Who's Afraid Of Postmodernism Analysis

Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism In his book, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism, author James K.A. Smith takes three postmodern thinkers to school by breaking down ideas they profess and applying them to the postmodern church. Even though the authors cited in Smith’s book come from secular backgrounds, the statements are broken down and dissected into ways the Radical Orthodox Church can hearken back to ancient ideals while moving forward in the progressive postmodern age. Smith begins his book by attempting to describe postmodernism – which he claims himself is a difficult term to define. He compares the growing-changes in intellectual thought as “a chameleon, taking on whatever characteristics we want it to” (Smith, 2006, p. 19). …show more content…
If there is “nothing outside the text,” the existence of God before creation cannot be established, nor can some of the elements outside the earthly realm which we take to be true by our faith. Derrida is somewhat misunderstood in that he means there is a danger in looking past texts because individual interpretations can have a wide variance. Without having the leeway to interpretation, the Bible would not have any kingdom or eternal realm because we would not be able to interpret how the text affects our lives. The Bible would be just a text and not the Good News of the gospel. At the same time, if the Bible were only only interpretations, we could have any number of variances in interpretation and never know for sure which one, if any, is true. According to Derrida, “All language is a system of differences, even when spoken, is written, and this truth is suppressed when meaning is taken as an origin, present and complete unto itself” (Aylesworth 2005). His quote alludes to the idea that there are different interpretations depending on who is reading the …show more content…
Power “excludes,” “represses,” “censors,” “abstracts,” “masks,” and “conceals,” according to Foucault (Smith, 2006, p. 91).
More and more postmodern churchgoers are gravitating towards nondenominational congregations where there is not an established hierarchy of control. People don’t like being told how to worship or what they should believe. They prefer a more individualistic style of worship that borders ever-so closely on selfishness.
Smith touches on the topics of church authority and discipline and how it shapes who and what we become as individuals in society. He sees enacting discipline as a way of sanctification and discipleship to shape us into more Christ-like people who bear the fruits of the spirit.
The church itself is steeped in tradition, which is one major element at stake in the postmodern church era. Smith does not advocate against change, but instead for the church to reclaim its pre-modern practices for the postmodern church. Postmodernism thinking in churches is one that is not dictated by creeds or denomination, but one that concludes knowledge relies on God’s special revelation to the individual. “We confess knowledge without certainty, truth without objectivity,” Smith said (Smith, 2006, p.