Postmodernism. History. Christian Apologetics

Introduction

Throughout history, humans have always tried to understand and explain the world around them. The need to find meaning and purpose in their life and natural curiosity brought many to devising various systems of understanding, forming complex worldviews. The world’s major religions are one of the more common types of worldview, shared by many around the globe. The religious outlook offers a compelling and convincing narrative and helps people to derive meaning from their existence. Other systematic approaches exist as well, providing their perspectives on the matters of life. One of such outlooks on life is postmodernism, established recently in the west.

This paper will seek to determine the main arguments of postmodernism, its beliefs, and faults, as well as to compare them to the Christian outlook. Established recently, the Postmodernist approach seeks to question the nature of existence and reality to present a relativist outlook to the world. However, its beliefs are disjointed and vague, with no clear definitions or guidelines, making it impossible to regard postmodernism as a comprehensive worldview. In this sense, Christianity offers a better, more complete perspective on human life and purpose. The essay will contrast the main talking points of postmodernism with Christianity and showcase the problems of the former. Structurally, an overview and an analysis of both will be provided, with a conclusion at the end.

Summary of the Worldview

History

Postmodernism is a broad movement, an approach formed in response to popular artistic, philosophical, and cultural trends. The main point of postmodernism is to question the nature of the human being, creation, and the reality itself.¹ It is hard to determine when the movement was first established, as the term itself started appearing as early as the 19^th century, as stated in Wolfgang Welsch’s article on the nature of postmodernism.² It is believed that the modern features of this approach were demonstrated around the 1940s and gained notoriety in the subsequent years.³ This approach to life has attracted many thinkers with their unique principles and outlooks.

One of the interesting figures of early postmodernism is John Barth, considered to be one of the founding thinkers of the movement. His works explored the creative process itself, questioned the established literary tradition.⁴ Postmodernism cannot be described as a unified, organized movement, and in regard to its existence more resembles a set of ideas and practices held together by a number of basic principles. Postmodernists seek to question the world around them, the truths of the world, and the norm presented by other philosophical movements.⁵ Individualism and doubt are held in high regard, and the practitioners are involved with a large number of life fields.

Core Beliefs

The main part of any worldview is its beliefs, the things that are considered important and worth thinking about by its proponents. Measuring the validity of such claims is difficult, especially given the fact that each worldview puts emphasis on different aspects of its theory. Nevertheless, there are a number of relatively objective criteria to analyze postmodernism. These major categories are laid out in Douglas Groothuis’s book, Christian Apologetics.

Firstly, one must understand how the worldview defines reality that people inhabit. Reality is something that is hard to define by itself, and the concept is mainly described through an individual’s senses. In postmodernism, the main emphasis is made on the varied perception of individuals, their personal outlook on the world around them that is unique to them. It is believed that each person can see the world differently, owning to the fact that all our experiences are defined and understood by the mind. The signals that the brain processes and converts to sensory and visual data may be the same for all people, but their understanding is open to interpretation. Postmodernists argue that it is impossible and unnecessary to discern the truth of reality through contemporary means. Since no universal description of reality is plausible for postmodernists, they discard it in favor of personal interpretation.

There is no single source of ultimate authority in postmodernism. Since the perception of reality is personal and subjective, no figure of power other than the self can have much influence. The primary source of authority is the individual, who is in turn influenced by the culture that surrounds them. Personal perception plays a role in determining the individual values and goals of the person, and the definitions of good and evil are formed in accordance with societal norms.

Epistemology or the acquisition of knowledge is another category for any worldview. Postmodernists believe that knowledge is acquired and determined, through discovery and questioning. Information is obtained through a subjective, personal lens and its validity is determined by the individual. By analyzing and subjecting old works to scrutiny, people can come to a deeper understanding of the world. The established norms and rules of society exist in accordance with our current level of knowledge, and new principles should replace them when they outlive their usefulness.⁶ All standards and facts of reality are temporary and should be utilized only to serve current needs.

The last category of belief to be discussed here is the source of morality. The moral questions are the hardest to answer without a present religious basis, as they are subjective in nature. Without a higher authority to fall back on, individuals become agents of moral judgment. The main source of influence for morality is societal norms and culture, and the concept is subject to change.⁷ This assessment allows for a wider understanding of morality and the moral spectrum and places the responsibility on the individual.

Evaluation of the worldview

Now that the brief history and basic categories of postmodernism have been explored, a comprehensive evaluation of the worldview can be attempted. The analysis will mainly focus on the criteria this worldview cannot adequately fulfill, as a way to demonstrate some of its flaws or inconsistencies. To begin with, postmodernism does not present a sufficiently detailed explanation of the features of reality. The notion of the world being open to personal interpretation, without an objective reason or truth is difficult to understand and relate to the universal questions of morality, mortality, and existence. The worldview offers much room for discovering the nature of fact and fiction but does not give the answers by itself. In isolation, as noted by the linguist Noam Chomsky, postmodernism often does not offer any empirical or analytical knowledge.⁸ A subjective perspective, while allowing a lot of speculation, is too vague for establishing a comprehensive worldview.

Another problem of postmodernism is its lack of coherence. The ability to present a full, interconnected explanation of life and reality is one of the key requirements for any worldview, and postmodernism severely struggles in that regard. As a fragmented movement, postmodernism concerns itself with many different aspects of life, art, philosophy, but, in turn, does not manage to form a complete outlook on the world. Many of postmodernist beliefs are specific to the topic they cover, and cannot be generally applied. While the aspects of postmodernism are rooted in similar principles, there is no comprehensive system of interpretation, and the beliefs appear separate from each other. This trait further exacerbates the problem of understanding and deriving meaning from postmodernism.

Another criterion to consider when evaluating postmodernism is factual accuracy. The basic claims of the worldview become stronger if they are supported by a universal truth. The facts help the theory to appear grounded and find application in the real world. This, however, directly contradicts the core principles of postmodernist belief. The movement proposes the impossibility of absolute objectivity, along with the concepts of truth and morality. To postmodernists, all of the aspects of reality and human experience are strictly subjective, meaning that facts cannot be used to judge any aspects of this approach. The worldview cannot be evaluated by logic or common knowledge, as postmodernism has a vague definition and rejects the notion of certainty.

The next point of consideration for the movement concerns existential viability. The term itself is used to determine whether ideology can be fully applied to real-life without internal inconsistencies. As it stands, it is impossible to live while exercising full subjectivity on life. Some of the established rules of community and society will inevitably contradict with postmodern beliefs, and their full integration will be impossible. The need to claim that reality is subjective while facing its objective parts presents a contradiction to living with such beliefs. The lack of a systematic, overarching approach to life is also a detriment to the viability of postmodernist life. Due to the absence of a full structure of beliefs, it is impossible to live out this worldview.

The last criterion for determining the viability of postmodernism as a comprehensive worldview is the simplicity of its explanations. Simplicity allows for ease of understanding and allows people to build upon the pre-existing notions to add new meaning to existing material. In this sense, simplicity is key to a good worldview that is available to a general audience. Postmodernism, however, has a number of issues in that regard. As a purely theoretical approach, postmodernism includes a lot of hard-to-define concepts and approaches, making it unsuitable for a large number of people. The worldview offers a complex set of explanations for the occurring phenomena and the nature of humanity. As most of the postmodern canon is speculative and vague, it does not have a clear-cut way to deliver its messages.

Evaluation of Christianity

Now that the basics of the postmodernist approach were explained, a comparison can be drawn between it and the Christian worldview. To accurately describe how Christianity compares to postmodernism, one needs to use the same evaluation criteria as for postmodernism. First of all, Christianity offers a full, comprehensive explanation of the origin and meaning of human life, as well as mortality and the afterlife, giving a compelling perspective. Christianity can be used to understand the origin and the rules of the universe, the presence of good and evil, mortality, and many other pressing issues of human life. The existence of a God gives a believer the ability to perceive their reality through the lens of creationist perspective. The will of God and his actions can be interpreted and be the sources of meaning for Christians.

The second point of comparison is the coherence of the theory. As previously stated, the connections between various points of the worldview make it easier to understand and credible. Christian outlook offers a more complete picture of the world, partially due to the fact that it accepts the objective reality. The work of God has created human life and everything on the planet, serving as the central connective structure of the worldview. People come to understand themselves and others through their relationship with God, as well as their convictions. The parts of Christianity are interconnected, with the nature and actions of God and humans directly relating to each other, forming an internally consistent narrative.⁹ All peculiarities of faith, like local traditions or holidays, stem from the central notion of god.

The third point of comparison that is sometimes overlooked is factual accuracy. One of the notable problems of the postmodernist approach is its rejection of facts and logic. Postmodernism positions itself in the opposition with the norm and the established rules of the world, attempting a deeper exploration of philosophical topics. As a result, postmodernism becomes incompatible with objective reality in its traditional sense. Christianity, on the other hand, accepts the practices of truth and fact to strengthen its worldview. The Christian belief does not directly contradict the scientific outlook. Many of the issues brought up by Christian faith do not have known answers. The nature of the universe and the questions of human conception do not have a concrete answer that can be set as a standard. This allows much more credibility to the Christian outlook and gives people more understanding of reality in its commonly understood manner.

The last two evaluation criteria are existential viability and the simplicity of explanation. In regards to the former, Christianity actively encourages the integration of its beliefs into the daily life of people. It gives a non-contradictory outlook on the way and purpose of life, as well as the nature of evil, allowing people to effectively adopt it into active use. The beliefs have a centralized structure and follow specific rules that do not overlap. Even the more specific parts of religion, traditions, and rituals that contradict each other do not represent the core philosophy of Christianity and can co-exist without creating an inconsistency.

The latter, simplicity, is also present in the Christian belief. The main set of beliefs are centered on the presence of God and the importance of his authority. While some of the notions presented might be harder to grasp than others, the Christian understanding of reality can be understood easily. Many of the difficult philosophical issues related to the purpose and the meaning of life, virtues, and vices, can be easily deciphered through the religious outlook. The Christian worldview offers an understandable basis for belief and has a low barrier for entry for new followers. Most things in Christianity can be ultimately explained by the existence, nature, and the will of God.

Defense of Christianity

It must be noted that regardless of all the aforementioned information, Christianity has some issues that present its outlook as flawed. This part of the paper will provide explanations to some of the widespread arguments against Christianity in an attempt to present a more complete narrative. The arguments for the existence of God and the answer to the problem of evil will be touched upon.

First, the reasons for the existence of God will be discussed. As the main basis of Christian faith, the notion of God’s presence is integral to this worldview. God serves as the ultimate authority, a paragon of human morality, and the basis for human behavior. There is a number of approaches to establishing the existence of God, starting with the moral ones. The subject of morality has been debated by philosophers throughout history. In society, there is a number of commonly accepted truths and rules that are upheld either forcefully or voluntarily.

Written rules take the form of law, and are followed by all members of the community. Similarly, some rules and practices are not stated on paper but are universally accepted as justified and necessary. The importance of keeping one’s word, telling the truth, helping others is generally accepted. If the laws are established by a societal authority, that means that the moral standards are likewise set by a moral authority – God.¹⁰ Proponents of religion say that the existence of morality is the proof of God’s existence. This approach offers an explanation to the existence of morals and their nature, as well as provides the reason to uphold them.

Another argument in favor of God’s existence is the world and intelligent design. These sets of arguments are aimed at proving that the world people live in and its various aspects were far more likely to come about as a result of a conscious decision, rather than random chance.¹¹ Defenders of this theory state that many of the things observable in the real world couldn’t have developed on their own, and were a result of divine work. One of the aspects considered as proof of God’s existence is the irreducibly complex systems in various organisms. These types of systems function only because of a highly specific arrangement of components, and it is argued that such systems were not likely to occur through natural selection or chance.¹² Christians say that the creation of these systems was a deliberate effort of god.

A similar aspect that might prove the existence of God is the conception of life itself. While Darwin’s theories explain how the organisms could have evolved into more complex states of being, it does not give an explanation of how they came to possess life in the first place.¹³ It is known by modern science that the presence of amino acids and the DNA in the cells of living creatures is what ensures their existence. Scientists, at the same time, do not have an explanation of how living beings came to possess them. Christian faith states that their existence is evidence of intelligent design.

The last problem of Christianity is the presence of evil in the world. With the existence of an omnipotent, all-powerful, moral authority in the world, some cannot understand why God does not stop evil. There are many explanations for this contradiction, some discussing the nature of choice and free will, and some arguing for the relative nature of evil. Some philosophers argue that even with this problem, there is more evidence for God’s existence than for an absence.¹⁴ There are also a number of theodicies, collections of doctrines that justify the existence of evil in the face of a benevolent god. One of them argues that evil is supposed to promote spiritual growth and development in humankind, overcoming adversity, and stopping evil people can become closer to the lord.¹⁵

Another theory proposes that the ability to evil is one of the ways to exercise free will and that God places value in its preservation. This means that God’s interference is not justified, even if humans misuse their freedom and cause harm.¹⁶ The last point in justification of evil’s existence is the need for natural laws.¹⁷ In this approach, philosophers suppose that the world is governed by a number of laws that ensure the correct progression of everything in existence. Such laws, over time, will inevitably trigger events that can cause harm. As a result, the occurrence of evil is inevitable and natural, thus should not be interfered in, even by God. All these theories offer a more stable foundation to Christianity and allow it to serve as a comprehensive worldview for people.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, the basic arguments of the Christian and postmodernist approaches to understanding the world were discussed. During the course of the paper, it was concluded that Christian beliefs have a more complete structure that allows for their effective integration into one’s daily life. Postmodernism works as an effective critique of contemporary approaches and an interesting way of talking about the subjects of reality and logic, it lacks the coherent structure of a good worldview.

Bibliography

Aylesworth, Gary. “Postmodernism,”

Barth, John. The Friday Book: Essays and Other Nonfiction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.

Catorce, Isaias. “Post-Modernism and Its Influence in the Church.” Asbury Theological Seminary.

Chomsky, Noam. “Noam Chomsky’s in a Discussion about Postmodernism and Its Contribution to Activism.” Bactra.

Evans, C. Stephen. “Moral Arguments for the Existence of God.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Fuller, Steve. “Postmodernism’s Epistemological Legacies: Objects Without Purpose, Movement Without Direction and Freedom Without Necessity” Revue internationale de philosophie, vol. 251, no. 1, 2010, pp. 101-120.

Himma, Kenneth. “Design Arguments for the Existence of God.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Honeysett, Marcus. “Christians in a Postmodern World.” Christian Medical Fellowship.

Lindholm, Charles. “Logical and Moral Dilemmas of Postmodernism.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 3, no. 4 (1997): 747. Web.

Niebuhr, Reinhold. “Coherence, Incoherence, and Christian Faith.” The Journal of Religion 31, no. 3 (1951): 155–68. Web.

Tooley, Michael. “The Problem of Evil,”

Vanderweele, Tyler. “Evidence, Knowledge, & Science: How Does Christianity Measure Up?” The Veritas Forum, Web.

Welsch, Wolfgang, and Mike Sandbothe. “1.6 Postmodernity as a Philosophical Concept.” Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages International Postmodernism, 1997, 75. Web.

Footnotes

1. Catorce, Isaias. “Post-Modernism and Its Influence in the Church.” Asbury Theological Seminary. Web.
2. Welsch, Wolfgang, and Mike Sandbothe. “1.6 Postmodernity as a Philosophical Concept.” Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages International Postmodernism, 1997, 75. Web.
3. Aylesworth, Gary. “Postmodernism,” Web.
4. Barth, John. The Friday Book: Essays and Other Nonfiction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.
5. Honeysett, Marcus. “Christians in a Postmodern World.” Christian Medical Fellowship, Web.
6. Fuller, Steve. “Postmodernism’s Epistemological Legacies: Objects Without Purpose, Movement Without Direction and Freedom Without Necessity” Revue internationale de philosophie, vol. 251, no. 1, 2010, pp. 101-120.
7. Lindholm, Charles. “Logical and Moral Dilemmas of Postmodernism.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 3, no. 4 (1997): 747. Web.
8. Chomsky, Noam. “Noam Chomsky’s in a Discussion about Postmodernism and Its Contribution to Activism.” Bactra, Web.
9. Niebuhr, Reinhold. “Coherence, Incoherence, and Christian Faith.” The Journal of Religion 31, no. 3 (1951): 155–68. Web.
10. Evans, C. Stephen. “Moral Arguments for the Existence of God.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
11. Vanderweele, Tyler. “Evidence, Knowledge, & Science: How Does Christianity Measure Up?” The Veritas Forum, Web.
12. Himma, Kenneth. “Design Arguments for the Existence of God.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
13. Ibid.
14. Tooley, Michael. “The Problem of Evil,” Web.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.