Postmodern Times, a Review
by T. C. Pinckney Vol. XI, No. 2, February 1998
In 1994 Crossway Books of Wheaton, IL, published Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. Only 234 pages, Postmodern Times does an excellent job of fulfilling the claim of its subtitle.
Veith's thesis is that the world is emerging from the modern age into the postmodern. While historical eras emerge gradually, for convenience we normally point to one significant event as the beginning, the watershed between the old and the new. In the case of modernism that natal event was the French Revolution of 1789.
In large part anti-clerical, the revolutionaries installed a naked prostitute in Notre Dame Cathedral as the personification of the Goddess of Reason. In their view "human reason would take the place of God, solving all human problems and remaking society along the lines of scientific, rational truth." Of course, what the rationalists ignored was man's fallen heart, and there was more symbolism to their "Goddess of Reason" than they understood, for when man leaves God, he inevitably descends to the level of his own appetites. This is not to say that reason per se is bad; reason is neutral. It is man's heart that, in the absence of the Holy Spirit, is evil.
Still, modernists believed in absolute truths, truths which could be discerned and built upon to construct an ideal society. And at first Enlightenment thinkers, though rejecting the God of the Bible, did maintain that natural order bespoke the existence of a god behind the realm of nature. The key word here being "behind," for their god was no longer involved; he was impersonal, uncaring. From that stance it was but a short step until, as Veith writes, "Eventually, the deity withered away."
The next phase of modernism was "utilitarianism," in which issues are decided not by absolute values, but by studying the effect of the action. "Utilitarianism is the view which justified slavery, exploiting child labor," and today "favors abortion because it reduces the welfare rolls and sanctions euthanasia because it reduces hospital bills."
Existentialists assert that "there is no inherent meaning or purpose in life; rather meaning is a purely human phenomenon." But "individuals can create meaning for themselves. ... This meaning, however, has no validity for anyone else." "Religion becomes purely a private affair, ... The content of one's meaning makes no difference, only the personal commitment..." This is exemplified in those today who are "pro-choice." "To them it makes no difference what the woman decides, only that she makes an authentic choice whether or not to have the baby. Whatever she chooses is right -- for her." And today existentialism is the reigning philosophy of our "culture," purveyed on soap operas, on the evening news, in newspapers, in schools and universities, and unfortunately in many pulpits.
Having denied the existence of God, it follows inevitably that man cannot be created in the image of that non-existent God. And so man loses his unique position at the top of the created (evolved by chance) order. If man is no more valuable than a snail darter, it is not surprising that "According to Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 'A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy."'
Nor is the church immune to the infiltration of postmodern, existentialist attitudes. “Instead of looking for a church that teaches the Word of God, we sometimes look for a church that 'fills our needs.' ... When we think like consumers, we put ourselves first, picking and choosing what best corresponds to our desires. Christianity is a matter of truth, of submission to the Holy, righteous God whose authority over us is absolute and who in no way is subject to our consumer preferences."
Veith's ninth chapter, "The Politics of Power," provides more material for serious thought. "Postmodernism minimizes the individual in favor of the group. Moreover, excluding transcendent values places societies beyond the constraints of moral limits. ...the rejection of all moral absolutes in favor of subjectivity can mean the triumph of irrationalism, the eruption of madness, and the imposition of terror. ... Today postmodernist legal theory teaches that the Constitution is not a document setting forth absolute principles, but an organism that must be continually reinterpreted as society evolves."
In religion, postmodernism is the embodiment of Judges 21:25 "everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Christianity has been excommunicated from the culture at large — systematically excluded from the schools, the intellectual establishment, and the media. The establishment of Christian schools, publishers, arts groups, broadcasters, businesses, and so on may be one of the great achievements of the twentieth-century church. As postmodernist pressures intensify, having counter institutions already in place may prove invaluable for Christians to stage an effective resistance "
Postmodern Times is an important book. It clarifies where our culture is, how we got there, and the dangers and possibilities facing Christians today. Read it. You will be glad you did.