Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

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enough, as such fashions do” (Gellner, 1992:71). To Gellner, postmodernity was the
currently fashionable form of [philosophical] relativism, and while it has affected many,
is already passing. Indeed, postmodernism has been passé in France for some years now,
replaced by a generation of ‘neo-conservatives,’ a counter-trend some say is developing
across the West.
Yet, postmodernity will leave its mark, mostly expressed in greater moral relativism
and religious pluralism in Western societies. Many would argue these are necessary
components of free societies, yet upon what moral foundation will these societies be
founded, since science readily admits its inherent inability to supply morality As Ernst
Gellner said, monotheistic religions endorse unique truths, and still need to be a factor in
Western cultural foundations. In the end, I believe postmodernity, post-colonialism, and
post-Christendom have challenged Christianity to be influencers, not controllers.
How should Christianity respond to postmodernity and its remnant cultural features
As philosopher William Lane Craig has said, Christianity should not realign its witness to
the world in accordance with the present postmodern fad. “Such a realignment would be
not only unnecessary, but counterproductive, for the abandonment of objective standards
of truth and rationality could only undermine the Christian faith in the long run by
making its call to repentance and faith in Christ but one more voice in the cacophony of
subjectively satisfying but subjectively vacuous religious interpretations of the world”
(Craig in Cowan, 2000:183). Arguing the case for Christianity using postmodern
standards will only make the faith weaker in the process. Postmodernity does require an
apologetic response, but not one that abandons reason in the process.
Where the grand scheme of things is concerned, postmodernity is hardly the ‘shaking’
God yet promises to do (cf., Psa. 96:13; Heb. 12:25-29), and I am not suggesting that
postmodernity is some divine wind. Yet, postmodernity, post-Christendom and postcolonialism
have all worked to make significant changes in Western Christianity. The
faith has largely been disestablished from its Christendom position. Further, the exposure
of this Western religious facade has produced some positive results. Postmodernists “are
right to warn us of the dangers of using language to gain power over others, to
recommend the importance of story and narrative, and to warn against the historical
University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa