Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

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108 Total openness and religious relativism spring from an abhorrence of Christian particularism” (Okholm, 1995:83). Those who endorse religious pluralism also necessarily endorse religiosity that stands upon no absolutes, and no solid ground. Nevertheless, world religions do make different claims, and cannot all be true. By simple, logical necessity, all claims can be false, or some can be true and others false, but not all can be true. G.K. Chesterton said of pluralists: “Tolerance is a virtue of the man or person without convictions” (Chesterton, in Carson, 2000:331). The truth is, pluralism is rooted in fear. It means not having to make choices and take stands, to have personal convictions and to live them out before others. Pluralism is the easy way out -- the coward’s choice -- the way of the unconvicted, the spineless, and the apathetic. In contemporary Western societies, one may be considered a fool to believe in the supernatural, but general talk about ‘god,’ prayer and the like are not likely to stir much commotion. Bring the name Jesus Christ into the mix, however, and the situation quickly changes, because there is no name more controversial and offensive than Jesus Christ (cf., Rom. 9:33): the so-called ‘Jesus problem.’ While many, including Muslims, will broadly accept Jesus as a moral figure that may, or may not have actually lived, to cross the line into discussing Jesus’ own incredible claims stirs controversy. The problem is, if Jesus actually lived, people must consider his claims, and most people truly do not want to face those questions. It is therefore much easier to take a relativistic and pluralistic stance. It is far easier to discount and ignore the possibility that Jesus existed historically, believing that he is but one of many ancient mythical figures that men still turn for moral guidance. Postmoderns truly do embrace and endorse a dream-scape reality, where right and wrong, good and bad do not matter. Right and wrong are personal choices and in the end, it does not seem to matter whether Jesus lived, or not. They care little about what their personal moral choices may mean for others, how their penchants may impact those around them. It is careless and selfish living. Postmoderns and pluralists twist truth and make history say what pleases them. In spite of this, Jesus did make exclusive claims about himself; claims that others cannot accept (cf., Mat. 11:6; Joh. 15). For example, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, <strong>South</strong> Africa
109 and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Joh. 14:6; cf., Mat. 28:18; Joh. 10:30; 14:9). The claims Jesus made about himself offended the (Jewish) religious leaders of His day, and have been offending people ever since. Christians ever since have defended their faith as a reality rooted in history, making Christian claims unique among all others. Only Christianity dares to step with both feet into public courtroom of history, to argue the veracity of Christ’s claims, bringing us to our next query: how should Christians respond to postmodernity University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, <strong>South</strong> Africa
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1 POSTMODERNITY: IMPACT AND IMPLICA
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3 Key Terms Postmodern, postmoderni
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5 An Apologetic Response 115 Compro
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killed massively in the name of goo
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9 together in an eclectic, rather d
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11 Postmodernity: Impact and Implic
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13 heights” (Veith, 1994:30). For
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15 autonomy proper to human reason
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inviolability and Divine origin, th
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diminished” (Bosch, 2000:6). The
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‘god’ to keep and to save him.
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Occultism flourished among the Brit
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He was a passionate, powerful chara
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27 record reveals that the church o
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29 eliminating poverty, hunger and
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may simply transform the nature and
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Contrary to Christian notions that
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35 ‘modernize’ the nation. To b
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37 expression. This “first respon
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39 of his own awareness of God” (
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41 Existentialism understandably em
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depends upon our decision makes our
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group Socialisme et Liberte. During
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47 The Mind of Sartre Sartre’s vi
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ethical absolutes (Craig, 1994:67).
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51 Chapter II Postmodernity: The Es
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53 Postmoderns promote individualis
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meaning and language. The postmoder
Page 57 and 58: pointed out that science, far from
Page 59 and 60: 59 Ferdinand de Saussure at the tur
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Page 63 and 64: 63 models and then try not to subve
Page 65 and 66: marginalized and to the historical
Page 67 and 68: without essential foundations (Khan
Page 69 and 70: maximum voluntary community agreeme
Page 71 and 72: 71 something akin to the virtual re
Page 73 and 74: 73 During the 1960’s, Foucault wa
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Page 77 and 78: had been trapped. Through Nietzsche
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Page 81 and 82: elieve the conventions of modernity
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Page 85 and 86: 85 referentially incoherent. That i
Page 87 and 88: 87 the second postmodern wave, whic
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Page 91 and 92: interpretation. It again gives sugg
Page 93 and 94: 93 There are three basic forms of (
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Page 99 and 100: 99 but hardly in entirety. Keeping
Page 101 and 102: salvation. Here again we see how Go
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Page 111 and 112: Those who truly know Jesus Christ a
Page 113 and 114: future was no longer heaven, but a
Page 115 and 116: 115 An Apologetic Response Beyond t
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Page 119 and 120: component of the overall package, b
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Page 131 and 132: 131 Chapter VI Postmodernity and th
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Page 135 and 136: 135 Yet, with few exceptions, the W
Page 137 and 138: 137 Rome, ‘The Way’ (i.e., Chri
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Page 143 and 144: society. State authorities quite of
Page 145 and 146: “The subtle assumption of Western
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Page 149 and 150: 149 Christendom West. For example i
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Page 155 and 156: 155 Ours is not a faith rooted in i
Page 157 and 158: 157 of Washington, D.C., have now d
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says, “Homosexual practice is inc
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the position held by the non-Wester
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163 Chapter VII Postmodern Spiritua
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With the dawn of the Enlightenment,
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contemporary West look not to the c
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adherence overall declined from 86.
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171 (Johnson, 2004). Contemporary n
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173 The postmodernists undertook th
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deconstruction leads to a foundatio
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177 postmodernity has opened the do
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Pagans are usually worshippers of t
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most Catholics in Brazil. Many Musl
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which is one of the key factors tha
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185 1980:viii). For example, when t
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187 the higher religions. The pleth
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whose wrath has been and will be di
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in the movies, further fulfilling t
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to ancient Greek writings, the post
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195 more, the atoning work of Jesus
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197 to develop. Even after several
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199 excesses of scientism and reduc
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Carson, D.A., ed. (2000). Telling t
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Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic Theol
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McMichael, P. (2004). Development a
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207 Riss, R. (1988). A Survey of 20
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209 Bibliography of Electronic Sour
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211 Foucault, M. (1982). Truth, Pow
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Montgomery, J.W. (2002). Defending
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215 The University of Zululand Esta
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