Some Links On Postmodernism
By T. H. Wright
Published:
Last Updated:
This blog post by Dr. Michael J. Kruger hits on issues of theology, politics, culture, and even the arts (or at least a performer of art). A good and humorous read explaining the importance of the need for a standard of truth over and against subjective claims!
As Dr. Kruger mentions, you can find the consistent teaching of the Church laid out in one convenient work of history here. This book sits on my shelf waiting for a good read.
https://www.michaeljkruger.com/lady-gaga-christian-theologian/
UPDATE: 20190411
Dr. Trueman is a great source who sheds much light on modern culture through historical theology and more. He presents a good critique here of our culture and the way they engage in discourse. This article is worth a read.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/live-marxs-world-now/
UPDATE: 20190805
This helpful article analyzes how our culture’s discourse, due to not understanding certain words and communication styles, has in some sense polluted our ability to discuss and make appeals and persuade. The author helpfully notes how our overuse and misuse of irony have led to irony being, to some degree, useless when making a point. This is also influenced by postmodernism’s inevitable apathy, cynicism, and despair. A great read!
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/08/54256/
UPDATE: 20191021
When I was an English major at a public university, it was so blatantly obvious to see the eisegetical way in which all texts were approached. It was uncritical, it was propagandistic, it was religious. If there is one thing that new the swing in conversation and argumentation has yielded in the past decade, its that declarations from secular humanists have cast off modernity’s desperate clutch to human rationality in favor of moralistic arguments unattached to sure foundations. Hopefully we will see debunked philosophies and humanities practices dropped more and more as time goes on.
UPDATE: 20191022
While I disagree with his conclusion as to what will bring down postmodernism (he argues modernism and its belief in evolution will), I thought the article was otherwise stimulating and would make for good discussion.
https://quillette.com/2019/09/23/postmodernisms-dead-end/
Much is at stake in US political law over very few court cases. Prayer must be a vital component of how we approach big political issues, and we also need to see that allowing people to decide everything on a whim is a dangerous approach to anything. One thing to consider in all of this is the separation between body and soul demanded by transgenderism’s arguments. The article makes a great pointer to Gnostic beliefs resurging in postmodernism’s subjectivism.
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/10/57542/
UPDATE: 20200125
While I was studying some topics this past fall, I came across this post (and a website on literature) that I found helpful when seeking to understand a name I hadd not come across. If you haven’t heard of Mikhail Bakhtin, this article should help you to understand him.
https://literariness.org/2018/01/24/key-theories-of-mikhail-bakhtin/
UPDATE: 20200708
This journal article (e.g., not light reading or for the faint-hearted) does a good job evaluating the origin and progress of Marxist ideas down to the current day. His conclusions are valuable for Christians to consider as they think through how best to love their neighbors and respond to every-rapidly increasing societal change. Do not forget! God is provident and sovereign, and one day is King will return.
This related piece is also helpful for thinking through such things. I disagree that we should avoid the term Cultural Marxism for Critical Theory when both will do just fine.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/incompatibility-critical-theory-christianity/
UPDATE: 20200720
The author makes some comparisons between 19th-century Russia, using literature, and 21st-century America. As I continue to try to think through everything happening around us, as I feel swept away in the deluge, uncertain what is the proper way to begin thinking, I find myself needing to wait. In the world of the Twitterverse, waiting is seen as inaction, waiting as seen as being complicit, but the wisdom of the Proverbs and James 1:19–21 still speaks through it all.
In order to best wait, I find thinking and seeking wisdom to be the best help the Lord has given us outside prayer and his grace in the Gospel. While I think some of the thoughts he presents are reductionistic, which he says is part of the problem, I still think the article is worth a read in addition to everything else.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/woke-america-russian-novel
That being said, I do hope that I will be able to start posting my own artwork again soon! It has been a long, busy season that will hopefully ease up.
UPDATE: 20200729
A fair summons to those in the theological disciplines to… wait for it… be more well-read! As if we didn’t have enough to read already! But I think the criticism is fair and I would wish to not be irresponsible.
sigh. Time to add more books to the list.
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/07/61444/
UPDATE: 20200808
The attached Quillette article, and a summary of some of the NHS changes mentioned in the article found at Disrn, discuss a silent change happening at the NHS and BBC which suggest that some of the turmoil of the 2010s may be changing. This would be a most beneficial change within Western civilization and perhaps the beginnings of an answer to prayer. Our hope is not in society’s institutions, but we should desire justice.
UPDATE: 20200814
While some of his praise for the USA is a bit overstated,1 his comparison to what is coming from the far left with historical revolutions is intriguing and worth further thought.
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/abe-greenwald/yes-this-is-a-revolution/
-
E.g., “Precisely because of the Founders’ foresight, the United States remains the best hope for mankind.” While the magazine is a conservative Jewish magazine, I reject such a statement given my Christian worldview. ↩︎