Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

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that lack of purpose in much of Western Christianity is obvious. Love of the flesh has replaced the love and fear of God. The Apostle John cautions: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1Jn. 2:15-17). Much of the Western church is more afraid of men, than God. When modern critics have barked, the church has invariably bowed and retreated. Where there is no proper fear of God, there is no respect, no discipline, no vision, and no proper order in relationships. This is as true in families, as it is regarding individual and corporate relationships with God. “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you; for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth” (Deu. 6:13-15; cf., Exo. 20:20; Lev. 19:14; 25:17; Deu. 4:10; 5:29; 6:2; Mat. 10:28). Why should we obey and faithfully follow and serve the Lord Because, as Moses says clearly for all generations of those who know and fear the Lord: it is for our own good and for His glory. “And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day” (Deu. 6:24). Our own good, and the abundance of God’s blessings are sometimes apparent via material wealth; but God’s blessings are also apparent in sound minds and bodies, healthy relationships, peace with our neighbours, and others. True wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. When the puny wisdom of mere arrogant men is allowed to dominate in the church, inevitably fear will reign instead of faith, because what can men do compared to God (cf., Luk. 18:27) Men believe their thoughts superior to all others; they foolishly believe they can accomplish great things without God’s guidance and help. “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established” (Pro. 16:2-3; cf., Psa. 49). 154 University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
155 Ours is not a faith rooted in irrationality, nor is it a faith dominated by human rationality. Ours is a faith that has been evidentially tested and proven in response to our own doubts and those of our critics -- and still it is faith. The task of the believer is not to prove the historical veracity of Christ and Scripture, as valuable as these things are. Our [primary] task is to be disciples and witnesses. When we take more upon ourselves than is given us -- namely bringing others to faith in Christ -- we are sure to make mistakes, and fall into traps, such as attempting to satisfy the insatiable carnal doubts of men, apart from the mental and spiritual illumination only the Spirit of God can provide. Truly, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Pro. 1:7). The Anglican Rift Perhaps no other contemporary situation exposes the postmodern, post-colonial and post-Christendom tensions within and proximate to Western Christianity, than the rift within global Anglicanism. The problems within the Anglican community truly reveal how great the gap between the culturally compromised Western, mainline groups and those still faithful to Christ, who are increasingly from the non-Western world. It also clearly reveals how great the reach of the cultural trends and dynamics affecting the Western world, church and far beyond. The story of African Christianity is fascinating, wonderful and extremely encouraging. “The expansion of Christianity in Twentieth-century Africa has been so dramatic that it has been called ‘the fourth great age of Christian expansion’” (Isichei, 1995:1). The continent is historically connected to the very earliest days of Yahweh’s interactions with the children of Israel, Jesus (Mat. 27:32) and the early church (Act 8:26–29). Some of the most influential Christians in history came from Africa (e.g., Augustine, Clement, Cyprian). There are now more Anglicans, for example, in Nigeria than in the United University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South 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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considers the Greek logos (i.e., λ
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63 models and then try not to subve
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marginalized and to the historical
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without essential foundations (Khan
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maximum voluntary community agreeme
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71 something akin to the virtual re
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73 During the 1960’s, Foucault wa
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generally agreed that his views wer
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had been trapped. Through Nietzsche
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Foucault also seemed to delight in
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elieve the conventions of modernity
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83 Will 'Po-Mod' Endure Ernst Gelln
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85 referentially incoherent. That i
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87 the second postmodern wave, whic
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action. During the colonial period,
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interpretation. It again gives sugg
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93 There are three basic forms of (
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diverse immigrant populations becom
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desperate population to believe tha
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99 but hardly in entirety. Keeping
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salvation. Here again we see how Go
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Page 115 and 116: 115 An Apologetic Response Beyond t
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Page 171 and 172: 171 (Johnson, 2004). Contemporary n
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Page 201 and 202: Carson, D.A., ed. (2000). Telling t
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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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