Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

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Religious pluralism challenges us to hold firmly to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as Savior even as we work for increased tolerance and understanding among religious communities. We cannot seek harmony by relativizing the truth claims of religions... We commit ourselves to reconciliation. We also commit ourselves to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in faithfulness and loving humility (Iguassu Affirmation, in Taylor, 2000:19). Christians must further understand that pluralism is syncretism. Real syncretism is, as A. Oepke asserts, “always based on the presupposition that all positive religions are only reflections of a universal original religion and show therefore only gradual differences” (Oepke, in Anderson, 1984:17). Hooft defines syncretism as “the view which holds that there is no unique revelation in history, that there are many different ways to reach the divine reality, that all formulations of religious truth or experience are by their very nature inadequate expressions of that truth and that is necessary to harmonise as much as possible all religious ideas and experiences so as to create one universal religion for mankind” (Hooft, in Anderson, 1984:17). Like John Hick, the Hindu mystic Ramakrishna, and others, pluralists claim that all paths lead to the same ‘god,’ or ultimate reality. Ghandhi, for example, declared, “the soul of religions is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms” (ibid. 18). The Christian response to postmodernity cannot be a “myopic conservative retrenchment” (Middleton, 1995:173), for the faith has much to offer this rootless postmodern, pluralistic generation. D.A. Carson adds that we must acknowledge “certain truths in postmodernity, without getting snookered by the entire package” (Carson, 1996:136). A person’s hope should not rest in the promises of modernity, or any other human construct. Contrary to the anti-foundationalism and hopelessness that postmodernism endorses, people do need a raison d'être, or reason for being. People do want stability in their lives: they want something stable and sure to believe in: and who better to lead foundation-less people to, than the Rock (cf., Psa. 18:2, 31, 46). The modernists would not endorse the future hope provided via biblical eschatology, instead replacing what Scripture offered with various secular Utopianisms. Hope for the 112 University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, <strong>South</strong> Africa
future was no longer heaven, but a society of [supposedly] sharing, caring people who, it was believed, would work collectively to make life better for all. The grand experiment of Marxism seemed the ultimate answer, and for a time, even seemed to work; but was, like all other human-originated constructs, doomed to failure. In time, this Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) fell too (c.1989). Men are seldom content to accept what God provides (cf., Num. 11), preferring in their arrogance to live in rebellion against God, supposing in their grand foolishness that they know better how to live. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Pro. 16:5). Lesslie Newbigin adds: Once the real end of history has been disclosed, and once the invitation is given to live by it in the fellowship of a crucified and risen messiah, then the old static and cyclical patterns are broken and can never be restored. If Jesus is not acknowledged as the Christ, then other christs, other saviors will appear. But the gospel must first be preached to all the nations (Newbigin, 1989:122). Stackhouse, with others, argues that religion is a necessary component of any society, without which the moral and ethical foundations will crumble. Stackhouse said religion is, or should be, “the moral heart of social history. It provides the inner logic by which the most important aspects of civilization operate, with theology as the science proper to its understanding. When religion is transformed, the society changes; when religion falls apart or dries up, not only do people suffer meaninglessness, but the civilization crumbles” (Stackhouse, 1988:82). Yet, again, which religion should be used as the moral foundation of a society Christian’s entrust their future to Jesus Christ, who alone is able to save us from our sin and ourselves, a faith rooted in the biblical revelation without additions (cf., Mormonism). The faith is not founded upon the whims of mere humans, but that which was entrusted to us by Jesus Himself. Honest disciples of Christ know the gospel always comes with clay feet, not with any splendour we provide, but in the power of the Spirit. It is precisely as the Apostle Paul said long ago: 113 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
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pointed out that science, far from
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59 Ferdinand de Saussure at the tur
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Page 115 and 116: 115 An Apologetic Response Beyond t
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Page 131 and 132: 131 Chapter VI Postmodernity and th
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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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