Foundations (1)

Through the years there have been many philosophical attacks on God, His Son and the Bible. They have varied greatly in nature, but seem to be uniform in their intent. Gnosticism, not fully developed until the second century A.D., attacked the very nature of Jesus and His Word. Much closer to our day are the philosophies of humanism and modernism. Humanism essential seeks to replace God by placing man and his achievements at the center of all things. Modernism built upon that, indicating that truth exists and is ascertained purely through human reason.

In this series of articles we are concerned with the more “modern” philosophy known as “postmodernism.” Adherents to this philosophy claim that there is no such thing as absolute truth. In the coming weeks we will examine several aspects of the philosophy of postmodernism, including defining major terms and analyzing how this is affecting religion today, especially its effect upon the Lord’s church.

Two major concepts that will receive a great deal of attention are relativism and pluralism. To fully understand any philosophical view one must understand the various aspects of which it is comprised. This is especially the case as one analyzes the tenets of postmodernism.
Our study will be an important one because of the religious movement under consideration; the Emerging Church movement. We must realize from the beginning that nothing new is being offered in opposition to God and His Word. The emerging church movement has simply repackaged some older arguments in attempting to pass off the “new and improved” views of the “enlightened ones” of our day. Our study is important because inroads in the church have already been made. Young people have already been influenced. May we prayerfully approach our task in defending the timeless truths of God’s word.

Pat McIntosh
Cleburne, TX