Modernism and Postmodernism is humanities way of explaining and labeling certain thoughts and social ideologies that have prevailed in society roughly over the last three hundred and fifty years.

From a Christian perspective -- we try to determine what cultural influences we should believe, and what we should we reject? It also makes me ask the question. "have these cultural teachings impacted Christianity"?

Here we will look at three segments of teaching from Modernism, Postmodernism, and Christianity: First we will look at how each views the individual. Second, we will compare how each interprets truth. And, finally, we will consider one element that I believe has had a profound impact on how we practice our faith today.

“The individual” is the key focus in modernism; while in postmodernism, “social groups” are the focus (Knight, 2008). Both of these ideologies have merit, especially in light of our Christian relationships. Consider for instance that God speaks to each of us individually, “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked me” (Hebrews 3:15)[1]. God calls us individually to know him… He calls “you” personally.

God is also concerned with all of humanity as a whole. He has certain desires for us in our interaction with each other. It says in Galatians 6:10, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith”. This means that, while he loves us and calls us by name, he also wants us to be concerned and connected to all of humanity, whatever the social group. He wants us to “do good” to all.

The individualistic teaching of modernism isolated the person as an individual (Knight, 2008), apart from those around them and made “I” all supreme. This means that how we interpret the world will come from the perspective of “me” at the center. Some of the dangers in this thinking, from a Christian perspective, are that they lead to self-centeredness…without regard for others. The Bible teaches us to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matthew 22:39)…not to just love ourselves.

We do need to love ourselves, only in the proper context. The proper context is not that we do everything for the good of the group either (as postmodernism would have us believe). Because postmodernism teaches that “humankind is dependent on a new attitude of cooperation rather than conquest” (Grenz, 1996), this belief can impact someone to go along with the teaching of a particular group, regardless of how you personally believe or feel… because it is best for all as a whole. For instance, If the entire group felt that something was better than a teaching in the Bible, this is one area where postmodernism needs to be rejected.

Of course, this leads into how postmodernism teaches on truth. The postmodern tenant is that, unlike the modern teaching, there is no one absolute truth (Knight, 2008). This is one area that modernism prevails over postmodernism in that modernism teaches that there are indeed absolute truths. Unfortunately for modernism, God’s truth was left out of this factor. However, the ideology of absolute truth is in line with the teachings of the Bible, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). It is just a matter of what we stand on as the final word on truth: the Bible (Christians) or the mind of man (modernism). Post modernist believe that “there are other paths to knowledge [truths] besides reason…including the emotions and intuition” (Grenz, 1996).

While I disagree that there are other paths to truth as the postmodern would teach, I do believe that emotions and intuition are key elements the moderns left out. I believe this had a tragic impact on how we operate within our faith today. In many churches across America, a typical Sunday service would traditionally be void of any display of human emotion or expression, with some teaching that it is even sinful to “make a joyful noise”[2]. This worldview on how it is proper to behave in church is much more modern than Christian.

This is one element of postmodernism that I believe is key to how our churches are changing for the better. Modernism wanted to “bring rational management to life” (Grenz, 1996). This rationality basically negated emotions or feelings as a factor. It was all about what could be “thought and proven”. This discard of human emotion led to oppression of other people. “”If humans are to rule the earth with loving nurture rather than oppressive control, this is also true of the relationship of humans to other humans” (Erikson, 1998).

In order to love and nurture…we must feel.

In our society, as in our churches, we took on a superior attitude of self-righteousness. This attitude, along with the lack of emotional expression, caused our faith to become a strict following of pious laws. Coupled with this was the prevailing sense that we can use our minds to figure it out, and we came up with mainline religions in America that created an image of superiority. This in turn caused a lack of acceptance of any who differed from them.

“Western Society historically been held together by tradition, authority, and power. They long served it as essential garments, but of late they have been dropping away leaving it exposed and indecent” (Wells, 1994). What Wells is proclaiming has more to do with the modern thinking than Christianity. His love for the traditions, authority, and power are tenants of the modern.

It is this same mindset, which created a church landscape in America that had a narrow worldview of who we are and how we are to interact with others…human to human. This is the primary ingredient for wielding control over others without considering how someone feels. Leaving emotions out of the picture leaves us with a dry, dead faith. Allowing for the expression of emotions by the postmodern, instead of leaving us “indecent” as Wells says, opens the gateway for a more holistic view of how Gods emotions are expressed in us and to him…people created in his image. Yet, I also see the danger in a centrally emotional experience as we can just get “caught up in an emotional moment” and believe that by that we have had a “spiritual experience”.

Postmodernism allows for emotions while Modernism keeps us grounded in realizing that there is absolute truth in God’s world. Both are good. That is the final analysis of the three elements we have looked at. It isn’t an “either or” proposition…it is both. Both modernism and post modernism have good in the three elements we looked at. Both also fall short in light of God’s truth. The goal for Christians should always be to stand firm to the declaration in Romans 12:9, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good”. We need to discern what is good in all things, and avoid what is evil. Whether in modernism, post modernism, traditions, or any other thing in life…our ultimate focus of sincere love in Christ should always be the outcome. In this we fulfill the verse in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”.

[1] All scriptures quoted are taken from the passage located on www.biblegateway.com and selecting the NIV version for the text.

[2] For a good understanding of this see: Is Hymn Singing in Church a Sin? A Study Paper Presented to the Consistory of Pilgrims' Reformed Church by Pastor Ron Potter February 8, 1994. As of June 6, 2008 it could be located at http://basketoffigs.org/ecclesiology/psalmod.htm.

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