Post Modernism Limits Religious Control of People
Those who believe their particular branch of Christianity can reemerge as a central force in society need to read this essay on religion and post modernism.
First, it might be good to review modernism, at least my own understanding of it. To me, the first hint of modernism was way back in ancient Irael. Leaders of that society thought control was the goal and one god instead of several provided what they needed. One god for a disparate society was modernism. It served leaders of Europe well because kings could call themselves best friends of the one god.
Pagans, on the other hand, represented ancient post modernism. There were lots of gods, local and reginal. As we know modernism outran paganism. Yet the post-modern paganism existed far longer than has religious modernism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, etc. To me, post modernism is not "modern." What we call post modernism predates "modernism' and may well be baked into human DNA. Most humans like variety and change, not narrow choices and static experiences.
The link list five ways post modernism is threatening Christianity.
1.) It is questioning universal truths of the faith. Recently, a commenter on this blog scoffed at those who doubt "revealed truths." Post modernism provided a variety of ways Biblical history should be considered.
2.) Rejection of the Meta-narrative. This is rejection of the over arching meaning and purpose of life.
3.) Emphasis on personal experience. Post modernism tell each of us our individual views and what we have experienced is very important.
4.) Celebration of diversity.
5.) Rejection of institutions.
I don't see any way current Christian leaders or denominations can build a force to defeat these forces within post moderism. Instead, what we are likely to see is something like post-post modernism with even a greater variety of ideas, values and meaning.
good afternoon, old fellow. you have gotten the characterics of post-modernism mostly right (as far as I know of a very complex and intrinsically confusing subject). but you don't seem to realize that you have effectively shot your self in the foot. simply because post modernists tend to dismiss what they call meta-narratives, ideologies that seek to make sense of a chaotic, heraclician world. including, of course, your own atheistic meta-narrative. but don't despair: post modernism -- ironically, but predictively-- encourages, nay gives rise to'-- closed, intense dogmatic ideologies (met-narratives if you will). as I recall, Nietzsche somewhere says as much. which is to say that men can't really live in a world of flux, meaningless. ultimately they construct narratives that allow them to make sense of it all. so go pick a mega story that makes sense to you and run with it, the torpedos be damned. written in haste as usual.
ReplyDeletetsm '...you have effectively shot yourself in the foot...because post modernists tend to dismiss..meta narratives that make sense of a chaotic, heraclician world..."
DeleteGood post. Except you are off the same rails religious people miss when the talk of non-believers. You have incorrectly assigned views to advocates of post modernism without actually establishing what views they hold. You quote Nietzsche when he said something that does not apply to post modern non-believers.
Non believers like myself do have a narrative that we use to make sense of these times. It is history. Looking back in history we can see most, almost all, of human history has been more like modernism than does the relatively recent history of the one-god Judaism/Christianity. Most of human history has been that of isolated families and clans worshipping their own gods and revering their own version of their history and purpose. It was post modernism before modernism. Christian propaganda does not like this accurate history of humans however because they lose control of the levers of power.
Thus, our narrative is not made up of your "dogmatic ideologies" or random "pick a mega story." It is, instead Christianity that has a "dogmatic ideology" and has picked at random a narrative than provides it the power it seeks.
don't know how you can say that Nietzsche "when he said something that does not apply to apply to post-modern....". in reality it goes to the heart of the matter. but in case you didn't get it, I'll try again. the irony of PMis that it postulates a world fhat can be best described a world in chaos. so get a good meta-narrative and stick by it, come hell or high water. like you, by your own admission, do. by the way, I think that Sartre said something similar. in fine, you seem to think that Christianity brought with it what you call a "modern" worldview, a worldview presumably dualistic, but comprehensible, reasonable and all that. that's an interesting twist on history. for me modernism means industrialism. securalism, socialism, exaltation of unguided human Reason and, of course, the mass non-surgical removal of human heads.
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