Friday, February 25, 2005

a postmodern parable

As I've remarked previously, the more I think about postmodernity, the more I'm convinced that it is not a revolt against Christianity, but against all the abominable philosophies that attempted to replace it.

Imagine someone trying to drive somewhere unfamiliar. Now imagine that person throwing the only map out the car window and insisting they can get there on their own. Now imagine that person, after getting hopelessly lost, blaming the map that they threw out the window 300 miles ago.

Should I explain my parable? Hmmm... W.W.J.D.?

Continue...
Western civilization (the car) did everything in the Enlightenment to disassociate itself from Christianity (the map) and to follow its own way (reason). But the new goddess proved unable to sustain her worshippers, and the car got lost.

The polemic of the the best postmodern philosophers is primarily aimed at those who attempted to keep driving anyway. Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, the Structralists, the Positivists, even the bastardized Existentialism of Sartre (because the legitimate father of existentialism was a Christian), all spoke with a dogmatic force that was rightly perceived by postmodern philosophers to be dangerous. In other words, the pomos effectively said,
"Stop driving you idiots, we're lost."
However, in an unfortunate twist, well meaning Christians overhear these polemics against the philosophies that have replaced Christianity, and instead of presenting the long abandoned map back to the lost drivers, surmise that the only way Christianity can "get with the times" is to pretend we're lost as well.

This is why it it seems the only things some Christians can get authoritative about today is their lack of authority. They suggest a perpetual pluralism, a constant second guessing of ourselves. We wouldn't want to speak authoritatively, we might cause another Holocaust.

But such a false humility will never keep us from another Holocaust. In fact, the best way to cause another Holocaust is to continue to perpetuate such a lukewarm lobotomized Christianity that is malliable enough for the next fuehrer to clothe his hate with.

The solution is to speak truth (without the outdated Enlightenment scaffolding) authoritatively. Namely, the truth that if you don't love your neighbor you will be judged by a very real God.

The solution to false Gospels is not no Gospel, but the Gospel. In other words: Stop the car, turn around, find the map you idio- Wait. Never mind. Can't say that. You see, I'm going to be judged too. ;)