Understanding The Times
Jesus points out in Luke 14:28 that a wise king will ascertain the strength of
his enemy before going to war. Someone wisely stated “a problem well defined is
half solved.” That is why we need to be like the men described in 1 Chronicles
12:32. The general context describes the throngs of warriors that joined King
David’s army following the death of Saul. Among them was a group of men from the
tribe of Issachar. The Bible says that these men “understood the times and knew
what Israel should do.” We need to understand the times, the cultural atmosphere
in which we live – in order to respond effectively.
Ethical Theism
Bible believers accept what is philosophically known as ethical theism, a belief
that truth has been revealed to men and women by God. We accept Bible teaching
concerning the identity of humans, that we are both spiritual and material
beings, created in God's image, but fallen because of our personal sin. We
believe that God is the creator, preserver and governor of his earth and has
instructed humans to subdue it and care for it. We believe that reason is an
integral part of our human make up and that the use of reason is necessary, but
that the revelation of God's will and our faith in that revelation are also
necessary.
To a great extent our nation was founded upon these principles and until the
mid-twentieth century the moral standards of the Bible were held in the highest
esteem. God's people today recognized the necessity of holding on to the values
of ethical theism.
Modernism
The next philosophical wave hit our nation along with the rest of the world
around the end of the second world war. It is referred to as modernism.
Modernism holds that truth can be discerned through reason and logic rather than
revelation. It sees humans as rational rather than spiritual beings who can
define their existence according to what their senses perceive. Rather than God
being in control of the earth by virtue of creation, and mankind as stewards of
that creation, modernists believe that humans can and should conquer the earth
and do so without regard to a higher power. For answers and understanding about
life and the world around us, people should rely only on rational discovery
through the scientific method and reject belief in the supernatural.
Obviously, these beliefs constitute a shift away from the Bible based philosophy
held by previous generations. God, His revealed Word, and respect for that Word
all of a sudden became irrelevant. The influence of modernism affected, not only
the way people thought, but also the way they lived. With God out of the picture
man was free to choose his own standard of morality.
Postmodernism
“Between 1960 and 1990," writes Stanley J. Grenz, in his book A Primer To
Postmodernism, postmodernism emerged as a cultural phenomenon, spurred in many
respects by the advent of the information age. Grenz suggests that if the
factory is the symbol of the industrial age, which produced modernism, the
computer is the symbol of the information age, which parallels the spread of
postmodernism.
Postmodernism is complex and its individual tenants sometimes contradictory.
Still, it can be summarized as follows:
“Truth does not exist in any objective sense. Instead of discovering truth in a
narrative, such as the Bible that presents a unified way of looking at
philosophy, religion, art and science – postmodernism rejects the idea that
there exists any "grand story" that explains an individual fact or life in
general. There is no universal truth into which we can fit individual facts.
Truth, whether in science, education, or religion is created by a specific
culture or community and is "true" only in and for that culture. Individual
persons are the product of their culture; individuality is an illusion; identity
is constructed from cultural sources. All thinking is illusory. What you and I
regard as truths are simply arbitrary beliefs we have been conditioned to accept
by our society, just as others have been conditioned to accept a completely
different set of beliefs. Since human beings must use language in order to think
or communicate, and words are arbitrary labels for things and ideas, there is no
way to evaluate or criticize the ideas, facts, or truths that language conveys.
Any system or statement that claims to be objectively true or unfavorably judges
the values, beliefs, lifestyle, and truth claims of another culture is a power
play, an effort by one culture to dominate other cultures."
The last sentence in the preceding paragraph explains the "clash" that exists
between the postmodernist and the Christian. Christianity is as a way of life
that presents an objective standard, declaring some things right and other
things wrong. Such a standard is not compatible with postmodern thought. In a
postmodern society -- a society that regards all values, beliefs, lifestyles,
and truth claims as equally valid -- there can be only one universal virtue:
tolerance. And, if tolerance is the cardinal virtue, the sole absolute, then
there can be only one evil: intolerance. Since Christianity is intolerant toward
what the God calls sin then the great enemy of postmodernism is the Bible and
anyone who accepts it as God's will and takes its condemnations seriously. This
explains why a so called artist can take a crucifix, an obvious symbol of
Christianity, suspend it in his own urine, and receive accolades for his
artistry, yet to similarly display a deviant sex practitioner symbol would be considered
intolerant and decried as a hate crime.
Such antagonism toward Christianity is befuddling, particularly within the
context of postmodernism and its god "tolerance." But now that we know the basic
tenants of the new tolerance, we can begin to understand why Christianity and
Christians will be - in fact, must be --the target of the new tolerance.
Christians simply cannot tolerate and accept doctrines and/or lifestyles that
run contrary to God's Word.
Having an understanding of these issues will not make the monster of
postmodernism go away, but at least we will know what we are up against. Having
a knowledge of Satan's latest scheme to destroy man's faith in God will give us
a fighting chance to save our own souls and possibly the souls of others. A
better understanding of our times will help us identify what our nation needs
and hopefully motivate each of us to provide for that need through our personal
support of the truth as we preach it and live it each day of our lives.
(Sources: Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler, The New Tolerance. Stanley J. Grenz,
A Primer To Postmodernism)
By Ed Barnes
From Expository Files 18.2; February 2011
