So this is what I've been reading and what I think about it...
I continue to read that a post-modern thinker is less concerned with being good, but would rather be free. This is so important in the way the Gospel is presented. Not only how its presented, but rather looking at what the Gospel is. Many Gospel presentations share about how we are separated from God because we are not good, because we have fallen short of some standard. But a post-modern response is "who says what's good?" "why does that definition or standard have to apply to me?" whether or not these are valid questions does not change the fact that they are asked. I know easily it is said that the standard is set, so to question it doesn't change the fact that it is in place. I totally agree, but you won't reach this generation with a response like that. People will turn and call you small minded. Whether or not they are right, it is the response.
So we are all about reaching people, and in the same way that we learn new languages if we are going to minister the Gospel overseas, we must learn to speak in a way that is understandable to this generation. I DID NOT SAY CHANGE THE GOSPEL. I do not advocate changing who Jesus is or how we are saved or any of those things, but there seems to be room to move toward a message of freedom. Freedom is in the scriptures. Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" and Isaiah writes and Jesus restates, "The Lord has anointed me...to proclaim liberty to the captives (Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18).
So how are post modern thinkers reached?
Is it necessary to have a desire to be good? or is it about having a desire to know God through Christ Jesus?
I'm just asking some questions, just thinking it through. These thoughts are absolutely subject to change. As I seek the Lord, I pray you would too and we could know God more through asking these questions. And talking about the answers together.
One more question, where do freedom and shalom intersect?
3 comments:
good thoughts sims.
how is the postmodern generation reached?
hhhmm....
let me pose some preliminary questions that could be of some use to this conversation.
can one subscribe to postmodern philosophy and be a christian?
at what points must the postmodern thinker change his/her thought to become a Christian? or, at what points does the Gospel conflict with postmodern thought?
how does the average postmodern thinker, as opposed to the scholar, feel towards the Gospel? ie. are they hostile? indifferent? opposed?
maybe answering these questions first can help us better use our imagination to respond to our postmodern society.
Postmodern philosophy in the purest sense leaves no room for Christianity, in the same way that modern philosophy leaves no room for the non-physical/spiritual world, which i think is a huge part of following Jesus. But just as in modernity, postmodernity is affecting and shaping culture, but is not held to in the most strict sense by most people. it is clear that post-modern thought is shaping the culture. so i think the more relevant question is can one subscribe to "cultural postmodernity" and Christianity? and i think the answer is yes. but that is subject to the amount any given individual subscribes to postmodern thought.
The biggest hindrance, that I can see, to a postmodern thinker becoming a Christian is the acceptance of some absolute Truth and a person seeing the Bible as that Truth.
Those who hold fast to the purer more philosophical ideology of postmodernity will have much conflict with Christianity on a variety of topics. But your average "cultural postmodern" is hesitant toward authority and skeptical of Truth, but postmoderns would generally say that everything is debatable and that experience can change opinions. so it would seem that if individuals experienced the Truth of Jesus and knew in a more "felt" way then they would be able to come to know Jesus.
so if the "you can be free Gospel" allows people to hear, and the "you can be right with God" causes ears to shut, can we move away from the traditional (last 50 years) way of sharing about Jesus? Can we do this without losing the heart of what the Gospel is? Is the "you can be free Gospel" as much the Gospel as the "you can be right with God"? Are they the same Gospel? Is it not the freedom that Christ brings that allows us to be right with God? So how important is presentation?
hm. good thoughts.
how important is presentation? is being relevant with the Gospel really the issue? are we wasting our time with following the newest cultural fads to "appropriately" present the Gospel?
i would say that presentation is fairly important. Jesus' words were quite relevant to his audience. all the parables of farming, kings, and wedding banquets were quite significant to the listeners. so does this mean that we need to change the "clothes" of the Gospel to fit our audience. the body is still the same, just the clothes are different. it is dressed more appropriately for the setting. hm. maybe.
do we have the right to change the clothes of the Gospel? i mean, does the Bible give us authority to do so?
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