Background: I recently attended a conference in San Diego concerning the church’s opportunity to participate effectively in the postmodern world. The entire conference was very eye-opening; not only did it help me understand the heart behind our culture, it also convicted me of many of my own idols that need to be torn down. The keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Goheen, presented the historical story behind our society’s development in a highly insightful and gut-wrenching manner (this post is basically a summary of some of the things he covered, so many of these thoughts can be attributed to him). When the conference was over, I had a lot to ponder. In fact, I’m still pondering. Yet since this conference I have slowly come to see how America, being betrayed by her haphazard hope in the modernistic gospel, is truly crying out for good news. The opportunity presented to us as believers, then, is immense and, in some way, beautiful.
First, the Modern Gospel We’ve All Fallen For
Let’s start with the Middle Ages. The name of this period, in itself, signifies something; “middle” implies that this period was wedged between two more important periods. After the Classical era, the world fell into the dark ages. Compare this to Genesis 3, where the fall of man occurred and sin entered the world.
Next came the Renaissance, or, if you prefer, the “Rebirth.” Suddenly society was given a way out of the dark ages; it was being “born again.” Compare this to John 3 where Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about a similar rebirth. Hope is being offered.
After this came the Enlightenment. Rationality, along with the development of science, became our modus operandi as our eyes were suddenly opened to the “good news” of human progress. If any good was to be achieved, it was to be achieved through reason and thought, methodology and technology. Compare this to John 12, 2 Corinthians 4, or the numerous other places where the Gospel is spoken of as a Gospel of Light. The true Light is our very hope as Christians. The Gospel going forth is seen as spreading the light to all the world, and with the modernistic, humanistic, Western gospel, the “light” is human reason.
Thus, “salvation” becomes human progress, measured through technological advances and economic success, with the ultimate goal being a world without calamity, brokenness, or even discomfort. As you can see, we’re still trying to escape the fall of Genesis 3; however, reason and science take the place of faith and good works in bringing about that escape, as they are the keys to our “progress.” We earnestly hope for the day when the world is restored to wholeness through our science, technology, and economic growth, looking forward to this future salvation.
If the modern humanistic story isn’t a false gospel, I don’t know what is. It becomes clear that just about every single American has come to accept and embrace at least a part of this gospel; we like to call it “the American dream.” In reality, we’re just placing hope in ourselves, blindly following a gospel of progress that fails to recognize the Creator by whom—and by whom alone—this world will truly be made right.
Don’t get me wrong; I am thankful and consider myself very blessed to live in air-conditioned buildings, communicate through the Internet, and enjoy good movies. But there has never been any proof that these things, which supposedly indicate a higher quality of life, actually make a person any happier. While we experience some satisfaction in living a comfortable, climate-controlled life with plenty of entertainment, we still find ourselves in distress and despair, unfulfilled and broken.
Crashing into Postmodernity: Disillusioned With the Modernistic Gospel
We can now see that much of the fruit of the modernistic gospel has been less-than-desirable. Our “progress” has led to more advanced and devastating warfare, destruction of the environment, and unimaginable greed and injustice. People aren’t nearly as happy and fulfilled as they thought they would be. Thus, we become disillusioned and reject this modernistic gospel, as it has failed to deliver what it had promised. We have believed a lie; shame on us. This is the heart of postmodernism. The story we once bought into is being challenged, and the people, feeling betrayed by this gospel, become extremely resistant to any gospel message, as any over-arching narrative designed to explain reality is equally as dangerous. It’s the “we won’t be fooled again” attitude that leaves so many of us skeptical of any claims to absolute truth.
Given this, it’s no wonder that pluralism, relativism, and social hyper-tolerance are so often associated with postmodernism. Because the modernistic gospel, which we believed to be universally true, has failed us, we then conclude that anything claiming to be universally and objectively true is, most likely, a similar lie which will only let us down. We embrace all worldviews as equally valid as long as they are not taken as over-arching, universal narratives which proclaim absolute truth; after all, as we have found with modernism, worldviews like that are dangerous.
In America, postmodernism hasn’t had quite the impact it has had elsewhere, largely due the fact that our economy is still generally strong and things seem to be working out O.K. (for the time being). Recently, however, there has been a downhill trend. The economic recession and the continuing war in Iraq—along with numerous other current events—are leading people to question the humanistic story on an unprecedented level. Therefore, while postmodernism may be more prevalent in Europe, it is most definitely coming to America; as we come to realize how the modernistic gospel of progress has failed us, our society will also become disillusioned and increasingly postmodern.
With postmodernity comes a tremendous increase in consumerism. Since “progress” has failed us and there is no achievable goal worth working toward, all there is left to do is consume. Since we no longer have any hope, we simply seek to be as comfortable as possible. And our consumerism extends well beyond the material realm; we now consume experiences—anything that brings us pleasure and temporary satisfaction. After all, progress has led us nowhere, and there is no other reason to live. This is the echo of a world crying out for hope.
What Does This Mean For The Church?
America today is living between two worlds; modernism and postmodernism are being pitted against one another, with postmodernism gradually becoming more dominant. Understanding this reality is a great help to our evangelism.
You see, Americans are yearning for the Gospel, yet at the same time are skeptical and even bitter toward it. We’ve been led astray, wounded by the modernistic gospel, and yet because of our wounds, we are extremely wary of anything that even remotely sounds like gospel. We have lost hope, not only in humanism, progress and the scientific method, but in any over-arching, ubiquitous truth offering a means of salvation. We have become inconsolable, as there is utterly no hope of restoration and wholeness in our hearts.
This is where the Gospel of Jesus Christ must come in—it’s the perfect opportunity! However, we must be careful in how we present the Gospel; on the one hand, we must stand firm in the truth and be bold enough to declare it, but on the other hand we must present it in a way that avoids leading others perceive it as “just another gospel.” We must contextualize the Gospel into the lives of each individual to whom we are witnesses, relationally sharing the good news in Christ crucified.
This means spending time with nonbelievers, getting to know them, and pointing out their idols. We can show how they have bought into a false gospel, and how that false gospel has failed them. We can show them how our values have been corrupted by sin and how the Gospel of Christ redeems and restores all things (this is probably better discussed in a separate blog post). Therefore, we should join in the postmodern cry that modern humanism has failed us; our faith in reason and science has left us as miserable as ever. There is no hope in the modernistic gospel. We are all in despair.
Enter Jesus.
