Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-16

8/14/2019 Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-16

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(Postmodernism - Continued from page 1)

was originally written, it is appropriate to interpret the law based in a different set of assumptions than were originally in-tended. This is an entirely different approach than what has always held before that the interpretation must be basedon the intent of those who originally wrote the law.

Under the traditional approach, if society wanted to change the law, it had to be done through the legislative process.Under this Naturalistic philosophy, if a court becomes dominated by judges who hold this view, they can simply make thechanges themselves.

Of course, there are numerous forms of Naturalism and every form lends itself to this kind of relativistic approach to thelaw. But there is a form of Naturalism which is very prominent in our day and which is the primary impetus for the waythese liberal courts are approaching their jobs. This form of Naturalism is called Postmodernism.

BackgroundPostmodernism is a particularly difficult concept to pin down because, by definition, it denies the very foundations thatmake language comprehendible. The term generally refers to the denial of absolute truth and is a radical denouncementof Western philosophy. It rejects any assertion of universal or transcendent truth and is the underpinning of the conceptof political correctness.

This philosophy plays out very visibly in daily life, but in a way that makes it difficult for most people to judge and evalu-ate. It is expressed in virtually every area of life including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communica-

tions, fashion, technology and so on. And while there are a number of philosophers and writers who are proponents of Postmodernism, there is not a single individual who can be identified as the Father of the movement. It has developedgradually and steadily over the course of the last century.

In many ways, Postmodernism is a reaction against modern civilization. Modern thought is centered around a belief inrationality and the effort to create order out of chaos. This belief system recognizes that there is such a thing as an ob-

jective right and wrong which allows society to maintain order and to function more smoothly.

Postmodernism, on the other hand, takes the view that you cant make those kinds of judgments. There is no such thingas an objective right and wrong in any area of life. They dismiss the concept of what they refer to as metanarratives (alsocalled grand narratives or master narratives). A metanarrative refers to the most fundamental ideas of any particular

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(Introduction - Continued from page 1)

who will be able to use it to further the work of the Kingdom of God. At this point we are needing financial support to ef-fectively pull this off. If you would be willing to donate to this cause, we would greatly appreciate your help. MarketFaithMinistries is a registered non-profit organization and your donation is tax deductible. You can send your contribution toMarketFaith Ministries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312. Or, you can donate online at the MarketFaith Ministrieswebsite at www.marketfaith.org. Simply click on the donate button. And please share this need with your friends.Thanks so much for your help.

I always love to hear from you. Contact me any time with your thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

God bless,Freddy

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belief system. For instance, the metanarrative of American culture might be that democracy is the best form of govern-ment. Or, a metanarrative for Christianity might state that Jesus is the only way of salvation.

Postmodernism asserts that not only do national cultures have metanarratives, but all elements of every society is built onthem elements such as science, art, architecture, music, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, technology and,of course, religion. It then goes on to maintain that no metanarrative (set of basic beliefs) is any more viable that any oth-er. Thus, when anyone claims that their view is right, Postmodernists dispute that claim saying there is no such thing asright. Each view is right for its own situation and context, but not for other situations.

Rather than accepting metanarratives, Postmodernism prefers to operate out of what they call "mini-narratives." Theseare statements that focus on individual events rather than on universal principles. Every judgement that is made must bebased only on the circumstances of that particular situation, and there is no objectively right or wrong answer. What isright at one point may not be right at another. What is right for one person may not be right for another. There is no ac-knowledgment of any universal truth or morality. As a result, knowledge becomes strictly functional. This, then, has a pro-found influence on the way people live out their lives in the real world.

Basic Beliefs and PracticesSince postmodernism is so inherently difficult to comprehend because of its rejection of any kind of absolute truth, theeasiest way to get at how it plays out in life is to compare it directly with its Modernistic counterpart. The following gives asense of how this plays out in various areas of life.

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EducationModernism : There is such a thing as objective truth whichneeds to be transmitted to students.Postmodernism : Since there is no objective truth, teachersare not transmitters of information, but are facilitators tohelp students construct their own knowledge.

Health CareModernism : The body can be objectively studied and un-derstood. The proper approach to medicine is to empirical-ly explore how the body works and devise therapies basedon the objective knowledge that is discovered.Postmodernism : Alternative medical techniques are just as

valid as modern medical techniques. These alternativescan legitimately be brought into mainstream hospitals andnursing schools.

ScienceModernism : There are universal laws of science that canbe studied and understood. These laws can be applied tothe material world to solve objective problems.Postmodernism : The universe is not based on absolutelaws. The whole world is interconnected and the universeis not rational.

Psychotherapy

Modernism : There is an objective reality that defines men-tal and emotional health. A therapist is able to understandthat reality and help a patient toward health.Postmodernism : The idea of what is the right mental or emotional state cannot be determined by a therapist. Thepatient must construct what is right for him or her and thetherapist simply tries to help them get there.

ReligionModernism : There is an objective truth as it relates to God.Individuals are able to learn that truth and align their liveswith it.


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Postmodernism : There is no single point of view that is correct and no one can question the propositions of another reli-gious point of view. The exception is for any religions that claim to know the truth. Those which make that claim must bedenounced. Marginalized religions and those of non-Western civilizations must be given a voice.

History Modernism : History is an objective reality which can be discovered and communicated. By understanding history, individ-uals can extrapolate the truths from it and apply them to modern life.Postmodernism : What really happened in history can never be known, so there is no point in trying to discover what actu-ally happened. Not only that, every persons reality is different from every other and we cannot know or judge another persons reality. The goal of history is to give a voice to minorities and the marginalized. As a result, there is an emphasison women's history, gay and lesbian history, black history, Native American history, etc.

LiteratureModernism : Literature is a mode of communication which flows from author to reader. It is possible for an author to pro-duce a text which can communicate propositions to a reader.Postmodernism : Meaning flows from the reader, not the author. An individual reads a work and constructs new meaningfor themselves from the text.

Biblical InterpretationModernism : Scripture is propositional truth from an objective God. Understanding Scripture is the process of reading itand coming to an understanding of the truth God is trying to convey through it.Postmodernism : God is not an authority communicating truth through his Word. Rather, Scripture is simply another book,and readers extract personal meaning from the text. The most important question is, What does it mean to me?

Law and Government Modernism : Laws are objective principles expressed so as to help keep order in society. The actual intent of those whowrote the laws can be discerned by judges who are able to objectively interpret the intent of the legislators.Postmodernism : All laws are political constructs designed to suppress the disenfranchised. Since there is no such thingas objective reality, judges are unable to objectively interpret the intent of laws. They are only able to pursue their ownpersonal political agendas as they render judgment.

Morality Modernism : There is such a thing as objective truth, and right morality can be extrapolated from it.Postmodernism : There is no such thing as objective truth. As a result, no one can claim that a particular action or belief is

right or wrong. Morality becomes What is moral for the individual.

Essential BeliefsWhile Postmodernism asserts a position which states that there is no such thing as objective truth, it is unable to live byits own assertion. It actually does draw a line which defines the parameters of reality. While stating that there is no suchthing as objective truth, it asserts that point as an objective truth claim.

As with all worldview positions, there is a line that one cannot cross and still be considered to hold that worldview position.The essential elements of Postmodernism include:

God There is no such thing as an objective God. God is a personal concept, the meaning of which must be determined byeach individual. There is no such thing as a transcendent God who has created a meaningful world.

ManA human being is the animal creature on earth who has evolved the most complex brain. Humans are not spiritual beingsand are not fundamentally different from other animals. The only difference is the level of evolutionary development of thebrain. There is, therefore, no transcendent meaning that man can tap into. Every person must find personal meaning for their own lives.

SalvationSalvation is the attempt to find personal meaning in a world which has no transcendent meaning.



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(Continued from page 4)

What Worldview Does Postmodernism Represent?How Postmodernism Answers the Seven Worldview QuestionsAs was stated before, Postmodernism is a branch of Naturalism. As such, it answers the seven worldview questions inessentially the same way as any other form of Naturalism. That being said, there are some unique elements to this philos-ophy which are reflected in the way it deals with the questions.

1 & 2. What is the most fundamental reality and the nature of material reality? (Ultimate reality)The only thing which exists is matter which is eternal, evolving and is the result of the eternal operation of natural laws.

3. What is a human being? (Humanity)Mankind is simply the animal creature which has evolved the most complex brain of all animal creatures.

4. What happens to a person at death? (Death)There is no transcendent spiritual part of human life. At death, a person simply ceases to exist.

5. Why is it possible to know anything at all? (Knowledge)Knowledge is possible simply because the human brain has evolved to the point that knowledge is possible. The nature of knowledge, though, is purely personal. We cannot extrapolate principles of knowledge which can be applied on all situa-tions.

6. How do we know what is right and wrong? (Morality).There is no definitive right and wrong. Right and wrong are determined strictly by the individual. What is right for one per-son does not necessarily apply to any other person.

7. What is the meaning of human history? (History)History is a linear series of events without any transcendent meaning.

Authority As with every expression of Naturalism, Postmodernism has no authority that it can point to which definitively supports itsconclusions. In fact, it goes even further than most Naturalistic points of view to pull the rug out from under its own feet. Itstates explicitly that there is no such thing as a single objective source of truth. That would have to apply even for its ownconclusions. The source of its conclusions ultimately come from the individuals who believe this approach those whosemetanarratives about their philosophy are discounted by their philosophy.

Evidence for the Authority The assertion that there is no single objective source of truth is, itself, the assertion of an objective source of truth. Thisassertion effectively destroys its own authority foundation.

The Practical Implications of Postmodernisms WorldviewMuch of the practical implications of Postmodernism can be seen above in the comparisons between the Modernist andPostmodernist approaches to specific issues. But the big picture is better understood by evaluating the underlying princi-ples of the belief system.

The biggest belief of Postmodernism that gets expressed in every part of life relates to its insistence that there is no suchthing as objective truth. That being the case, no statement that anyone makes in any field of endeavor has any overarch-ing validity. Any pronouncements that are made are valid only for the person making the statement. They believe that anevaluation by one person may be right or good for the person making the assertion, but is not binding on anyone else.Thus, one persons view of morality is not to be imposed on another persons view. One persons idea of the best way torun a business is not to be imposed on another, and so on as it relates to every area of life.

Taking this approach to life, there can literally be no cohesion in society. Each person is a law unto himself and has theright to decide his own way and his own morality. The end result is that the only arbitrator becomes power. Since there isno objective right or wrong, the one who is able to impose his or her will on others gets to decide what way things go.Thus, judges who use their positions to create new law by judicial decree are simply expressing their worldview belief through their actions.



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Interacting with Postmodernisms AdherentsMost people who adhere to a Postmodernist view of life do not do so based on a conscious philosophical decision. Theysimply pick it up from the prevailing trends of the society they live in. The rebellion against traditional morality that beganwith the Baby Boomers in the 1960s and 1970s has now become mainstream with an actual philosophical basis underly-ing it.

In dealing with people who hold this approach, the first thing that must be addressed is the very idea that there is no suchthing as objective truth. If that is actually true, then Postmodernists are right and one persons ideas and morality are justas valid as anothers.

But that point of view cannot be true. They cannot say that there is no such thing as objective truth and make that claimas a statement of objective truth! Reality does exist in some form and anyone who tries to live their life as if that is not truewill find themselves in a position where life is totally discombobulated. So, this is the first matter that must be dealt with.

But beyond that, people who hold this view are simply looking for a way to avoid being held accountable for their thoughtsand actions. They simply dont want there to be a God who has moral standards that they must adhere to. They dontwant there to be a truth which would restrict them from being in charge of their lives.

In dealing with Postmodernists we must begin by showing them that their point of view is a logical contradiction. Onlywhen someone can be brought to this understanding are they in a position to receive the Gospel message. At that point,our witness will begin to make sense to them and God will be able to reveal himself to them as the objective person thathe is.

SummaryIn some ways, Postmodernism is a difficult belief system to deal with. It is difficult because it is the ultimate avoidance po-sition. An adherent can affirm that your belief is good for you, but deny that it is good for them.

But the fact is, a person cannot have it both ways, even if they claim to. They cannot assert that there is no such thing asobjective truth while making that assertion as an objective truth claim. The whole approach is self defeating. Yet peopledo it.

As Christians, God has given us the opportunity to share this contradiction with those who make this claim. In taking theopportunity to do this, we are able to help them open their minds just a little so that God can step in an reveal himself tothem.

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Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-16