THE FIXED POINT IN A POSTMODERN WORLD
In a worldview that accepts many points as consisting of valid expressions that warrant consideration, Christianity asserts one intention that serves as the basis of judgment for all other thrusts validation. The focal intention of meaning is truth. Accepting the premise of objective, verifiably enacting observations is the postulation that grants stability to any culture. It is through the acceptance of truths posits that society is validated. The universally binding metanarrative’s of God’s unfolding revelation grants legitimacy to human experience.
As embracers of truth, we need to represent the church as being the possessor of that which grants cultural significance. In this Groothuis is correct. The extensional aspect of these assumptions is where a fascinating correlation occurs in Postmodernism’s basic premise. The possessors of objective truth are challenged with the act of subjectively presenting, that which is held to a culturally philosophic mindset that is ambivalent at best when truths dynamics are assessed. This artificial synthesis is an interesting reflection that arbitrarily forces a merging of objective reality and subjective expression. Embracing this premise creates observational conclusions that exist within this paradigm. The acquisition of conviction, in all of the various means where truth exists, develops into paramount in importance. Analysis of factual evidence becomes a necessary component for the discerning believer. Worldview must correlate with reality and worldview must be understood. This allows the acquisitioned information to serve its highest purpose, the presentation of the ultimate universal proposition: God.
Contained within this challenging proposition are assumptions that directly relate to the task of the church’s functionality: accurate presentation of the Gospel’s relational qualities. The objective truths of Scripture need to be articulated with force, not disguised in linguistic vagaries that placate cultural discomfort. Reality based Christianity functions as the stabilizer of humanities problematic discrepancies. The church should never retreat from the core values and assumptions that formulate the boundaries of the church’s existence and experience.
With this said, a cautionary note should be inserted into the dialogue. Methodological practices that are inherently cultural should not become fixed items of foundational qualities. Styles of music, clothing, and architectural expressions: all exemplify conditions that can change, based upon personal and cultural preferences. Methodologies are transitory enactors that can be utilized as invaluable tools for the abridgement of cultural gaps if their limitations are acknowledged. If a sense of apathy or inconsistency exists in Groothuis position this is where it surfaces in the easiest fashion to observe. It is to easy for the churchman’s bias for musical styles and artistic expression to seemingly blind them to the possibility of correct usage of these amoral expressions. Sadly, by turning the proverbial back on these assistants of the communicative process, we begin to advocate the classic ostrich approach: stick head in sand and ignore in this particular area of cultural interaction.
