{"id":1126,"date":"2014-10-26T04:04:38","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T11:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/?p=1126"},"modified":"2021-03-07T18:14:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T02:14:43","slug":"representing-christ-in-the-postmodern-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/2014\/10\/26\/representing-christ-in-the-postmodern-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Representing Christ In The Postmodern World"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Representing Christ In The Postmodern World<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Author:<\/td>\nPastor Wilson Suwanto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Posted on:<\/td>\n2014-10-26 00:15:31<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Some people used to say that we\u00a0were living in the modern era with its\u00a0ideals. And they were progress, freedom,\u00a0rationality, objectivity, and science.\u00a0They were thought to be attainable\u00a0as civilization and culture developed.\u00a0However, the outbreak of World War I and\u00a0II, and the Holocaust proved otherwise:\u00a0that these ideals are just Ideals; nothing\u00a0more, nothing less. They are good on\u00a0papers, but they cannot help humankind\u00a0solve our problems. Some people believe\u00a0that, in fact that these Modern ideals are\u00a0part of the problem rather than being part
\nof the solution.\u00a0If culture has developed\u00a0into the mature stage,\u00a0and civilization has\u00a0reached the highest point\u00a0in history, then why were\u00a0there war and genocide (the\u00a0mass killing of people on the\u00a0basis of race and ethnicity)?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since the end of World War II,\u00a0people\u00a0have been wondering about the world\u00a0that they have been living in. The ideal of\u00a0modernism has collapsed. The dream of\u00a0one world, one culture, and one civilization\u00a0has vanished into nothingness.\u00a0In the past, some European thinkers were\u00a0proposing to spread this ideal of one world\u00a0and one culture through colonization\u00a0(occupying and exploiting other people\u2019s\u00a0countries); for example, the Dutch\u00a0colonized Indonesia, Britain colonized\u00a0India, Portugal and Spain colonized Latin\u00a0America. But, hundreds of years after the
\nbeginning of colonization, the colonized\u00a0countries, one by one, began to declare\u00a0independence, and to renounce the\u00a0culture of its resident imperialists. Once\u00a0again, the dream of building one world\u00a0and one culture has completely failed,\u00a0and the world remains polyglot (many\u00a0languages and cultures). This is just a\u00a0general and historical sketch of what is\u00a0known as the end of the modern era. Its\u00a0failure include:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Regress in morality and human value.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although modernism made tremendous progress in technology, it has failed\u00a0in promoting humanity and morality.
\nOur world is seeing more and more\u00a0poor people in the midst of our affluent\u00a0world.<\/p>\n

2. The failure of science to be a reliable\u00a0guide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Einstein\u2019s theory of relativity\u00a0is a revolutionary step in science that\u00a0challenged the traditional concept\u00a0of physics. As science progressed,\u00a0comprehension of it is changing. What\u00a0was true yesterday can be erroneous\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

3. The failure of reason to be the center\u00a0of human life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The modern thinkers\u00a0believed that if everyone thinks, then all\u00a0our problems will be solved. Solution lies\u00a0within the power of the mind to generate\u00a0ideas and thinking. This has also proven\u00a0to be false and delusional. Blaise Pascal\u00a0said: \u201cThe heart has its reasons, which\u00a0reason knows nothing of.\u201d What the\u00a0renowned French scientist said is true.\u00a0The emphasis on reason and rationality\u00a0fails to do justice to the whole nature of\u00a0humanity. Human does not consist only\u00a0of mind, but also of emotion and heart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These and other failures leaves modernism\u00a0an unattainable ideal; hence is being\u00a0abandoned by most people. In the midst\u00a0of this vacuum, a new kind of atmosphere\u00a0and mindset suddenly emerged. People\u00a0disagree on what it is exactly but they\u00a0do agree on one thing, namely, that this\u00a0new phenomenon is called \u201cPostmodern\u00a0phenomenon.\u201d Some understand it as\u00a0the total rejection of modernism. Some\u00a0see it as the revision of some parts of\u00a0modernism. Still others believe that\u00a0Postmodernism is a whole new idea.\u00a0Whatever it is, one thing is clear: we live\u00a0in an era after the modern era; hence the\u00a0name \u201cPostmodern\u201d comes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If modernism created problems, then\u00a0postmodernism is creating bigger\u00a0problems. What does this\u00a0mean? Postmodernism\u00a0rejects the possibility\u00a0of an objective truth.\u00a0There is no such thing\u00a0as \u201cit is true.\u201d What is true\u00a0is true to me or to you. Truth\u00a0is not something that you\u00a0can measure objectively. Truth\u00a0does not lie out there. Truth is\u00a0something that you prefer to\u00a0believe to be true. If you feel that it is\u00a0true, then it is true to you. It does not\u00a0matter whether it is actually true or not.\u00a0Postmodernism produces a relativistic\u00a0mindset; there is nothing absolute.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since there is no absolute truth, then the\u00a0statement that \u201cX is true\u201d is meaningless.\u00a0How do you determine that it is true? This\u00a0creates a mindset of apathy. \u201cWhy should\u00a0I care?\u201d As a result, our generation is a\u00a0nihilistic generation. They do not\u00a0believe that there are values\u00a0and meaning in this life. \u201cNo meaning\u201d\u00a0also means \u201cno purpose.\u201d Postmodern\u00a0generation is losing confidence in\u00a0\u201cmeaning.\u201d More and more people today\u00a0believe that life has no meaning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, the consequence of the\u00a0postmodern beliefs is that the destruction\u00a0of the concept of Self. What is self? Self
\nis me, and by extension is you. Since you\u00a0and I don\u2019t have meaning and purpose,\u00a0then why should we care about what we\u00a0think, what we feel, and how we act?\u00a0This generation increasingly believes\u00a0that there is no such thing as Self. They\u00a0act on the basis of impulse and instinct.\u00a0Some people call this generation as the\u00a0generation of the broken self. They point\u00a0to MTV as the prime symbol of this\u00a0broken self. In MTV, you can see that\u00a0there is no connection between one scene\u00a0and the others. They are just put together\u00a0without any logic or sense of coherence.
\nWhy car about logic or coherence? There\u00a0is No coherence; there is No self. \u201cJust do\u00a0it, and follow your gut instincts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the light of this postmodern phenomenon, how should Christians\u00a0live? How do we represent Christ in the\u00a0generation that does not care; does not\u00a0care for truth, meaning, nor even care\u00a0about themselves?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are several things that we can\u00a0do to\u00a0represent Christ in this generation:<\/p>\n

LIVE A CHRIST-LIKE\u00a0LIFE!<\/strong><\/p>\n

People are tired with the\u00a0slogan \u201cChrist makes the\u00a0difference\u201d because they do not see it in\u00a0the lives of those professing to be His\u00a0followers. We can make Christ\u2019s presence\u00a0a touching reality in the lives of this\u00a0generation through our exemplary lives.\u00a0The ancient call still rings out clearly\u00a0today: \u201cTake up your cross daily and\u00a0follow Me\u201d (Mark 8:34)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AFFIRM THE\u00a0EXISTENCE OF THE\u00a0ABSOLUTE TRUTH!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Again, some people are\u00a0offended by those who live a double life\u00a0(Sunday — and other days of the week).\u00a0Truth is not like a convenience store\u00a0where people can come in and out as they\u00a0wish. Truth demands a commitment, and
\nsometimes a painful one. By living a holy\u00a0life, we can boldly proclaim that there is\u00a0an absolute truth, and it is the truth of the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we make a\u00a0mistake, confess it. Do not bend God\u2019s\u00a0rules to suit our preference, but rather bending ourselves to meet His standard.\u00a0By living moral lives, we can tell people\u00a0that there is a moral law, an objective\u00a0truth that demands our submissive\u00a0response.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

POINT YOUR\u00a0FRIENDS TO\u00a0CHRIST!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is meaning and\u00a0purpose in life.\u201d We should say this\u00a0loudly to our friends. Christ has come to\u00a0give people life, abundant life. Further,\u00a0we need to show them that apart from\u00a0Christ, there is no meaning. We should\u00a0show to them that we care about them,\u00a0and in this way, we are the extension\u00a0of Christ\u2019s helping hand to them. It is\u00a0through our attitude \u2013 the attitude that\u00a0if Christ cares – that people will feel the\u00a0caring love of Christ. If Christ cares about\u00a0them, they will care about themselves and\u00a0about Him, the caring Shepherd.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended Readings:<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow\u2019rs:\u00a0Christ in a Postmodern World (Grand\u00a0Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005)<\/p>\n

Heath White, Postmodern 101: A First\u00a0Course for the Curious Christian (Grand\u00a0Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006)<\/p>\n

Millard J. Erickson, The Postmodern\u00a0World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Representing Christ In The Postmodern World Author: Pastor Wilson Suwanto Posted on: 2014-10-26 00:15:31 Some people used to say that we\u00a0were living in the modern era with its\u00a0ideals. And they were progress, freedom,\u00a0rationality, objectivity, and science.\u00a0They were thought to be attainable\u00a0as civilization and culture developed.\u00a0However, the outbreak of World War I and\u00a0II, and the Holocaust […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1127,"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions\/1127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gii-usa.org\/sjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}