David Anguish
"Strange things are happening in the churches of Christ." Ralph Gilmore began his two part lecture series at the 1998 Freed-Hardeman Lectureship by quoting this often heard lament. He then rendered one of the greatest services we have seen in coming to terms with these strange things by showing that the same kinds of things which have been the focus of so much discussion among us are also seen elsewhere. Upheaval has been experienced by such diverse groups as the Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Worldwide Church of God. In light of this observation, Gilmore comments:
If this were only happening in the church of Christ, we might feel that we are totally responsible for it. However, its simultaneous occurrence not only in all 'churches,' but in virtually every realm of human contemporary experience (such as art, music, literature, architecture, language, et.al.) should make us suspicious. Could there be cultural or societal influences which would shed light on this phenomenon (Ralph Gilmore, "Postmodernism: Change in World View/Change in Truth View," in At His Coming: 1998 Freed-Hardeman University Lectureship, 140)?
There are in fact "cultural or societal influences which . . . shed light" on the strange things happening among us. Unless we understand these influences, we will continue to experience the worst of the turmoil such changes can bring. Furthermore, because these influences are woven into the fabric of our culture, failure to understand them will make evangelism harder than it needs to be.
At the root of the upheaval we see about us is a worldview known as postmodernism. Before looking at that view, however, we should reflect on what a worldview is and why it is important to understand.
James Sire defines a worldview as "a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of our world" (James Sire, The Universe Next Door, 17, in Gilmore, 139). Francis Schaeffer points out that a person's worldview is "the grid through which he/she sees the world" (How Should We Then Live?, 19). It results from the combined influences of our families, society and significant people in our lives.
In other words, we are what we think. In the belief that pleasure is the reason to live, the hedonist will do whatever it takes to have pleasure, subjugating everything else to that quest. Because he believes that power is the answer, the Machiavellian will sacrifice everything to obtain it. The man who believes that the body is inherently evil and should therefore be punished will become an ascetic. Another man who also believes that the body really doesn't matter, that the spirit is what is really important, will reason that, since the body is inferior, it doesn't matter what one does to or with it. So, he gives himself over to sensual license.
Whether or not we have reflected on what ours is, all of us build our lives on the foundation of our worldview. We are what we think (see Ephesians 4:17-24; Philippians 4:8-9; et.al.). Now, what if the worldview to which we subscribe holds that there are no absolutes, that sacred social objects are to be torn down, that what we think we know is only a matter of our personal or community perspective, and that change per se is among the greatest virtues? Obviously, the direction a society driven by such views will take will be quite different from one in which absolute truth is held dear, where there is an ultimate authority for all significant questions, where what we know is grounded in objective reality, and where some unchanging things are vital for establishing security. The battle between these two worldviews provides the crossfire in which the church currently finds itself. We'll elaborate more in part 2.