The Christian Imagination

I was talking with a friend about modernism, postmodernism, reason, and imagination recently. In all the discussions about -isms, there is a question about much all these -isms really apply to the lives of real people. I will stand by the notion that human reason doesn’t have all the answers. For one thing, reason isn’t in a vacuum, and the premises we bring to the table highly influence our rationale conclusions.

My friend said that if he thinks about the average person, how many people are rational? Because, it seems like many, perhaps most, people, seem anything but rational, that if anything, we don’t use reason enough to make decisions. It’s a valid point. How do we even quantify reason?

We live in a so-called modernist culture that is now more postmodern. But really, in recent times, how much do we really teach people to think? The most valuable thing I got out of my college education was critical thinking skills and better problem solving skills. I learned the value of appealing to source material and statistics. I even learned that stats can be misread and misinterpreted. I learned that truth is sometimes more subjective than we make it out to be, and common sense sometimes is nothing more than a notion oft-repeated.

As Christians, in appealing to Modernism and Absolute Truth, we are sometimes, well, wrong. There were Christians for AND against slavery, to give one example. I remember my dad, who was a minister, say, “What if we find out one day that a lot of what we currently believe is wrong?” And in his journey, in my journey, as learners, we sometimes have to admit, when we look closer, that we are wrong. I do believe some things about the Christian faith are fundamental to being a Christian (the incarnation and divinity of Christ, for one). But, having been exposed to more than one type of Christian thought, I see it as anything but homogenous. Two Christians, both referencing the Spirit of Christ in their lives, comes to different conclusions on what it true sometimes.

So, to be clear, I value reason, but not the elevation of reason to the point where human reason can figure everything out. Reason and critical thinking, and dare I say, creative thinking, are important, and dare I say, much of our thinking is not sufficiently critical or creative. Christians talk about absolute truth, but too often we stop learning, stop seeking, stop wondering, and simply parrot words we hear, words we studied long ago. And hey, it takes time seek truth, and even then, does the truth change our lives? Or are they words? Words we don’t believe as much as we say we do?

Critical thinking is important. We need more of it in the Christian community. But we also needs God’s Spirit in us. We need both Intellect and Creativity. We need Truth and Spirit (John 4:23).

To start with, you may want to take a look at Wikipedia’s entries for Modernism and Postmodernism. Wikipedia isn’t an authoritative source, but it is usually helpful, as it is here. It’s rather difficult to categorize a lot of cultural phenomena. People don’t even agree on what these terms mean as applied to culture.

Consider this from the modern entry:

It is a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. Modernism encouraged the re-examination of every aspect of existence, from commerce to philosophy, with the goal of finding that which was ‘holding back’ progress, and replacing it with new, progressive and therefore better, ways of reaching the same end. In essence, the modernist movement argued that the new realities of the industrial and mechanized age were permanent and imminent, and that people should adapt their world view to accept that the new equaled the good, the true and the beautiful…Embracing change and the present, modernism encompasses the works of thinkers who rebelled against nineteenth century academic and historicist traditions, believing the “traditional” forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated; they directly confronted the new economic, social and political aspects of an emerging fully industrialized world. Some divide the 20th Century into movements designated Modernism and Postmodernism, whereas others see them as two aspects of the same movement.

According to this article, modernism
–encourages the re-examination of every aspect of existence
–looks for progressive ways of meeting the same ends
–believes many aspects of tradition are outdated

Interesting. Isn’t that what many say postmodernism is? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Actually, though, before World War I, the Western world believed in Progress to the extreme. Ideas like evolution went from a theory about origin to a declaration about continuous human development. Even the American church was influenced by this vision of progress. There was a noticeable shift, for instance, to pre-milleniallism after the disillusionment of World War I and other factors. Without a doubt, human reason and belief in progress in the Western world brought about a lot of amazing change and technological advances.

In the process, what else happened? We talk about tradition, but even in church, how old are our traditions, really? What we call the traditional nuclear family structure, for instance, dates back about 200 years (see Families at the Crossroads). We don’t know our history as well as we should, and to paraphrase: those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Our consumerist society has, in many respects, re-examined everything, assigned a dollar amount, thrown out history, and found progressive ways to meet real and perceived needs.

Plus, and this is important, human reason has fallen short and caused disillusionment. That shouldn’t surprise anyone with a Christian world view. It goes back to original sin and our self-centered nature. And sin, by it’s nature, is usually based on anything but reason. Further, humans are created in God’s image with reason and emotion, to separate them is to have a false picture.

Lastly, postmodernism is a response, or as some say, an extension of modernism into contemporary times. The title of this post, then, is likely inaccurate. I’ll mention disillusionment again, because that’s important to understand. I’ve been disillusioned myself, as a Christian. Let me tell you something about it. When you are apathetic and discouraged because your ideals about life have been shattered, Christian formulas and appeals to truth just don’t amount to much…they don’t stir the heart, don’t give hope to a thirsty soul. It is, after all, not about the Christian philosophy of life. I don’t need a rationale philosophy of life…I need Jesus Christ in my heart, my mind, my soul…and so does the world.

The following presentation was given at TED by Larry Lessig, author of Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity. I am still processing what he said, but he does make some good points. The presentation is about 20 minutes, and includes the 1-minute Jesus “I Will Survive” remix, and the George Bush/Tony Blair remix, which may offend.

Amazon has the following description of the book, which has some similar themes to the presentation:

Lawrence Lessig, “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the Internet era” (The New Yorker), masterfully argues that never before in human history has the power to control creative progress been so concentrated in the hands of the powerful few, the so-called Big Media. Never before have the cultural powers- that-be been able to exert such control over what we can and can’t do with the culture around us. Our society defends free markets and free speech; why then does it permit such top-down control? To lose our long tradition of free culture, Lawrence Lessig shows us, is to lose our freedom to create, our freedom to build, and, ultimately, our freedom to imagine.

I was looking at some of the local churches in Fort Collins and one of them had a link to Xenos Christian Fellowship’s website. One of their pages is called Postmodernism and You. They begin by saying:

Postmodernism may have originated in the province of academics and eggheads, but you will encounter it in your daily life, no matter who you are. Pick one of these nine areas to learn how you will see postmodernism affecting you and your children.

First of all, calling people eggheads isn’t a constructive way to begin. If people are so clearly wrong, prove it, don’t resort to name calling.

Anyway, I’ll comment on their nine areas. As such, it would be helpful to read what they have to say first.

Education: Transmitting information is much less effective than facilitating the learning process. Lecturing is very western in concept. The Biblical model of discipleship is an experiencial facilitation process. People need to own their knowledge and experience, especially in a world where no idea goes unchallenged.

Health Care: Admittedly some forms of alternative medicine are flaky and unsubstantiated, but let’s not forget that Western medicine doesn’t have all the answers. Further, research is not done in a vacuum. Money and academic dishonesty influence the ‘truth.’ Plus, some forms of alternative medicine are older than Western medicine, such as Chinese techniques. Plus, the door has been opened to recognize more wholistic medicine, which recognizes the spiritual world rather than just the god of Reason. That includes recognizing Christian spirituality.

Science: The Englightenment and Industrial Revolution made a god out of human reason and science. The optimism of human reason has been dashed over the past century. Postmodernism is what happens when people grow disillusioned with the idolatry of human reason and science.

Psychotherapy: Their discussion of psychology is confusing. They compare so-called modern truth-based psychotherapy with postmodern truthless psychotherapy. Okay, I agree with the idea that not pointing people to an objective truth is a problem. I have a minor in psychology. Psychology is, and always has been, subjective. Behavioural research is helpful, but there are many factors involved in getting valid data, and thus, valid research. Psychology itself is largely based on human reasoning being the answer, not God. And some of the things they condemn postmodernism (such as loss of individualism and fascination with power) are equally part of modernism.

Religion: In this instance, a lot of what’s said makes sense. Truth is important in religion, but there’s more to religion than reason and truth…

History: Wow. History is usually written by the victor, from a certain point of view. How often is history actually objective? It’s easy for those of us in the majority to dismiss the experience of the minority. We might have our assumptions challenged, after all. The Bible itself is not meant to be objective history, but a story of the people of Israel and their God. HOWEVER, history itself and historical writings are often thrown out with postmodernism, and I fully agree that that is tragic and dangerous!

Literature: Okay. I agree that it’s ideal to understand the author’s intent. I also agree that it’s problematic to just concern ourselves with what it means to us apart from what they’re trying to communicate. I especially think that in terms of Biblical exegesis. I also think that understanding the cultural context helps us to understand their intent. Many modernists have applied a Western filter to the Bible, essentially teaching what it means to us rather than what the author was trying communicate.

Biblical Interpretation: Already stated above. Again, I’m confused, since churches influenced by postmodern ideas are often the ones questioning whether some of our Western interpretations are really what the author was trying to communicate. I hate to say it, but people do construct their own meaning, whether they should or not. It’s just now we have everyone forming their own meanings with it being sanctioned. Then again, should I just accept someone else says is true even if I logically don’t believe it? Now, there are dangers with postmodern ideology…but there are also dangers with modern ideology.

Law and Government: Well, they have a lot more faith in the reason and justness of our legal system before postmodernism. I don’t share that faith. I also don’t share the faith in human nature that it requires. Money and power have tainted our legal system for a long time. Just because someone in power enacts a law and it is then rational for a jury to enforce it, that doesn’t make it just.

In conclusion, I agree with some things said on their website, but the elevation of modernism with the total dismissal of postmodernism is too clear cut. It doesn’t sound like a defense of Christianity, but, rather, a defense of Enlightenment ideology as it has developed in the United States. Also, some of the arguments use straw man logical fallacies and other aberrations of logic (like the one with literature). Lastly, what I dislike about modernism and what I like about postmodernism is based on what I perceive as true. That’s the problem with seeking truth…it sometimes leads you past what other people tell you is true.