tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544681.post3285511817970771368..comments2023-04-28T08:18:22.750-07:00Comments on watch me reOrient: Postmodern Christians?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06417255239411764360noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544681.post-80666542384349121552007-12-31T23:27:00.000-08:002007-12-31T23:27:00.000-08:00Your post here comes at an interesting time for me...Your post here comes at an interesting time for me. I was given John MacArthur's "The Truth War" for Christmas. I've heard that MacArthur is a really good and convicting speaker, but I'm having trouble slugging through the book. Part of it's the war rhetoric, I've probably spent too much time around Mennonites in the last five years, they're starting to rub off on me.<BR/>MacArthur is trying to combat what he would consider to be the heresies of postmodernism in the Emerging Church. Primarily, he is opposed to the postmodern notion that since we are all subjective, objective truth is a futile endeavour, and that objective truth may not even exist. As you say, for Christians, we know there to be a metanarrative, that is, God is truth. I don't think anyone would really object to that, except perhaps Brian McLaren (or at least MacArthur seems to think he does, he really enjoys going after him. Most of his arguments against the emerging movement are aimed at his books). Am I correct in assuming that the general consensus among 'postmodern' Christians is that the metanarrative is the gospel? Is MacArthur mischaracterizing the perspective of the whole movement, or are there a few like McLaren who actually hold this view?<BR/>The feeling I get is that there is some sense that we can't take for granted our assumptions about the gospel, and we always need to be yearning to understand it better and have an openness to more relevant understandings of it. MacArthur views this as a kind of false-humility, and is confident that certain truths about the Bible can be 'known'. <BR/>I'm encouraged to see that you have positive things to share about what being 'postmodern' means. I'm hesitant to jump into the mode of thinking of an era simply because it's the popular way, as we can't really call one era 'better' than another's. That being said, my way of thinking is being tugged in the direction of postmodernism (again, too much time with the Mennos probably, and too much time at school). <BR/>Some of the overhauls taking place, such as the breaking down of old structures and the introduction of more relational dynamics offer some wonderful opportunities. The gospel shakes up our notions of hierarchy, as God himself came in humility to reconcile and relate to us. Hopefully, we can capitalize on the changes going on in our churches to be able to better emulate Jesus in our relationships, and understand the enabling God gives us to do his work.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13588241545136926335noreply@blogger.com