Why postmodernism doesn't work
The other day I was in a real state. Feeling empty. Uninterested in God or helping others. Lonely. Depressed. As if I were uncommitted to anything else in this world.
I told my husband, "I feel like I don't care about much of anything. I'm just focused on myself."
He said, "No, you're not," and proceeded to go down the list of things I had demonstrated caring in, things I am invested in.
Our culture tells us, "Follow your heart. Be true to yourself." And when it comes to religion, it is the same. We are told, "Everyone has their own truth. Follow your own truth. It may not be true to me, but if it's true to you...great!"
But there's a problem with that. Reality is not always equal to our personal inner experience. All kinds of things can muddle reality and truth: our current mood, our life experiences, our upbringing. Even our faults can monkey with our perception of reality. Or, to use a Christian word, our sins muddle our perception of reality.
If I had gone by my reality alone on my day of depression, logically, I should just go ahead and die. After all, I was worthless. (Not that I was suicidal, of course.)
What I needed was an external word, coming from outside myself, an external word that told me what was true when I could not see it for myself.
That is what the Word of God does as I see it. And it is why I believe postmodernism is in error...if we rely on our perceptions alone, we may get ourselves in real trouble. Thank God that there is a corrective, and that truth is not determined by me.
I told my husband, "I feel like I don't care about much of anything. I'm just focused on myself."
He said, "No, you're not," and proceeded to go down the list of things I had demonstrated caring in, things I am invested in.
Our culture tells us, "Follow your heart. Be true to yourself." And when it comes to religion, it is the same. We are told, "Everyone has their own truth. Follow your own truth. It may not be true to me, but if it's true to you...great!"
But there's a problem with that. Reality is not always equal to our personal inner experience. All kinds of things can muddle reality and truth: our current mood, our life experiences, our upbringing. Even our faults can monkey with our perception of reality. Or, to use a Christian word, our sins muddle our perception of reality.
If I had gone by my reality alone on my day of depression, logically, I should just go ahead and die. After all, I was worthless. (Not that I was suicidal, of course.)
What I needed was an external word, coming from outside myself, an external word that told me what was true when I could not see it for myself.
That is what the Word of God does as I see it. And it is why I believe postmodernism is in error...if we rely on our perceptions alone, we may get ourselves in real trouble. Thank God that there is a corrective, and that truth is not determined by me.
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