It's been said that the postmodern mindset denies the existence of absolute truth. I'm not finding that to be true. What I am finding is that postmoderns do believe in absolute truth!! They just might not necessarily believe that you or I or anyone else has the corner on that market. What they reject are arrogant claims of possessing absolute truth.
I consider myself to be somewhat postmodern in the sense that I believe that truth is truth, no matter the source. That's why in my previous post I quoted the Sufi poet Rumi. I don't believe Rumi has encapsulated all truth, but there are things he wrote that ring true.
However, I do believe that there is one who not only encapsulated truth, but is Truth itself. Of course, I'm speaking of Jesus. As a Christian I hold that Jesus is The Truth, but not in the sense that he offers little tidbits of advice or a list of regulations to follow. Jesus revealed the person and reality of God.
I hold that dearly and truly. But, as some of you may have experienced, faith evolves and grows. My faith is different today than it was, say, ten years ago, and I find that there are things apart from the Christian tradition that can strengthen and deepen my faith in Christ. Of course, there is Word and Sacrament, which I would never compromise as Means of Grace. These remain the primary pillars of my faith. However, I find nothing wrong with complimenting faith by contemplating sources that allow a deeper understanding of these pillars. In other words, I think it's okay to go beyond a Luther's Small Catechism understanding while never losing sight of it. It's a matter of including but transcending, or, as philosopher Ken Wilber might put it, it's integral.
Douglas Hoag
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About this blog
Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, New Lenox, Illinois.
I'm married with two children.
My MBTI type is E/INFP, in case that means anything to you.
My prayer: Lord, help me finish everything I sta
Most importantly, I believe that the reality and personage of God was uniquely and fully realized in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. No one else comes close.
Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for the seizures and/or convulsions you may experience while reading this blog.
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I'm married with two children.
My MBTI type is E/INFP, in case that means anything to you.
My prayer: Lord, help me finish everything I sta
Most importantly, I believe that the reality and personage of God was uniquely and fully realized in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. No one else comes close.
Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for the seizures and/or convulsions you may experience while reading this blog.
Doug Hoag's Profile
Create Your Badge
2 comments:
I believe we are all products of the philosophies of our day to a certain extent. By this I mean philosophies evolve through the ages and we are influenced by the prominent ones of our time whether we realize it or not. Even if we don't want to admit it, Christians think a lot like the rest for the secular world, yet the secular world is also influenced by Christ.
It seems that us sinful postmoderns do not see truth as being black or white. Everything can be explained in a different shade of grey, so two opposing viewpoints can be true at the same time. Or do we come to this belief by splitting off into our own personal little worlds? 'My truth is true to me and your truth is true to you.'
Jesus is Truth for everyone, whether or not they chose to admit it. Anyone in contact with Him has contact with the truth. Thankfully, while we are here on earth nobody is totally separated from Truth.
The beauty of Jesus is that He is black and white Truth. He turned black and white on their face. He has died and come back to life to give us His pure white holiness while taking on Himself our black sinfulness. He did this for everyone, nobody need be left out in any shade of grey in this world.
Ross
It seems that us sinful postmoderns do not see truth as being black or white. Everything can be explained in a different shade of grey, so two opposing viewpoints can be true at the same time. Or do we come to this belief by splitting off into our own personal little worlds? 'My truth is true to me and your truth is true to you.
That's a very accurate picture of what's happening. But frankly, the church has reacted to this by trying to strongarm people into submission with a believe-it-or-else attitude by throwing doctrine in peoples' faces. This doesn't do because, as a colleague of mine recently said, the church is answering questions that next to no one is asking anymore. I believe that part of the solution is finding ways to express doctrine in fresh and sometimes surprising ways. My quoting of Rumi, to me, is only a start.
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