It is said that we live in the post modern age. One of the key notions of post modernism is relative truth. Less and less people today believe in objective, absolute truth. Truth is based on personal perception, not on objective reality. Something that is true for one person may not be true for someone else.
Those who honor the Bible, usually claim to believe in absolute, objective truth, which is appropriate, since the Bible contains assertions about God and life that are true regardless of anyone perspective. Through the Scriptures God reveals truth.
But I wonder how much post modernism has affect even Bible believers. Do we not today put more value on "what the Bible means to me" than on what the Bible means. How many regular Bible readers do you know who actually spend time trying to understand the intended meaning of the Scriptures. While it is important to learn how to apply what the Bible teaches, we need to start by what it means. Only then can we apply appropriately.
Let's beware of a post modern Bible interpretation that asserts that what really matters is what the Bible means to me, rather than what it really means.
1 comment:
Not to appear blatantly rude, but I'm afraid your crossing lines. Yes, relativism has post modernistic characteristics, but to say that post modernism is the cause of relativism is extreme.
Nancy, I hate to say this, but the fact that current worship songs are individualistic is actually representative of the fact that Modernism, not Postmodernism, is in effect. Post modernists focus on teamwork, free exchange of information and ideas, and communal improvement. It is the modernist, the lone idealist, who perpetuates the king of the mountain principle. Our modern, individualized worship songs have nothing to do with post modernism.
Lastly, the return to critical, context based interpretation is actually another movement of post-modernism, rather than modernism.
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