PJL on Postmodernism

Q&A: Dr Leithart on postmodernism Peter Leithart just published his eighteenth book, Solomon Among the Postmoderns. Apart from being his second book published by Brazos Press, it was also his first book to be dedicated to a grandchild (young John Arthur Leithart). In this title he tackles the tough question, “What should Christians do with postmodernism?”, turning to the book of Ecclesiastes for some clear, biblical answers. He graciously agreed to answer a few questions for those of us still scratching our heads and wondering what a “postmodern” really is. For starters, what is “postmodernism”? Big question, with different answers depending on which angle you take on it. In its earliest use, the term was applied to twentieth-century movements in art and architecture that rejected the standards and aspirations of Modernist art. The word “postmodernity” is used by sociologists to describe a set of social realities—high tech, globalization, consumerism, etc. Philosophically, it’s been defined as “incredulity toward metanarratives,” disbelief in the organizing stories that modern thinkers like Freud and Marx told about the world. In the book, I define “postmodernism” in terms drawn from Ecclesiastes. Modernity was an intellectual, scientific, and political effort to bring order to the world after the chaos of the post-Reformation era. Modernity is in many ways a huge success story, but modernity never controlled or explained the world as thoroughly as its proponents claimed. Moderns were never able to sculpt the mist of created reality, never able to “shepherd the wind.” Postmodernity as a social phenomenon and postmodernism as an intellectual movement is the recognition that modernity didn’t live up to its claims. It’s vapor’s revenge. Does it matter to non-intellectuals? “Postmodernity” is the label given to a whole range of realities that all of us encounter every day. We can choose from a zillion TV channels, communicate instantly with colleagues in Malaysia, hear Arabic spoken in the next aisle at the grocery store. We live in a more diverse, bigger, faster world than people did 40 years ago, and we need to learn how to live wisely in that world. Is eBay postmodern? Yes, and a very good example. Postmodernity’s technology is not heavy machinery, mining, smokestacks, but elegant communications technologies, without gears and oil and smoke; so eBay scores as postmodern on that point. Plus, eBay bypasses the institutional structures of modernity, and democratizes commerce. You don’t need to go to the department store or the mega-mall to shop; you can shop in your slippers online. And, eBay is global. Bonus Nerd Question: Why do you place the Renaissance as something standing outside the stream of modernity, as opposed to the “traditional” view that tends to put the Renaissance as the early flowering of modernity? (courtesy of our dear friend, Davey) Much depends on terms, of course. If “modern” means “post-medieval,” then the Renaissance counts. But in the book I followed Stephen Toulmin’s thesis that there are actually two modernities, one arising from the Renaissance and one arising from counter-Renaissance movements. I used “modernity” for the latter, because that form of modernity is what postmodern thinkers are attacking. The Renaissance actually shares quite a lot with postmodernism; read Pico’s Oration on the Dignity of Man. To see the difference between the Renaissance and modernity, it’s enough to compare Shakespeare to Dryden, or, even better, Shakespeare’s original plays with the purified re-writings that dominated the stage after the Stuart Restoration.

NT Wright on history and theology

from the article The Historical Jesus and Christian Theology

Thus far, so much we may say of the history—which is, of course, completely theological, both in itself and in our reading of it. I turn, in conclusion, to three wider remarks, again about history and theology.

First, Schweitzer was right to see that his eschatological Jesus would shake comfortable Western orthodoxy to its foundations. I have modified his scheme by interpreting apocalyptic historically, but the Jesus that I discover remains shocking. Western orthodoxy has for too long had an overly lofty, detached, and oppressive view of God. It has approached Christology by assuming this view of God, and has tried to fit Jesus into it. Hardly surprisingly, the result has been a docetic Jesus; this in turn generated Reimarus’s protest, not least because of the social and cultural nonsense which the combination of deism and docetism reinforced. That combination remains powerful and still needs a powerful challenge. My proposal, then, is not that we assume that we know what the word “God” means, managing somehow to fit Jesus into that. Instead, I suggest that we think historically about a young Jew, possessed of a desperately-risky— indeed, apparently crazy—vocation, riding into Jerusalem in tears, denouncing the Temple, dining once more with his friends, and dying on a Roman cross, and that we somehow allow our meaning for the word “God” to be re-centered around that point,

Second, the story of Jesus does not generate a set of theological propositions, a “New Testament Theology.” It generates, as Schweitzer saw with prophetic clarity, a set of tasks. The great exegetical mistake of the century (perpetrated by Schweitzer himself)—the idea that first-century Jews (including Jesus) expected the end of the world and were disappointed has so occupied the minds of scholars that the real problem of delay has gone almost unnoticed, and people now come upon it as though it were a novelty. If for Jesus, and indeed for the whole early church for which we have any real evidence, the God of Israel defeated evil once and for all on the cross, then why does evil still exist in the world? Was Jesus, after all, a failure? The New Testament answers this question with one voice. The cross and resurrection won the victory over evil, but it if the task of the Spirit, and those led by the Spirit, to implement that victory in and for all the world. This task demands a freshly-drawn worldview: new praxis, stories, symbols, and answers. These come together into a fresh vision of God in which—precisely because of this re-discovery of who God is—history, theology, spirituality, and vocation recover their proper relationship. For Jesus’s followers, finding out who Jesus was in his historical context meant and means discovering their own task within their own contents.

Third, and last. Several first-century Jews other than Jesus held and acted upon remarkable and subversive views. Why should Jesus be any more than one of the most remarkable of them? The answer must hinge upon the resurrection. If nothing happened to the body of Jesus, I cannot see why any of his implicit or explicit claims should be regarded as true. What is more, I cannot as a historian see why anyone would have continued to belong to his movement and regard him as its messiah. There were several other messianic or quasi-messianic movements within a hundred years on either side of Jesus. Routinely, they ended with the leader being killed by the authorities or by a rival group. If your messiah is killed, naturally you conclude that he was not the messiah. Some of those movements continued to exist; where they did, they took a new leader from the same family. (Note, however, that nobody ever said James, the brother of Jesus, was the messiah.) Such groups did not suffer from that blessed twentieth-century disease of cognitive dissonance. In particular, they did not go around saying that their messiah had been raised from the dead. I agree with Paula Fredriksen: the early Christians really did believe that Jesus had been raised bodily from the dead.10 What is more, I cannot make sense of the whole picture, historically or theologically, unless I say that they were right.

Canoe Trip coming.....

CANOE TRIP Are you interested in canoeing the Cahaba River this spring to see the Cahaba lilies? We are tentatively planning a group trip for a Saturday in late May/early June with the Cahaba River Society. The cost is $25/canoe, or free if you have your own. We depart from the Colonnade at 8:30 am, and return that afternoon depending on how fast the river is. Novice paddlers are encouraged to attend a training session directed by instructors with the B’ham Canoe Club. Children are welcome at discretion of parents, either in own canoe or riding with parents. They want a tentative number by the beginning of March to schedule us. If you are interested please email me (Debbie Woods) at silvasix@charter.net, with the possible # interested and any Saturdays you CANNOT go. I will try to schedule accordingly. If you want more information you can call them at 322-5326.

TPC Holy Week Schedule

Holy Week schedule:
Thursday, March 20, 6:30PM Maundy Thursday feast
Friday, March 21, 7:00PM Good Friday "Service of Darkness"

Audio Bible

Here's a free complete audio Bible online...........great listening!

JBJ's Commentary on the book of Daniel is available

Called by some as the "very best Bible teacher on the planet" and one of the most studied interpreters of the Bible alive today, Jordan has completed his commentary on the Book of Daniel. Jordan unravels the imagery of God's prophecies revealed in Daniel - events that were dawning in Daniel's lifetime. There are no "historical parentheses" or "gaps", no leaps of thousands of years into the future. (Hardback, 723 pages)

You can order it from American Vision...click on the image.

Sweet Brown Rice

I'm learning about different kinds of rice. Junie brought a bag of sweet brown rice with her and we cooked it in the rice cooker this Sunday. I didn't realize it would be so sticky....but it tastes great! I've especially enjoyed it for breakfast warmed, covered with cream and sweetened with honey.

This rice is very popular among certain ethnic groups. It is also referred to as "waxy rice," "glutinous rice" and "mochi." Used for sticky sweets, snacks and desserts. Used in Japanese sushi. It has been allowed to mature to its fullest flavor in the field.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/4 Cup (46 g) Dry
Nutrient Amount %DV
Calories 180 Calories from Fat 10 Total Fat 1.5 g 2% Saturated Fat 0 g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 0 mg 0% Total Carbohydrates 40 g 13%
Dietary Fiber 2 g 9% Sugars 0 g Protein 4 g Vitamin A 0% Calcium 0%
Vitamin C 0% Iron 4%