Wednesday 26 December 2012

Postmodernism: Light of Truth or Shadow of Truth?



"And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 
(John 8: 32, NASB)
 
We are living in a society today that has increasingly grown estranged from the truth that once was commonly accepted. There is a whole theory and philosophy that surrounds this new thought that rejects truth. It is called postmodernism. This way of thought is no friend to society, for if it has free reign, it will create chaos instead of the harmony it falsely promises. It promotes its own version of truth that questions all other truths. It teaches a relative type truth that says everyone has a right to their own brand of truth. For what may be true for you may not necessarily be true for the next person. In other words, my truth is just as valid as your truth. No truth is above another truth, except postmodern truth. Though they claim strainously that there is no absolute truth. Yet they contradict themselves when their view is questioned. For they will quickly protest that their critic is wrong. The question is by whose truth is the critic wrong? If the critic's truth is equally valid as the postmodernist's brand of truth. Then who should we believe has the most valid truth, since no truth is above another truth? It is self contradictory to claim your critic is wrong when his or her view of truth is as true as the one being questioned.

For when pressed for an answer to whether they were certain that their "truth" was absolute, while all other truths were not, was a flat out contradiction. The fact they admit that their view is absolutely true, they prove by their own admission that "truth" is indeed "absolute" and not relative as they claim. By their own admission their view is false. For they claim that truth is not absolute and that all other opinions are seen as equally valid no matter how contradictory they may present themselves. That is like saying 2+2=67 is as equally true as saying that 2+2=4. Any honest person who knows such simple basics of mathematics would tell you that the first answer is blatantly wrong while the other is the correct one!
 
Here is a quote I came across on a website that helps to explain the definition of what Postmodernism is:

"Beyond all the theory and academic discussion, what is postmodern thought and what is its importance for the modern person? Postmodern thought is, in its very essence, an adventure and an expression of life experience. From its modernist beginnings, Postmodernism is an attempt to question the world that we see around us and especially not to take other people's views as the final truth. Postmodernism puts everything into question and radically interrogates philosophies, strategies and world views. There is no such thing as a definition of the postmodern. It is a mood rather than a strict discipline. Postmodernism, with all its complexity and possible excesses, is an attempt to find new and more truthful versions of the world." (E-ssortment: your source for knowledge)

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