Historical perspective
A. The Christian Age
For the better part of 1,500 years the Western world saw all of life as a universe created by God for the purpose of bringing praise and glory to Him. It did not matter what channel you turned the television to, all that existed was the “God Channel.” In fact, the only thing that truly separated Western culture from the East was Christianity. But then about the time Columbus sailed to America, a second, fuzzy, UHF channel was beginning to come into focus.
B. The Modern Age
Francis Bacon thought man could set himself free from God through science. Descartes sought an absolutely certain rational foundation for life through science. In their minds, reason was the only way to explain that which is real. And the discoveries of Newton convinced the world that Descartes’ and Bacon’s dreams could come true. What resulted was the death of the Christian Age and the birth of the Modern Age.
The Modern Age created a world that worshipped facts. In the Modern Age, real and important facts were determined by the scientist and the mathematician. Facts were considered to be objective truth and objective truth could only be determined by facts.
In such an age, 2 + 2 = 4 was a far more valuable statement than “Love makes the world go round.”
Which meant that ultimate reality in the realm of morals was unknowable; science could not tell if something was right or wrong, only if it were possible. Thus moral knowledge would be determined on an individual by individual basis or by those in power. Since there were no “facts” to rely on in non-scientific matters, whatever one chose to believe was fine, but was not “classified” as truth.
Thus the Modern Age determined we were part of a universe that created itself for no apparent moral purpose. This was a very scary proposition that continues to impact what our culture believes and how it behaves.
C. The Failure of the Modern Age
If the Modern Age was right in concluding that the universe exists for no apparent moral purpose, science still cannot explain why mankind refused to live as if we were here for no apparent reason. Everything in us says there is reason or purpose behind our existence.
The Modern Age had a faith in the scientific method that proved untenable. To know something, information must pass through many filters, including language, culture, and the experience of those doing the scientific testing. In other words, knowing anything, including in the scientific realm, is a risky and non-exact business on certain levels. Pascal said, “The heart has its reasons that reason does not know!”
And the discoveries of physics have not born out the assumptions of the Modern Age. Particle physics has shown that the ultimate elements of what we call matter are not material! Which has led some physicists of our day to conclude that “the only ultimate reality is relationships.”
D. The Arrival of Postmodernism
Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power.” But one writer of our day has said, “Power is knowledge.” People in power now determine the knowledge that is important. Power is what produces reality in the post modern era. American television and American politics are two clear examples that use marketing, not reason, to determine and define the knowledge that is important.
Which means, in the postmodern world we live in: There is no unifying worldview. Instead, there are multiple, competing worldviews, none of which can be proven to be true for all people in all places at all times. The postmodern condition is a plurality of voices vying for the right reality—a channel surfing culture. There is not one channel or two, but 500 channels. It is a “whatever” pleases you culture.
Therefore, it is politically incorrect in the postmodern world to hold one worldview above another. It is a Seinfeld, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” world.
So, with 500 different “channels” or worldviews to choose from, the re-tribalization of man has occurred. People today are saying, “If there is no unifying worldview, then I’ll take my chances with a small tribe I can call my own.” And they go to Starbucks, the gym, eHarmony, and a variety of other places to find that “tribe.” People are hungry for relationships, where there is vulnerability, authenticity, and intimacy, which makes the God channel a relevant channel once again! Because God’s key core value is community.
E. Postmodernism as Opportunity
We stand in the midst of a paradigm shift, with one foot in Modernism (reason) and one foot in Postmodernism (relationships). The church cannot afford to focus exclusively on either model. We must focus on a blended model that crosses both ages and all ages for that matter. We’ll call it the Christian model.
As Paul showed us in Romans 1:16-17, we are not saying as Christians to our world, “We have discovered.” We are saying to our world, “God has spoken.” And the message of God (the Bible) transcends time & culture & human experience. Thus it is consistently, constantly, and continually relevant to all people in any age! I mean, historians who say the sexual revolution began in the 1960’s are so far off base! Read the Old Testament and you will hear and see so much sexual dysfunction. I mean read Roman history books and you’ll be blown away by the sexual practices that took place in the open! The message of the Bible is timeless and crosses every cultural line because we were all created for relationships and sex is part of God’s gift in the context of right relationships, that’s why the message of the Bible is still so relevant. And what’s so exciting is that people are channel surfing, and they’re open to what the Bible has to say! Remember what we learned in Explicit Lyrics!
Which means, history does have a purpose and we know what it is, because the author revealed himself to us and let us in on the secret. Our purpose is reconciliation. Right relationship with God and right relationship with one another is our ultimate purpose in life. The ultimate reality really is relationships! It’s a great time to be alive and an even better time to be a Christian, and here’s why…
F. The Church in a Post Modern Age
- The postmodern church will be community-oriented, not individualistic. Why? Christianity is not primarily a proposition to be believed. Christianity is not primarily an experience to be received. Christianity is primarily a language to be learned, and languages are best learned by immersing oneself in the culture. That’s how I learned the language of the Haitian people. It is the blending of proposition and experience. And Jesus said, “I desire to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4)
- The postmodern church will recognize mankind’s longing through angst, despair, meaningless and spiritual helplessness. There is a hunger to “connect” with God and people and we know how to make that happen.
- The postmodern church will let people know Christianity is rooted in suffering, but that God’s love will triumph over the suffering! That is hope and hope is our message!
- The postmodern church will understand the importance of teaching truth, but it will also understand that people will be converted to community before they are converted to Christ. The old adage is true…they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
- Thus at Southland we are committed to blending a rationalistic environment of 2 + 2 = 4 where knowing the right thing is important, with an experiential environment of “love makes the world go round” where being the right thing is important. Again, balance between the modern and postmodern movements of reason and relationship, of spirit and truth.
- If the ultimate reality is relationships, then this is the church’s greatest hour in human history! As one of my teachers put it, “What we teach you to know is never as important as who we teach you to love.”
- And if people are genuinely hungry for the right answers (truth) in the context of right relationships (love), then this explains why our enemy has always used sex as a weapon. He wants to confuse people!
G. Conclusion
- Are you getting the answers you need to the questions you have? Because there are answers!
- Are you surrounding yourself with friends who will make you think about things that matter?
- Are you immersing yourself into the culture of our weekend services and into the community of a life group on a consistent basis? If not, what events do you need to say “no” to so you can experience Jesus and his followers in a more intimate way?
- Are you taking what you know (truth in love) and using it to benefit the life of someone else?
We have finished 5 days in this challenge! 2 more days to go!