Peripatetics: The Art of Walking
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Like I've listed in the last two entries...I'm taking questions on general topics, much like Pastor Tim is doing in his summer sermon series. Please, feel free to continue to submit them using the "comments" section, and I'll get to them later in the week. Currently, I have room for three or four more.
Anyway, the first question was from Kathleen, who was asking for some insight into dealing with three relatives, being raised in London, having very different beliefs about Jesus.
Well, Kathleen, your nephews are products of (here comes that word again) "postmodern" thinking. PoMo. That word has been bandied about in America the last few years and the downside of that is the reality that it no longer has meaning. But when Francis Schaeffer was writing about it some 30 years ago, it was very powerful. Unfortunately, the Christian Church around the world failed to heed his insights.
At any rate, the crux of their belief system is that they fail to believe that absolutes exist. So, for example, in basic reasoning in any entry-level philosophy class, the most basic assumption is that "if you have any 'a' it cannot be 'non-a.'" A simply analogy would be, if you have a baseball, it cannot be a softball. You can't accurately call one the other. If you were to say a baseball was a softball, people would've called you 'crazy' or whatever...but the truth remained objective.
In postmodern thought, the lines get blurred a bit. So, for example, if you say that a baseball may not be intrinsically a softball, but they have many similar characteristics. They're both made of horsehide, they both have stictching, they both are round, etc. So, in some senses, a baseball is indeed a softball.
Obviously, I'm using a simple analogy to make a larger point (and yes, I realize the illustration falls short in several areas, but I'm trying to keep it simple). So, in Christian terms, people no longer view God as objectively existing. In other words, in a previous generation of thought, God either exists or he doesn't. Now it's all very blurry, especially in the minds of Europeans...who've been under this manner of thinking for nearly 100 years. Generations are now growing up in an environment that dismisses Christ and His claims and childlike, infantile...or silly...or any number of negatives ranging from disdain to malaise to animosity and everything in between.
So, for reading up on this, I'd recommend a book you can pick up at any bookstore called "Trilogy" by Francis A. Schaeffer. It will give a detailed history of Postmodernism and all three of the works are generally considered definitive. Another more accessible work is called "How Should We Live Then?" by Charles Colson, who draws heavily from Dr. Schaeffer. That's for those who are desiring to know more about how we got to this level of mindset, which is now beginning to affect the Post-Gen-X generations and affecting church thinking (read The Emerging Church by Dan Kimbell for how this plays out in our current culture, which again draws heavily from Dr. Schaeffer.
As for books for the 12 to 17 age range, I'd go with two, depending on where the teens are as far as "scholars" or "relaters." If they'd enjoy a more scholarly defense of the Christian faith, I'd go with "The Case for Christ" by Lee Stroebl. You could give it to them with the idea of "Hey, I know you think your aunt is just a grownup and this is what they do in religion, but there are real intellectual reasons for being a Christian and reading this would actually help you understand me a little bit better." Another excellent read if they're more into stories and such is to go with "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. In actuality, it's a presentation of the Gospel and spiritual life told through stories (a means of communication geared to the new generation, see The Emegring Church for more detail)--just watch out for a silly chapter on tithing late in the book. You could just give them that book as a gift as it's a good read, anyway...but I'd want to interact with them on it afterwards over coffee or tea. That's a very postmodern way to present the Gospel!
Hope that helps a bit, so feel free to comment and ask more questions if it didn't help...also, if you've read any of those books feel free to throw in your two cents in the comments.
And, if you've got any more questions, fire away!
Brent 9:42 AM
Comments:
Thanks, Brent, for the suggestions. I had already given them two Lee Stroebel books, and will pass along Blue Like Jazz when I finish. But it will have to be IM instead of coffee due to the distance. Thank you again. Have a wonderful time inn SFO. And may God bless Jill and Shane in their future together.
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