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²⁶ “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27).  

In the Apostle Paul’s message at the Areopagus, he first told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. Secondly, God not only created the universe but also sustains it. Thirdly, God not only created and sustains the universe, He also governs it.

The purpose for God having created the world, sustaining it and governing it is so that His creation should, and would, seek Him. God’s intention is that creation would, as it were, feel their way toward Him and find Him. Unfortunately, that is not what the ancient Greeks did, nor is it what fallen man ever does.

Psalm 14:1-3 says, “¹ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. ² The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. ³ They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:9-12 says, “⁹ What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ no one understands; no one seeks for God. ¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Like people who grope in the darkness because they cannot see, so also are fallen sinners. They recognize that there is within them a desire to worship someone, or something, greater than themselves (Romans 1:18-23). However, much like the Greeks, they invent their own gods to satisfy that desire. The tragic truth is that the one, true God is never far from anyone.

Ephesians 2:1-3 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

This remains the sinner’s fallen condition. What is required for the sinner’s conversion is a divine initiative. This divine initiative is what God provides.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” 

Take notice of the first two words in Ephesians 2:4: “But God.” God alone does what is required in order for sinners to come to Him in faith. He gives them new life by regenerating their souls in order to believe the Gospel. The fallen sinner is born again by God in order to believe the Gospel, instead of believing the Gospel on their own in order to be born again (John 3:1-3).

Fallen sinners do not seek God; God seeks them. Fallen sinners are spiritually dead; God gives them spiritual life. Fallen sinners seek good works to appease their false gods; God gives sinners grace and mercy.

Take time today to reflect on the biblical truth that God made you spiritually alive in Christ. It is not to your credit that you are a Christian. Rather, it is to God’s glory that you are converted. Praise Him today for His divine initiative.

Soli deo Gloria!

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” (Acts 17:24–26 (ESV)

First, Paul told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. He was the one who made the world and everything in it. Therefore, God is greater than His creation. He is Lord and sovereign ruler of the earth. He cannot be contained, nor does He live, in man-made temples.

God is the self-sufficient creator. He does not need anything outside of Himself. While God’s creation needs Him to exist, God does not need anything from His creation to exist. He needs nothing from us.

Secondly, God not only created the universe but He also sustains it. The One, True God who made all things, gives His creation what it needs. He does not need anything from us, but we need everything from Him. He provides life and breath and everything else.                                                                                                    

Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Colossians 1:17 says, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Hebrews 1:1-4 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

2 Peter 3:4-7 says, “⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. ⁷ But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

Paul’s message to the Athenians not only was a lesson on Theology Proper, the study of God the Father, but also an excellent study on Christology, the study of  God the Son. 

Thirdly, Paul stated God not only created and sustains the universe, He also governs it. It was easy for the Athenians to be unaware of this truth in light of their rich democratic, philosophical and artistic culture. It is easy for today’s culture to forget this as well. America, for example, is dominated by political leaders who pursue power at all costs and who ignore God who has called them to serve, not swagger, in government service (Romans 13).

God has created man, and from that one man has established every nation of mankind. Notice, God has made every nation. There are no governments independent of God’s sovereign authority. This was historically true and remains so today.

God not only has created all nations, (past, present and future), but has also determined their lifespan and their borders. It would have been interesting for the Greeks to hear this because they thought their great conqueror, Alexander the Great, was responsible for Greece’s victories in the third century B.C. and not God!

We must never forget that God has created all nations: their existence, their duration and their demise (Daniel 2:22-24). This truth remains so and includes the United States of America. May all nations remember their origin, repent of their sin and return to the God of the Bible.

Soli deo Gloria!

^22” So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.” (Acts 17:22- 24)

Luke often recorded the Apostle Paul preaching and teaching in the synagogues within the various cities he and his companions visited. However, in today’s text Paul is not preaching and teaching in a synagogue but rather he is standing in the midst of the Areopagus, otherwise known as Mars Hill.

His presentation of the Gospel is masterful. He does not openly condemn the Athenians for their blatant postmodern idolatry. Rather, he used their very idolatry as an object lesson.  

Paul began his message by saying, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” Paul expressed that he understood the widespread religiosity of the Athenians. He also did not say that they were just religious, but rather that they were devoutly religious. Realize that this statement can be understood in either a positive or negative way. Certainly, Paul had in mind the latter and not the former.

Paul then wisely pointed to one of the Athenians’ very own idols. He said, “²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’” What did the inscription “to the unknown god” mean?

“Possibly a reference to the Altar of the Twelve Gods of Athens, erected to ensure that no god is left out of their worship Paul uses this point of contact to begin his discourse about the God who made the world, who is not carved out of stone or confined to any temple, and who controls the times and the seasons where people live.” writes Dr. R. C. Sproul.

Paul then said, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” The word “unknown” means to be unaware or ignorant of something, or in this case, someone; namely God. It is this One, True God who Paul proclaimed to the Athenians.

Paul identified the “UNKNOWN GOD” with the One, True God of the Bible. Paul told the Athenians about this God who they had already acknowledged existed and regarded worthy of honor. Paul gave the Athenians valuable and biblical knowledge of God.

First, Paul told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. He was the one who made the world and everything in it. Therefore, God is greater than His creation. He is Lord and sovereign ruler of the earth. He cannot be contained, nor does He live, in man-made temples.

God is the self-sufficient creator. He does not need anything outside of Himself. While God’s creation needs Him to exist, God does not need anything from His creation to exist. He has no need for anything from us.

It is important for us to remember Paul’s audience consisted of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The Epicureans believed the Greek gods were remote and uninvolved in human affairs. The Stoics, on the other hand, believed in a divine principle that reason and logic dominated the cosmos. Both people groups, like today’s postmodernists, had their own particular truth claims.   

In response, Paul preached that God was a personal being who was transcendent over the universe, in contrast to the Stoics. Paul also preached that God also was deeply intimate and involved with His creation and creatures, in contrast to the Epicureans.  

God is neither an impersonal philosophy or force nor an uninvolved clock watcher who has no role in human life and living. As we shall soon see, it is in the Lord of heaven and earth that we live, move and have our being.

What point of contact can you use to those who you know who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? What objects do you observe your friends, or family members, worshipping and honoring? Use this as a starting point to explain the Gospel and the reality of the One, True God of the Bible.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁸ Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.” (Acts 17:18-21)

Upon engaging the Athenian crowds in the city’s marketplace (Acts 17:17), the Apostle Paul also encountered some of the Greek Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Who were these two philosophical worldviews?  

Epicurious (342-270 B.C.) taught that the purpose of life was pleasure and freedom from pain, passions and fears. In effect, Epicureans believed in the motto, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”   In other words, Epicureanism taught to enjoy life as much as possible because it would be over soon. How many modern Epicureans do you know?

In contrast, Cypriot Zeno (340-265 B.C.), the founder of Stoicism, taught living in harmony with nature and to depend upon reason and other self-sufficient abilities. The Stoics viewed God as a pantheistic “world-soul.” A Stoic is a person who endures pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining. The prize logic above emotions. E.g. Mr. Spock of Star Trek. How many Stoics do you know who never let anyone see them sweat?

The response by both Greek schools of philosophical thought to the Apostle Paul and the Gospel was contemptuous at worst and flippant at best. Some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” A babbler was an ignorant show-off. He was an ideological scavenger who, like a theological rummager or scrounger, collected scraps of knowledge and/or peddled various ideas. Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” Foreign divinities were devalued by the Athenian intellectual elite. That was their perspective of Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead, which is a shorthand term for rejecting the Gospel. The Athenians looked down upon the person and work of Christ.

After their initial remarks about Paul’s preaching and teaching, the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers took him and brought him to the Areopagus. They stated, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”

The Areopagus was located on a hill northwest of the Acropolis in Athens overlooking the marketplace (Acts 17:19). “Areopagus” also refers to the Athenian council or court that met there. The irregular limestone outcropping was also known as Mars Hill, Mars being the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Ares.

“Paul was taken to the Areopagus after he had been reasoning with Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the Athenian synagogue and marketplace (agora) for several days (Acts 17:16–21). Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers involved in those discussions brought Paul before the council but evidently not for an official arraignment. Trials were held at the Areopagus; there, some five centuries earlier, Socrates had faced those who accused him of deprecating the Greek gods,” explains The Tyndale Bible Dictionary.

It appears that Paul went before the council. The council met in order to supervise the city’s education, morals and religion and also to make sure that any new teachings did not pose a threat to the state. Therefore, Paul was compelled to present the Gospel so that the council might pass judgment upon it.

However, the people were also curious. Luke’s comment bears this out when he wrote, “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:24).

As we will see, the overall tone of Paul’s address to the council does not suggest judicial proceedings. He spoke as an intelligent Christian who was able to converse with the intellectual Athenians on their own intellectual level (Acts 17:22–31). God calls us to do the same (I Peter 3:13-17). t

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.” (Acts 17:16–17 ESV)

The Apostle Paul waited for Silas and Timothy to join him in Athens, Greece (Acts 17:10-15). While he was waiting, he became angry due to the abundance of idols in the city. The rampant idolatry illustrated the Athenian postmodern perspective that there was no absolute truth. Everyone could have their own truth system void of any objective, propositional truth.  

“The Christian message was first brought to Athens by the apostle Paul on his second missionary journey about ad 50. His only reference to Athens is in 1 Thessalonians 3:1, where he indicated that he and Timothy arrived in the city together but that shortly thereafter he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica while he remained alone in Athens,” explains The Tyndale Bible Commentary.

“Luke has provided a more complete account of Paul’s ministry there (Acts 17:16–34). His arrival in a city marked by many statues to the gods, which surpassed anything he had seen in other cities, provoked in him strong feelings against such rampant idolatry. Reared in the strict monotheism of Judaism, Paul apparently viewed Athens as the epitome of sin, and the cultural majesty of the city could not undo this impression.”

In arriving in Athens, the Apostle Paul did what he normally did when entering a city: he found a Jewish synagogue and began reasoning with Jews, and other devout persons who were Gentiles. He reasoned from the Scriptures.  Additionally, he engaged in conversation with people he met in the marketplace. Paul went to the business center of town and spoke with not only those who sold, but also those who bought. In effect, Paul went to the mall of his day and interacted with those he met. The market place was also where Athenian philosophers gathered to debate the latest ideas.

Do you take the opportunity to engage in spiritual conversation with people at work, in your neighborhood or when you’re shopping; at either a department, or grocery store? We must make most of every opportunity the Lord gives us to proclaim His name and share the Gospel.

I Peter 3:15 says, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

“Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—period, end of paragraph, end of discussion. To this truth, the Bible has a zero tolerance policy for any equivocation outside of its borders,” explains Dr. Steven J. Lawson. “This cuts against the grain of the spirit of this age. In this postmodern world, tolerance is the new virtue. An acceptance of every opinion about religion and morality is applauded.”

How may the postmodernist respond to exclusive truth claims of the biblical Gospel? When next we meet, we’ll see how certain Athenians responded to the Apostle Paul’s message. Have a blessed day.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” (Acts 17:16 (ESV)

Do believers in Christ have a biblical example that recounts the preaching of the Gospel in a postmodern context? Even though proponents of Postmodernism proclaim it began in the late 20^th century, its characteristics can be found in the ancient world; particularly Athens, Greece. The biblical example of Gospel preaching in a postmodern culture is found in Acts 17:16-33. It is Luke’s account of the Apostle Paul in the city of Athens at Mars Hill.

Athens, Greece was the intellectual and cultural epicenter of the first-century world. Paul would have been comfortable in this setting. He grew up in the educational center of Tarsus. The leading Jewish thinkers and scholars in Jerusalem had taught him as a young student. Although Athens was no longer the political and commercial center since Rome conquered it in 146 B.C., it remained the center of art, literature and Greek philosophy.  

“Athens began its rise to glory in the sixth century bc, first under the leadership of Solon (d. 559 bc), who established democratic forms of government, and later under Pericles (d. 429 bc), when the magnificent buildings of the Acropolis took form. In this golden age, Athens became the center of philosophy, art, architecture, and drama,” explains The Tyndale Bible Commentary.

“By the time Paul brought the Christian message to Athens (Acts 17:15–34), the city had only a portion of its former glory and prestige. Roman emperors continued to extend patronage by providing for new buildings and the restoration of the Agora (marketplace). Athens continued to be the home of the most prominent university in the Greek world. Both Epicurean and Stoic philosophy had worthy representatives in the city.”

However, Paul’s spirit (mind, emotions and will) was provoked within him as he travelled in the city. He was angered, irritated and distressed. Why? Paul saw that Athens was full of idols. The city was dominated with images to false gods. While Luke does not say exactly how many idols there were in the city, they dominated the landscape. All forms of philosophical and religious truth claims could be found in Athens. There was no singular meta-narrative for life and living except that there was no singular meta-narrative for life and living. Athenians had their own personal truth claims. You could believe whatever you wanted. There was no absolute truth.

When the Apostle Paul witnessed the postmodern philosophy before him, Luke records that he was provoked. To be provoked (παροξύνω; paroxyno) means to be upset, irritated and angered. In other words, Paul was mad (Eph. 4:36-37). He observed that Athens was filled with lies and false worship.

What was the apostle’s response to the postmodern philosophy he encountered in Athens? This is what we will observe in Acts 17 when next we meet. I encourage to read the text.

Have a blessed day as you serve, honor and worship the one, true God of the Bible. May each of us adhere to the command found in I John 5:21: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Soli deo Gloria!

³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4 ESV)

To be living in a postmodern world or culture literally means to be after the modern. Postmodernism is the worldview that follows Modernity.

Modernism promised unlimited human progress; not on the basis of God but rather on the basis of science without God. Modernity promised a New Deal and a Great Society in the 20^th century. However, Modernity did not bring the about the human progress that it promised.

Therefore, Postmodernism has replaced Modernity. Objective truth, whether in God or science, is deconstructed. It is no longer valid. The postmodern believes that truth is personally made rather than found. Truth, for the postmodern, is based on subjective feelings rather than objective facts. This is why politicians say that the United States Southern Border is closed even though thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants cross the border from Mexico into the U.S. every day. A politician’s inner feelings become the basis for truth rather than documented facts.

Any claim to objective truth is evidence that the minority is seeking to oppress the majority says the postmodern philosopher. Truth is socially constructed. Truth is relative.

Postmodernism results in the death of the meta-narrative. The big story. E.g. Marxism. Capitalism. Socialism. Communism. Christianity. Western confidence of progress. Technology. Postmodernism is incredulous toward the meta-narrative.

Therefore, Postmodernism offers micro-narratives. Everyone has their own truth. You have your truth. I have my truth. For example, you may believe that marriage is until death do you part, while others believe that it can end at a moment’s notice for any reason. Therefore, extra-marital affairs are no big deal and anyone can determine what kind of marriage they want to have and what gender they want to be. Marriage, gender, and anything else is all up for grabs.

Postmodernism results in the decline of authority. Socially as well as religiously. No longer in the church do we ask what the text means. Rather, we ask what does the text mean to me, or why do we even need a biblical text. I’ll do what I want when I want because I want. I’ve prayed about it and regardless of what the Bible says, I am going to do what I want to do.

As the church, and church leaders, have sought for decades to reach out to postmodernists, it resulted in the demise of the biblical text; not only in the forsaking of expositional preaching of the biblical text, but also in faithful obedience to the biblical text. Many Christians believe the biblical text possesses subjective meaning. In other words, the reader controls the meaning. This results in the death of the author’s intended meaning. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is no longer the author of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21), the individual reader is. Therefore, you can make the Bible mean or say whatever you want.

Postmodernism results in the decline of spirituality. We now live in a religious environment of moralistic, therapeutic deism. We want to feel good, at any given moment regardless of the consequences. Everything becomes reduced to the therapeutic. What makes me feel right? What makes me feel good? Everybody is sick but nobody is a sinner.

Postmodernism results in the decline of morality. It is all relative. When morality, or doing what is right, becomes relative the result is total anarchy, chaos and lawlessness. This mayhem extends to the individual, the family, the neighborhood, the city, the state and the country. It is found in the home, in school, at work, in the community and in the church. Teens can run rampant on the streets of any major city and the politicians say the teens are doing nothing wrong even as they terrorize pedestrians, smash store owner’s windows and obstruct traffic.

What is the answer? There is only one answer. This is what is to be addressed when next we meet?

Soli deo Gloria!

³⁵ “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:35–36 (ESV)

¹¹ This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. ¹² And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11–12 ESV)

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 ESV)

¹¹ And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11–12 (ESV)

The aforementioned biblical texts are examples of exclusive truth claims concerning the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. These biblical truths are antithetical to the presupposition of Postmodernism; that there is no absolute, object and universal truth.

Perhaps someone has said to you regarding the Bible’s meaning, “Isn’t it all a matter of interpretation?”  It sounds like a question, but it really isn’t. It is an accusation. It is a postmodern truth claim that attacks the objective truth claim of Scripture.

“It is a claim that there is not one truth, no one clear message. Thus, even when we come to a so-called revealed or inspired text, like the Bible, the claim is that there are many varied interpretations of a given text, hence, absolute truth eludes us again,” explains Amy Orr-Ewing.

Or what this common postmodern challenge: “You don’t mean to say that you take the Bible literally, do you?” Taking the Bible literally, or understanding it is a piece of literature containing many genre’s, does not mean we teach that King Herod was literally a fox (Luke 13:32), or that Jesus was literally a door (John 10:1-7). Bible interpretation understands figures of speech, such as similia and metaphor.

Language and words have clear meanings. If not, then there is no way to communicate. Believers in Christ must strive to correctly understand the specific meanings of God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15).

“Postmodernism’s influence has clearly infected the church. It’s the very reason so many churches want to tone down their message so that the Gospel’s stark truth claims don’t sound so jarring to the postmodern ear,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.

“It’s why evangelicals now shy away from stating unequivocally that the Bible is true and all other religious systems and worshippers are false. It’s why some who call themselves Christians have gone even further purposefully denying the exclusivity of Christ and openly questioning His claim that He is the only way to God.”

The American church’s postmodern shift has occurred. Prominent pastors suggest that individuals can be saved from the penalty, power and eventual presence of sin apart from grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.  Or, there is the postmodern tolerance that accepts individuals who hold to eternal security while others believe you can lose your salvation. No effort is made to understand what the Bible says and means about the perseverance of the saints.

What may be done to counteract the postmodern influence in today’s evangelical church? That is what will be discussed when next we meet.

Soli deo Gloria!  

A postmodern perspective is skeptical of any grounded theoretical perspectives. It rejects the certainties of modernism and approaches art, science, literature and philosophy with a pessimistic, disillusioned outlook. – Amy Orr-Ewing.    

For the next several days, we will take a sabbatical from our study of The Gospel of Matthew. Instead, the focus will be on the doctrine of objective truth and postmodernism’s attack upon objective truth; God’s truth.

We live in a world in which objective truth is under attack. Any overall, objective truth claim made by anyone faces ridicule because of the presumption that there is no objective truth applicable to all. In other words, there is no meta-narrative, except the contradictory claim that there is no meta-narrative. For in saying there is no meta-narrative, those who say this are in effect making an objective, meta-narrative truth claim. Think about it!

Modernism’s recent attack against truth began in the 17^th – 19^th centuries. During the 20^th century, Modernism beset the evangelical, Protestant church. Modernism taught that only science could explain reality. Modernism’s basic presupposition was that nothing supernatural was real. See J. Gresham Machen’s, Christianity and Liberalism.

Since the beginning of the 21^st century, Postmodernism has eclipsed Modernism as the dominant, secular worldview. Postmodernists reject Modernism’s trust in science and the gateway to truth. Postmodernism says that it is impossible to be certain of any absolute, objective, or universal truth.

The postmodernist view of truth is rotted in subjectivity. All truth claims are to be founded upon the perspectives within the human individual. Human feelings reign supreme. Postmodernism states that objectivity of anything and anyone must be discarded because ultimately it oppresses groups, females, ethnics, third-world peoples and ethics. A postmodern worldview states that the universe is in a state of continual flux and change.

Postmodernism is opposed to any authority: theoretically, historically and existentially. The irony is that postmodern philosophers, educators, or politicians reject all authority except their own. They consistently seek to postulate and propagate their own authority as absolute, objective and universal.

“To the postmodernist, reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. This means that what is ‘true’ is determined subjectively as a social construct and it is therefore subject to change,” explains Dr. John MacArthur. “According to the postmodern way of thinking, there can be no such thing as objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to all humanity universally.”

“With every passing day, and in seemingly greater frequency, the world is not only ambivalent to the truth, but it hates the truth. The very concept of truth elicits severe mockery in favor of lies and half-truths that claim, “I will decide what my truth is!” This type of subtle deception stems directly from a shrewd serpent who began twisting the truth in the very beginning when he asked Eve, “Did God actually say. . ?” (Gen. 3:1),” explains Dr. Dustin W. Benge, associate professor of biblical spirituality and historical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

How are you encountering the postmodern worldview?

Soli deo Gloria!