tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post113814020642053003..comments2024-03-28T12:34:14.649-07:00Comments on dangerous idea: Is Postmodernism as old as the hills? Can it be Christian?Victor Repperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-18041802153057060602007-08-04T01:34:00.000-07:002007-08-04T01:34:00.000-07:00I'll only approach one part: the argument about th...I'll only approach one part: the argument about the validity of the Christian faith via the reality of the resurrection.<BR/><BR/>Yes, Paul was saying that the Christian faith is only true if Jesus had risen from the dead. But to him, the resurrection was a dynamic, inexplicable event with ripple effects in the lives of many. To say that it is true is not simply a "yes/no" statement - it is a statement filled with all kinds of interworkings and external effects. It caused people to live starkly different lives. It's not something that can be answered "yes" to and then simply left on the table. It's something that keeps asking questions, and can only be answered personally by a personal encounter. Thus, truth is being communicated not by an absolute objective, but person to person, from God to man...<BR/><BR/>In the same vein, Jesus didn't say that the Way, the Truth and the Life is some abstract philosophy, but Himself, a person... thus, Christianity is not merely a belief statement but a life to be lived, and one of power.<BR/><BR/>My own suspicion is that postmodernism is ultimately less an attempt to stray from the truth and more an inevitable human phenomena due to God's own willingness for people to seek personal truth from a personal God - the only way it can truly ever be given.<BR/><BR/>To sum up, the truth is not contained in a statement. The truth is contained in a Person. This is the only answer to the itching questions that have been irrevocably opened by the minds and hearts of many.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-1166160684600715562006-12-14T22:31:00.000-07:002006-12-14T22:31:00.000-07:00Vic,Here I want to say I share in your bafflement ...Vic,<BR/><BR/>Here I want to say I share in your bafflement that Christians, and apparently conservative ones at that, would embrace postmodernism. <A HREF="http://uncrediblehallq.blogspot.com/2006/09/review-twilight-of-atheism.html" REL="nofollow">Alister McGrath</A>, for example, seems to think it's a really nifty weapon for attacking non-Christians, never considering the effects it has on Christianity. I suppose that it somewhat understandable, but the backfiring nature of the approach is so obvious that you'd think he'd see it.The Uncredible Hallqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09565179884099473943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-1166098485273720692006-12-14T05:14:00.000-07:002006-12-14T05:14:00.000-07:00Well, there is a "Postmodern Christianity" page on...Well, there is a "Postmodern Christianity" page on that Wikipedia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-1166072240266562162006-12-13T21:57:00.000-07:002006-12-13T21:57:00.000-07:00Hey Vic,I agree with much of what you say, though ...Hey Vic,<BR/><BR/>I agree with much of what you say, though I am somewhat troubled by the "postmodern" caricature. I think there is a disconnect between your run of the mill "it's all relative" college student and your ivory tower academic postmodernist.<BR/><BR/>For example, the oft-cited definition of postmodernism, the suspicion of metanarrative, is not so much a statement of relativity as it is a rejection of foundationalism. James K. A. Smith claims that postmodernism is about acknowledging that our narrative is grounded in faith and NOT, as the moderns would have it, in reason.<BR/><BR/>To quote Lyotard:<BR/><BR/>“[T]he problem with metanarratives has nothing to do with the scope of their claims…but the nature of their legitimization.” <BR/><BR/>Myron Penner, Christianity and the Postmodern Turn, 126.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-1166070276336476152006-12-13T21:24:00.000-07:002006-12-13T21:24:00.000-07:00Dr. Reppert, I have not been able to figure out a ...Dr. Reppert, <BR/><BR/>I have not been able to figure out a way to email you, so forgive the 'public' nature of a comment that I'd much rather make in private. <BR/><BR/>I have the utmost respect for you as a Christian, and scholar, and we share similar interests...<BR/><BR/>But I wonder that you don't see that the many <I>'isms's</I> of Postmodernism as a general school of thought are a logical outworking of the way you yourself philosophize about Christianity?<BR/><BR/>I know this can't help but sound antagonistic, and for that I apologize, but do you not see the connection?<BR/><BR/>Why do you approach discussion with these non-believers as if non-belief were an intellectual matter, when the Bible you espouse states emphatically otherwise?<BR/><BR/>How can the methodology contradict the philosophy?<BR/><BR/>Why do you argue <I>historically</I> for a "philosophy of history"?<BR/><BR/>Why do you offer proofs for God's existence when God's Word itself says everyone knows that God exists?<BR/><BR/>I'm ever-baffled by this.<BR/><BR/>Can you comment a bit?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com