1. Running head: CHRISTIANITY AND POSTMODERNISM Cords 1
Postmodernism;
Observation, Practice, and Adjustment in Christian Culture
California Baptist University
Austin Cords

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Postmodernism;
Observation, Practice, and Adjustment in Christian Culture
Postmodernism has gradually seeped into Christian culture, negatively affecting how
Christians think about the world as well as how they interact with others. Even in the analysis of
myself and interviewing others, it is evident that though not in full, there has been an accidental
transfer of ideals, with Christians combining the claims of God and tradition with the claims of
modern society. Integration of the truth claims of postmodernism and Christianity is insolvent,
bankrupting Christianity of its claim on truth as well as the power of the Gospel
Looking first at the collective around me, there has been personal and corporate
weakening of the traditional Christian thought by a want to communicate with and relate to those
secular individuals surrounding the church. In the previous generations, common Christian belief
would say that Mormons are occultist, denying the true deity of Christ, and are damned for hell.
This seems to no longer be the case. I recently found myself when interacting with someone that
had a Mormon friend acting as if Mormonism is suboptimal but still acceptable faith in God, as if
God would accept them as getting “close enough”. Not only with myself, but also discussing this
idea with an Eastern Orthodox practicing friend, he stated that, “The way I see Baptists is having
a more limited understanding of God than us [Eastern Orthodox]. Each religion attempts to paint
a picture of who God is and the Baptist picture is not as precise as the Eastern Orthodox. This is
much the same as the way you might think of Mormons, their view is distorted as compared to
yours but they still have an understanding of God.” No longer is there an objective understanding
of who God is or when truth becomes distinct. Another way to demonstrate this is the format in
which discussions are had. Often times when conversing with a nonbeliever, the burden of proof
for certain truths claimed is solely upon the believer to explain. The concept that no ultimate

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truth exists is assumed and when insisted upon in the opposite way the nonbeliever either rejects
such a claim or says something along the lines of “Well, that’s good for you. I’m glad you find
Christianity to fit your mold.” To the nonbeliever there is no such thing as truth that action needs
to be taken upon. Truth becomes a sort of subjective tool of pragmatism and a result of
emotionality. Truth that insists upon conflict is inconvenient because it appears to cause discord.
Christians however rather than fighting heartily against such ideas of truth unintentionally lean to
accept them. There is not a vibrant fight for the truth of the gospel but instead a half-hearted “I
hope you believe this because I think it is good”. The sting of the power of the gospel has been
extinguished into a melancholy, wanting to get along with others to prove God’s goodness, rather
than consistently and gently challenging those without hope. Postmodernism has oozed into
Christianity through the practice of an over compensatory accommodation of different views.
According to what I practiced and others around thought each religion has simply a
different vantage point from which to see God, and all are ultimately acceptable. This however
cannot be the case; Christianity’s claims about God must be distinct from all other religions.
Jesus claims in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.” This statement places exclusivity not only on truth but its practice in
salvation as well. With postmodernism, any sort of claim of objectivity or exclusivity is denied
putting Christianity in direct conflict with postmodernism. This conflict is not reconcilable,
Christianity claims that there are specific virtues humans are created to uphold, a specific reality
which the creator God has made, and certain knowledge of God that can be obtained. Though
humans and the institutions they represent are often inconsistent and sometimes wrong this does
not mean that there is an impossibility of finding what is right. Truth to a postmodernist however
is a human creation (Blanton 2008), and Christians are convicted by them of being “do no

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wrongs” or “know it alls” that cannot admit they lack created ‘divine knowledge’, but this does
not mean they are always wrong. Christians do lack answers and knowledge at times, however,
the knowledge of Christ is one that they assert despite the other imperfect understanding. The
number one claim of Christianity is that truth comes from God. Just because there is difficulty in
comprehending truth does not mean it does not exist, and because postmodernists vehemently
deny universal truth, an integration between Christianity and it cannot be reconciled.
Many people have tried however, but their attempts are much like bringing a sickly horse
to a show and calling it a prize mare. Blanton (2008) claims that there a few key factors that can
be learned from postmodernism in respect to Christianity. His main claim is that both
postmodernism and Christianity involve contemplation. This does not amount to much when
attempting to create a cohesive system however and results only in a basic understanding that
thinking about something is good. This understanding is not postmodern nor does it build upon
Christian thought. It is good to understand concepts from different viewpoint, but to have a
healthy mindset one must understand that a certain thought model or viewpoint is better than the
others. To contemplate something but not truly accept it or reject it leads to a unclear direction in
which to take in order to response to a claim.
In my faith walk, I find truth to be crucially important. If Christianity was a good moral
system alone, I would not follow it. It makes me uncomfortable too often and puts me in conflict
that I would rather avoid. As a friend of mine (Zac) has stated, “Truth is a snare”. He also
believes that truth is of upmost importance, and once discovered it is an object that holds unto
him regardless if he would prefer otherwise. Because what the Bible says is true, I am comforted
and walked confidently in the promises of God, and know that even if I don’t know fully, even if
I suffer, I am saved by the power of Christ.

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To conclude, postmodernism creates a flexibility that does not actually exist. For
convenience sake it denies objectivity in order to act as it wants. This has crept into Christianity,
causing the way fallacious statements are addressed as well as how Christians talk to outsiders to
change. Christianity however cannot accept the claim of no truth and therefore cannot accept
postmodernism, leaving truth and divine objectivity and a pivotal point in the Christian faith.

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References
Blanton, P. G. (2008). Integrating Postmodern and Christian Contemplative Thought. Journal of
Psychology and Christianity. 27, 73-84.
Holtzhausen, D.R. (2012). Public relations as activism: Postmodern approaches to theory &
practice. New York, NY: Routledge.