodern world. In my quest to analyze these issues and gain a distinct understanding as to why certain worldviews present truth and reality as that which is certain—however unproven, I was forced to change the lens by which I had previously viewed various worldviews in the past. I have concluded that the only real truth lie within the Christian worldview. As Christians we are called to be committed to the truth, more so the truth of the gospel. So what is truth? Sire cites that truth is a fact that corresponds to reality. Truth is a fact that by its very nature is immutable—cannot be changed. It is prepositional. So then how should a Christian present truth in a postmodern age of new age thinkers? Upon examining various world views and encountering what they consider to be truth and arriving at this point of understanding along with the challenges which were presented in our studies I offer a brief overview of my conclusions of various worldviews whose truth cannot be substantiated nor validated, then make my case for truth/reality as a Christian living a postmodern world.

BREIF OVERVIEW

Studies and researched revealed these overviews:

Naturalism: Where we find the subtopics of Atheism; Agnosticism and Existentialism: Reality is that which the material universe is all that exists. Reality is "one-dimensional." There is no such thing ...

... middle of paper ...

...rldview, postmodernism opts for lesser goals by cobbling together various ideas, practices and goals for pragmatic purposes. As postmodernist Walter Truett Anderson stated “Truth” isn’t what it used to be.” Postmodernism embraces a cluster of ideas, most of which contradict Christian understanding of truth, authority and rationality. If most modernist are right there can be no basis of knowledge of any kind. In postmodernist culture truth as we know it is dead. So how we to understand truth as are is related to postmodernism? One note of consideration: Postmodernism seems to deflate overly optimistic accounts of human reason and progress based solely on human ability.

Postmodernism claim that any comprehensive and authoritative worldview is forever out of our reach and that to claim otherwise is an arrogant pretext for dominating those with whom one disagrees.

Show More
Related

  • Postmodernism Movement in “The 400 Pound CEO”

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    Postmodernism movement started in the 1960’s, carrying on until present. James Morley defined the postmodernism movement as “a rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective anonymous experience.” In other words, postmodernism rejects what has been established and makes emphasis on combined revolutionary experiences. Postmodernism can be said it is the "derivate" of modernism; it follows most of the same ideas than modernism but resist the very idea of boundaries. According to our lecture notes “Dominant culture uses perception against others to maintain authority.”

    Read More

  • Worldviews In Conflict Pearcey

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcy's essay, "Worldviews in Conflict," the authors evaluate the shifting cultural context of today's society and how Christianity fits into this situation. The essay compares the differing views between Christianity and today's worldview, and informs the reader on how to engage in today's culture. The "Worldviews in Conflict" is a reliable source because its authors, audience, publication, and purpose make it credible.

    Read More

  • Gospel Essentials Essay

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    The foundation of a Christian worldview is the belief in a personal God, creator and ruler of the universe. The Christian worldview views the world through God’s word, providing the framework for humanity to live by giving meaning and purpose to life. It defines who Jesus is, human nature, and how salvation is achieved. In essence it is the basis of which Christians behave, interact, interpret life and comprehend reality. A Christian worldview imparts confidence, answers to life’s problems, and hope for the future. In this paper I will discuss the essentials of a Christian worldview and an analysis of the influences, benefits, and difficulties sustaining the Christian faith.

    Read More

  • Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Post-Modernism, the absence of any certainty, discredits the values of modernism, opposing the fixed principles of meaning and value. It is built on countless theories about society, the media and knowledge of the world, but it is also aware that there is no ultimate way of making sense of humanity. Ondaatje embraces aspects of post-modernism, by creating a novel that breaks away from the traditional narrative, thereby giving readers a greater perspective on the novel. One learns that any story is simply a storyteller's construction, and is never unbiased.

    Read More

  • Comparing Barthelme's The School And The Lady With Dog

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    From this week's reading assignments, I gathered quite a bit of knowledge in the postmodernist features. In retrospect, I was a bit confused on all the features and point of views with postmodernism vs. postmodernist. The two readings being of Barthelme's "The School" and "The Lady With Dog", by Chekhov. These two works were odd and similar. I identified a feature that I thought would work best for "The School", "There is no such thing as truth." I chose this feature because after all the death these students encountered, in the end the teacher had no real conclusion on where all the deceased had gone. The students feared this conclusion and came up with various "alternate endings" for those that had passed.

    Read More

  • Christianity in a Postmodern World

    7696 Words  | 16 Pages

    Others have tried to do what Diogenes Allen, Professor of Philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary, does in his book but none with his breadth or effectiveness. That is, others have attempted to exploit for theism's benefit the hard times now befalling the modern world's emphasis on scientific reasoning and pure rationality, which for quite a while had placed Christianity (and religious belief in general) on the intellectual and cultural defensive. Many of these earlier attempts made use of the Wittgensteinian concepts of "form of life" or "language game" to show that both science and religion depended on unproven assumptions and therefore rested equally on grounds without firm foundations. These kinds of attempts, however, could most always aim no higher than to make the world safe for fideism. And fideism is not to defend the faith. What makes Allen's contribution special and important is his effort to examine in a philosophically rigorous way what we mean when we say Christianity is true. He quotes Colossians 2:2 at the start of his book, but I Peter 3:15 is just as appropriate for what follows: "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence."

    Read More

  • Postmodernism in US Television Show Lost

    1784 Words  | 4 Pages

    Postmodernism can be defined as a rejection of the idea that there are certain unequivocal truths or grand narratives (such as capitalism, faith or science) and as a belief that there are multiple ways of understanding anything, whether it be it culture, philosophy, art, literature, films, etc, or even television... Television reflects the mass-produced society we live in and certain shows exhibit many of the archetypes of postmodernism that have become prevalent in other art forms. Postmodernism can be useful for understanding contemporary television it can help us to relate to the ever-changing world we live in. Television shows like ABC’s Lost (ABC, 2004-2010) dabble in matters of intertextuality, questioning of grand narratives and, amongst others, a manipulation of time through use of flashbacks, flash-forwards and, uniquely to Lost, the flash-sideways.

    Read More

  • Benchmark Assignment: Gospel Essentials

    1701 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.

    Read More

  • A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW IN A POSTMODERN CULTURE

    2203 Words  | 5 Pages

    Postmodernism literally means after-modernism and is used to describe the period of time we currently are in which is after the age of modernism. Premoderns placed their trust in authority. Moderns lost their confidence in authority and placed it in human reason instead. Postmoderns kept the modern distrust of authority but lost their trust in reason and have ...

    Read More

  • The Church in the Postmodern World

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    I must say that I learned a lot from this class both through the readings and through class discussion. I really, honestly do not have anything that I starkly disagreed with in either. I found it all to be very valuable information for me and this class was extremely helpful in assisting me to better understand the current paradigm shift the church is going through. There are three take-a-ways in particular that helped me to better understand the post modern shift in the church and my role as a minister in this changing paradigm. The first take-a-way is the understanding that there is a shift occurring towards focusing more on the congregational life of the church with more attention on the laity and its formation. Second, is how to plan, as a church and as pastors, to adjust to this shift towards congregational life and how to be better prepared as a postmodern church to be relevant in this changing time. Lastly, I received a better way of explaining the meaning of what truth is in this post modern time.

    Read More

  • Christology Chapter Summary

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    Those who were followers of Christ began to raise the question about the person and work of Christ. Understanding this epoch of time opens the door for believers to comprehend the religious system and our roles as modern Christians in today’s society. When we as Christians can see how our historical roots connect to our personal beliefs. We strengthen our theological foundation and we develop into a persuasive witness in own

    Read More

  • Postmodernism's Effect on Marriage and Family

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    Postmodernism first appeared around the 1980’s, following a hectic and messy period of time. The postmodernist theory that defines a new era describing the world as society is fragmenting, while authority is de-centering, and real truth does not exist; there are only representations of it. Believers of the postmodernist theory, believe that postmodernism is a mixture of present, past, and future, more specifically, the cultural and spatial elements of these different times (Lemert, 2010). The postmodern age is considered the information age, or even, the technological age. Both of these are evident through the changes that have occurred within the typical marriage and family. One of the main emphases of postmodernism is that no real truth exists, demonstrating the grand narrative. The grand narrative states that the “truth” is invented for the sole purpose of selling things. This is clearly shown, in a different manner, in marriages and families in today’s society. No real truth being in existence creates change in the typical marriage and family.

    Read More

  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    McHale, Brian. “Afterword: Reconstructing Postmodernism.” Narrative 213 (2013): 357-364. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

    Read More

  • Traditional Christian Claim For The Uniqueness Of Christ

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is my truth, now tell me yours. Don Carson offers this summary of postmodern thought: "Modernism is often pictured as pursuing truth, absolutism, linear thinking, rationalism, certainty, the cerebral as opposed to the effective--which in turn breeds arrogance, and inflexibility, the lust

    Read More

  • Literature - Postmodern Literary Criticism

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    Postmodernism attempts to call into question or challenge the notion of a single absolute unified master narrative without simply replacing it with another. It is a paradoxical, recursive, and problematic method of critique.

    Read More

More about Christians Living in a Postmodern World

Open Document