2 posts tagged “postmodernism”
How do we resist the placement of religion in the private sphere and subvert the impulsive focus on the needs of the individual? What shapes our conversations about what the church is and should be – the Gospel, or the all-encompassing market? What does it means to be the people of God in the world?
I believe that framing our conversations in such a way may help us resist the tendency to seek relevance and legitimacy in the market. This is quite a contrast to seeing local churches as functional housing for a set of “spiritual” experiences or community activities that are offered as such to the consumer market. Barry Harvey offers another direction:
Stories that articulate an alternative identity do not stand alone, but are set within a set of social practices that place this identity beyond the reach of either the persecutor or the seducer. Baptism, table fellowship, disciplines of forgiveness and reconciliation, prayer and fasting, and habits of hospitality that nurture friendships with the poor and outcast enable the followers of Jesus to withstand the pressure of both overt persecution and the subtle seduction of the postmodern risk culture (the market).
Harvey’s vision is for the church to constitute an alternative “public,” or “the people of God.” The forces of the market will not so easily eclipse such a people, as they are empowered and able to stand in contrast to it. Harvey here seems to reflect a vision for the church not apparent in contemporary United Methodism or Evangelicalism. Unfortunately, it appears we are still attractional in our thinking.
Apparently, being made in the image of God comes with a few limitations, especially if that image happens to be a bit cracked. Oh, yeah, don't forget that Eikon is the Greek translation of the Hebrew term for "image". If you've read McKnight's A Community Called Atonement (see 1/31 post) through chapter three you already know that.
Speaking of an exercise in postmodern humility (chapter six), I can't recommend enough Stephen Toulmin's Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity (see my review of Toulmin's analysis of the traditional view of the 18th century)
The arena of the 18th century isn't ours, but questions he provokes are certainly applicable. Theology does not take place in a vacuum. We all do our knowing, thinking and believing from a vantage point that is limited, historical, and dependent. The modern decontextualization of all reality, including theology, has the dangerous potential of homogenizing spirituality, turning God and religious experience into products to be marketed at the global level.
A faith maintaining any links to a particular history, a particular way of life, particular symbols and rituals, or a particular institution, remains limited in its marketability. Therefore, those overly influenced by the market mentality will most likely dismiss such a faith.
Have you seen how religious symbols are often reduced to marketing tools? This is most evident in today's plethora of church curriculum, programs and marketing strategies, which offer uniform packages of interpretations and judgements for delivery to every place.
