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Several years ago I wrote a blog under this title. (Reprinted two weeks ago.) It was a lighthearted look at what I thought was a generational divide in the way people think. But as time has gone by I have come to see postmodernism as something more than a cultural oddity. In fact, it looks more like a cataclysmic shift that threatens to undermine all that I hold dear.
Stage of Truth Epistemology
I have spent a lot of time listening to lectures and reading articles about postmodernism. Although I find it hard to quantify or qualify, I have finally stripped down what I know about this world view to a matter of epistemology—how you know what you know. Anyone taking a Womenary course under Eric Barton is very familiar with the “Stage of Truth” epistemology that Eric presents in every class he teaches. This stage is a description of how an Evangelical Christian discovers truth.
Picture, if you will, a theatrical stage. Center front is the premier position where the most important action takes place. For the Christian, Scripture occupies that important place. All truth must comport with biblical truth.
Immediately behind and to each side of Scripture are Tradition and Reason. Christians today recognize that they stand upon the shoulders of mighty men of God from past generations who have sorted through Scripture and thought deeply about theology. But we also engage our God-given ability to reason through and to be guided by the Holy Spirit as we wrestle with God’s Word.
The mid center of the Christian stage of truth is occupied by General Revelation or that which is communicated to us by God’s created order, by nature, and by science. As it says in Psalms 19, “the heavens declare the glory of God”.
At the back of this stage, but with a role to play, are the personal Experience and intuitive Emotions of the individual.
Postmodern Interpretation
What has happened on the postmodern “stage of truth” is that Scripture, as the prime means of knowing truth, has been replaced by what is termed “Lived Experience”. Every event is viewed through the lens of the personal and judged by one’s own standpoint. Truth then breaks into a thousand shards of glass, rather than coalescing into a unified structure with universal principles.
Immediately behind and to each side of “Lived Experience” is “Power” in the place of Tradition, and “Feelings” in the place of Reason. In postmodernism, the standpoint that dominates the culture decides truth. Right now, critical race theory, which says that all people are either of the oppressor or of the oppressed class, is on the ascendancy. The oppressor class is less able to see truth than the oppressed and so must be censored, silenced, or rehabilitated. Perception reigns high in this epistemology. It is not how an action is intended but how it is received that determines its effect. A smile may outrage and offend no matter how it is meant. A good example is the Nick Sandman event where a young man smiling was seen as mockery, smugness, and disrespect.
The middle of the stage has been swept clean of impact. Where postmodernism is concerned, 2 plus 2 is 5 if you change the meaning of 5, gender is fluid, and biological sex alterable. How a person identifies is all that counts. Traditions are only vestiges or constructs of culture instituted by the dominant group to ensure that their standpoint survives; therefore, they become targets for eradication and erasure by those who would affect change. Postmodernism holds that reason, facts, or evidence are artifacts of dominant group thinking and not important to the consideration of truth.
Thankfully, God is Aware
You no doubt see what I see—that there is not much of postmodernism that is in harmony with Christianity. Rather, it seems to be in conflict with Christianity, western civilization, and western democracies. What this divide leads to, and how to navigate it, is the question of the century for the church and for the culture. We live on the cusp of something new, in the midst of a cultural shift. It is not comfortable; but it is important to remember that God knows where we are. We are in His hands and in the end, He will reign.
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!”
—Revelation 19:6-7, NIV
Linda Williamson
Linda Williamson is a long time Womenary student and a recent board member. She has a passion for the Word of God, both to learn it and to teach others to love it. She has taught a Sunday School Class at Colonial Hills Baptist Church for twenty years, worked in the BSF school program five years and prior to moving to Tyler, enjoyed being a Precept Bible Study Leader. Womenary is her Seminary. She is grateful for the opportunity to take advantage of theology classes conveniently located and reasonably priced. It is her heart’s desire as a teacher to “accurately handle the word of truth…”. (1 Tim. 2:15) 
