I’ve been trying in these three blog posts to capture a hint
of what it means that our world has gone from modernism into what is often
called postmodernism. Modernism saw people place faith in
reason and science, optimistic that these tools could unravel the problems and
questions that have always plagued humanity. It brought great advances in
medicine, technology, and knowledge for which we can be grateful, but it’s
central promise that humankind could solve all issues on its own turned out to
be untrue. Postmodernism recognized that failure, and concluded there was
no single story, no single belief system that was absolutely true for all times
and cultures. With modern communication and transportation the world seemed
smaller, pluralism increased dramatically in every area of life, and people
found their time, consciousness, and relationships fragmented so that having a
sense of wholeness and direction was so difficult as to seem almost impossible.
When we ask what Christian witness looks like in our
postmodern world the answer is not that difficult to discover.
If we step back to get an overview, we can see that
Christians have tended to do what groups always tend to do when they are a
minority in a larger majority culture. “Sociologists tell us that dissonant
groups within a larger society,” Dick Keyes says in Chameleon Christianity
, “react to reduce the potential for friction
in two predictable ways. One is to compromise their distinctive beliefs and way
of life and so reduce their conflict with society. The other is to keep their
dissonance and tribalize, retreating within their own group and thus losing
contact with society.” The first option leads to compromise, and the second to
withdrawal; the first slowly becomes indistinguishable from the surrounding
culture, and the second does not develop close enough friendships to make
engagement meaningful. The two groups are often motivated by a reaction against
the other—both see the other as hopelessly misguided and unbiblical. Keyes says
the first act like chameleons, blending into the wider culture so that their
Christian distinctiveness isn’t so noticeable. The second act like musk oxen,
defensive and aggressive in a tight circle to protect themselves from the
dangerous wolves circling outside. Both groups fail to follow Christ and
misrepresent the gospel.
, “react to reduce the potential for friction
in two predictable ways. One is to compromise their distinctive beliefs and way
of life and so reduce their conflict with society. The other is to keep their
dissonance and tribalize, retreating within their own group and thus losing
contact with society.” The first option leads to compromise, and the second to
withdrawal; the first slowly becomes indistinguishable from the surrounding
culture, and the second does not develop close enough friendships to make
engagement meaningful. The two groups are often motivated by a reaction against
the other—both see the other as hopelessly misguided and unbiblical. Keyes says
the first act like chameleons, blending into the wider culture so that their
Christian distinctiveness isn’t so noticeable. The second act like musk oxen,
defensive and aggressive in a tight circle to protect themselves from the
dangerous wolves circling outside. Both groups fail to follow Christ and
misrepresent the gospel.
A great many evangelicals agree that things have changed as
our world slipped from modernism into postmodernism, but they argue that
because the gospel hasn’t changed, it really doesn’t matter. Usually the “gospel”
these folks believe and preach is the sort of reduced message I wrote about in
my September 20 post, “When the gospel is not the gospel.” Heirs of the
revivalism of the Second Great Awakening, these Christians have already lost
the full orthodox message of the cross, and so unwittingly preach a gospel that
has, ironically, changed. It’s true the biblical gospel has not changed, but
their message has, and in the process the gospel’s scope, power, and depth has
been sucked from what they present.
Many if not most of the younger generation in our postmodern
world have experienced the fragmentation that comes when families are broken.
Even many from intact biological families have sensed what abandonment means in
all its disappointment, raising deep-seated fears. We know that children of
divorce are usually nagged by guilt, believing against all evidence and in
spite of reassurance that somehow their family’s fragmentation is their fault,
that they did not do enough to prevent it. Now reflect on what the average Christian
witness sounds like in the ears of this generation. These young adults usually
are open about their yearning for spirituality, about their sense of drought of
soul and longing for a deeper reality in their lives. So Christians could talk
about living water like Christ did in John 4—but that isn’t often talked about.
These young adults also often feel lonely as a result of being part of a
generation who were abandoned by those who count most. So Christians could talk
about being adopted by a Father who wants them so badly he’s been seeking for
them—but once again, this biblical theme isn’t the usual one that is brought up.
Instead, non-Christians usually they hear a message that runs (in their
perspective) something like this: From before you were born you were alienated
from your Father. Like any father he was very angry at your rebellion and
disobedience. In fact, he took his anger out on your older brother who died in
the process of absorbing your Father’s wrath. But that’s over now, and your
Father says if you’ll come to him, admit it was all your fault and promise to
obey him in everything from now on, he’ll forgive you. If you refuse, he says
you’re not his child and will be punished. It’s up to you to decide, but one
thing is certain: the alienation you experience is not his fault but yours. Is
it any wonder so many young adults turn away unconvinced that evangelical
Christian faith is worth considering?
To make matters worse, the community of believers
non-Christians see today tends not to be attractive. Consider asking ten
non-Christians this question: If you converted to Christianity today, do you
think your life would be larger, fuller, richer, more attractive and creative,
more winsomely involved with the people, circumstances, art, & culture
around you? Or do you think your life would be smaller, narrower, more
withdrawn, judgmental, disapproving, and negative, less winsome and creative,
less winsomely involved with the people, art, circumstances, & culture
around you? How do you think they would respond? So far, everyone I’ve
asked—non-Christian and Christian—have answered in precisely the same way. But
consider: If Christianity is true why does it produce people like this? This
situation is a travesty, a practical denial of Christ by those who claim to
follow him. No wonder so many assume that evangelical faith has little or nothing
of substance to offer them.
My spiritual mentor, Francis Schaeffer insisted that the
more the wider culture turned from the truth of God the more need there was for
pre-evangelism. This is the time between a Christian befriending a
non-Christian and that non-Christian’s readiness to understand and respond in
faith to the grace of God. It’s the time to show them that true Christians need
not be jerks, negative, quick to disagree, and cultural philistines. That
becoming a Christian does not mean becoming a Republican. It’s the time to
answer honest questions and allow challenges to be raised against the claims of
the Bible. “Cold-contact” or aggressive evangelism fails to allow for either
true relationship or careful understanding so that the truth can be expressed
in a way a non-Christian might understand and appreciate. “Friendship
evangelism,” on the other hand, that waits until the Christian has earned a
right to share, suggests the gospel is a package to be sprung on someone. Not
true—right from the start we can ask questions (I’ve written about this here),
find places of agreement, share a love for beauty and wholeness, and let the
person know that we care that they flourish as a human being across all of
their life, and that at the heart of our caring is a gospel that speaks to
every part of culture and reality.
Someone commented recently that well, even if all this is
true, at least the aggressive evangelists confront people with their need to
believe in Christ so that can’t be wrong. Don’t we have the responsibility,
they said, to warn people of the fire that endangers them? Yes, we do. But if
we insist on warning them in ways that they misunderstand because we do not
listen to them, if we warn them in terms that sound inauthentic and rote and
impersonal, and if our warnings seem unrelated and irrelevant to the
life-threatening dangers they recognize and are concerned for—do we not share
responsibility for their failing to take our warnings seriously enough?
The gospel is The Story revealed in Scripture—Creation,
Fall, Redemption and Restoration—the story of history and reality that makes
sense of our personal story and brings direction and meaning to life. Because
it is not a narrow message that applies only to souls, to be told with
techniques designed to lead to a decision, Christian witness can be as rich and
powerful and winsome and creative and life affirming as the grace it
celebrates.
The wonder of this is that Christian witness need not be
something Christians fear and non-Christians dread. As Christians we are free
to engage our world as Christ did, without defensiveness. We are free to
develop deep friendships, demonstrating the gift of community and the wonder of
treating every person as created in God’s image. We can welcome people into our
homes and lives with warm hospitality, giving the grace of unhurried time,
asking questions and listening, proving we care about them. We can affirm their
humanity and creativity, learn from them, be authentic about our failures,
fears and struggles, and let them see how the biblical Story shapes our
perception of everything. We can invite them to challenge our faith and freely
say, “I don’t know,” when we don’t know. As we talk about the things that
matter most, we can find creative ways to show how the Bible provides us a lens
to see things. And as movies, music, or stories raise the big questions that
must be answered, we can affirm where we agree, ask about what we don’t
understand, challenge things that are doubtful, and explain the answers
provided by orthodox Christianity.
This is getting too long. So, here are three resources—two
books and one movie—for further reflection: The
Reason for God
by Timothy Keller Learning
Evangelism from Jesus
by Jerram Barrs, and The Big Kahuna
(1999).
by Timothy Keller Learning
Evangelism from Jesus by Jerram Barrs, and The Big Kahuna (1999).
Image: Makoto Fugimura, "Sacrificial Grace" (1997)
This entry was posted
at Monday, October 04, 2010
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Christian faith,
Modernism,
Postmodernism,
Significance,
Truth
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