Absolutely Part 3 - How this relates to a Christian

If you haven't already, you should probably read the previous two posts on postmodernism.

So, how does this relate to Christianity?  As crazy as it sounds, many Christians unknowingly (or it could be on purpose) incorporate postmodern thinking into their faith.  How many times have you been at a Bible study and heard, or said this yourself, "What does this verse mean to you?"  How about, "what did the author mean by this verse."  I've heard some strange things when people try to interpret scripture without reading the verse in context or thinking of the author's intent.  Sometimes the verses can just be slightly off.  But, on the other hand, sometimes people can really take scripture out of context and come up with some crazy and dangerous interpretations.

Here are some examples of how Christians can take verses out of context (these aren't all mine--I've heard other people use these):

1. A young Christian man, Mark, is interested in Grace and wants to marry her.  So he opens his Bible and randomly reads 2 Corinthians 12:9, "Grace is all you need."  So, he thinks the God is speaking to him through that verse telling him to marry Grace.  This is an example where the results may not be all that harmful.  Grace could be a very nice, Christian young lady.  Ok, what if Grace is not a Christian?  The Bible makes it very clear that believers are not to marry unbelievers.

2.  A Christian woman is in an adulterous relationship and is trying to reconcile that with her beliefs.  She randomly picked a Bible verse and reads Colossians 3:10 which says, "put on the new man."  She thinks that the Bible is affirming her adulterous relationship.  This is an example where the results are extremely harmful.  The Bible is very clear that adultery is sinful.

3. Another common one is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Most people incorrectly think this means we can do anything.  Trust me, no matter how hard you pray you can't just go outside and fly because "Christ is strengthening you."  The verse is actually talking about persecution.  It is really saying that I can endure all hardships with the help and strength of Christ.

4.  Here is the worst example I have seen yet.  I'm writing a pro-life paper, so I've been researching both the pro-life and the pro-choice (Really?  They don't really seem to want there to be a choice . . . ) sides of the argument.  One article I found struck me as very interesting because the title was something like "Why the Bible is pro-abortion and anti-children."  When I read the article, however, my suspicions were confirmed.  The article had at least 20 verses taken out of context to show how the Bible is really anti-children.  One verse was Exodus 1:22 "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile river."  If you read the rest of that passage, it's extremely clear that the speaker is the pharaoh and that particular pharaoh is . . . well, evil.  There were many more verses just like this one, and all were taken out of context.  This example is particularly harmful.  The Bible is clear that murder is wrong.

How can a Christian avoid doing this?  Don't ever try to interpret a Bible verse without first knowing who wrote it, who it was written to, and what the context is.  This may sound weird, but never read a Bible verse.  You should at least read the verse before and after as well.  If you just read verses randomly, you'll come up with all sorts of crazy things.  Remember what matters is what the author wrote, not what you want to read.

Trust in the Lord and never surrender!

Absolutely Part 2 - Text actually does have fixed meaning

Postmodernists claim that relativism not only applies to reality but also to texts as well.  Which is funny when you think about it.  There are books written that say, "Text has no fixed meaning."  Really?  Doesn't that strike them as just a bit odd . . .

How should we read text if we believe in absolute truth?  Well, we need to know the author's purpose for the text.  Never say, "what does this text mean to mean," it should be, "what does the author mean by this text."  For example, you could take the quote from the first paragraph where I said, "'Text has no fixed meaning,'" and post it on another website claiming that I am a postmodernist.  But, if you read the rest of the paragraph and the rest of the post you'll see that I am most certainly not a postmodernist.  And, that's not what I meant by that quote--my purpose in writing that was to show the reader an example of how postmodern thinking contradicts itself.

Be strong in the Lord and never surrender!

Are you absolutely sure about that . . .

This sentence has no meaning.  Wait a second . . . What?  Oh my, I'm really confused now . . . Does that mean that it means nothing?  Oh wait, it has no meaning so it can't mean that it means nothing.  That's not helping . . .

I'm sure you're as confused reading that as I was writing that.  You know, because I'm currently attending a secular college I have run into many professors who believe that.  Postmodernism is a very popular school of thought today.  It sounds nice--you're right, I'm right, we're all right!  But, how can completely opposing viewpoints be true?  There's no way that all of the conflicting viewpoints in our world today can be true.  As much as postmodernists will argue with you, there are several major logical fallacies in their belief system that you should point out to them.

They will say that there is no absolute truth.  OK, are you absolutely sure?  Is that absolutely true?  That statement is self-contradicting.  Some will say that there is no absolute truth except for the truth that there is no other absolute truth.  Yeah, that doesn't make any sense either.  Every time I have told a postmodernist that "there is no universal, absolute truth" is a universal, absolute truth claim, I have never received an satisfactory answer.  I know that there are postmodernists who will argue further, but I have not encountered any as of yet.  Hopefully I will someday . . .

Also, they claim that you cannot apply your personal moral views to anyone else.  Isn't that your personal moral view?  Are you pushing your morality on me now?  It's again very contradictory.

I can't think of any professor that I've had that hasn't been postmodern to a degree.  One professor I had last semester started a discussion about some war in Israel and it soon turned into a debate over the existence of absolute truth.  When I said that the statement "there is no absolute truth" was self-contradicting, the professor just got all flustered and rephrased the exact same statement using "big words."  The funny thing is, he never gave me a satisfactory answer either.  I've had professors completely ignore me if they didn't want to respond to me.

Still in high-school, I took some PSEO classes and again I had a postmodern teacher . . . and a very hostile postmodern class.  The teacher though, was actually really nice and would respond very politely during any philosophical discussion (we would talk philosophy during lunch break).  Near the end of the semester I finally said something that he couldn't respond to (I'm still praying).  I said, "you know, in the end we're all going to die.  But, if you're right that there is no absolute truth, and I'm wrong, then no big deal--we're both ok.  But, if we die and I'm right and you're wrong . . . you're in BIG trouble."  The teacher said it gave him a lot to think about.

Have you had any interesting experiences with postmodern professors or classmates?

Stand up for your faith and never surrender!