"Authentic" and "Tolerant?" Hmmmmm....

The postmodern Christians (i.e., emergents, et. al.) seeem to think they are very authentic and tolerant. I think that should be examined.


Binary Oppositions
A while back here, I posted a 5-part series on Postmodern philosophy and how it's entering Christianity (Evangelical, that is). In the first of those posts I discussed binary oppositions. If you don't know what these are, you might wish to read that post here. In binaries, theopposties are not always put as equal. For example, if we are dealing with the binary opposites - male/female - one of those might be stressed. Up until the middle-late 20th century, it was the male that was stressed in society. Whatever males wrote, thought, composed, drew (as in art, architecture, etc.) were the things heard, read, shown. Females were, what postmodernism calls, marginalized. So, in order for society to "hear, see" the female, they are now stressed more, that is, heard and seen more. This especially has happened in Academia, thus the reason for women's studies. However, the binary was supposed to be equalized at some point in time. But this hasn't been done. Postmodern philosopher Jacques Derrida calls the failure to do this "doing violence to the hierarchies."

So what does this have to do with Christianity? You'll often see the postmodern Christian throwing binaries at us. They wish us to believe they are equalizing them, but are they? Here is an example,


Brian McLaren's book, A Generous Orthodoxy has a very long subtitle. Here it is. Do you see what I see?

:why I am a missional, evangelical, post/Protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, green, incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian

Aaaah...me thinks I see some binaries in this subtitle. After reading several of his books, reading articles by him, and reading his blog from time to time, I would say that I don't think this is true (or authentic in postmodern-speak). "liberal/conservative" (meaning theologically, not politically) - Really? You could fool me. I don't think the second part of the binary is true at all to his thinking. "fundamentalist/Calvinist" - Uh, I don't think the first part of the binary is true at all. "Charismatic?" In what sense? Certainly not in the Pentecostal/Charismatic" aspect. But then those tricky postmoderns know how to present their words so you don't really know the meanings as they present them. It's called deconstructionism.


On the other hand, we also see another dilemma in postmodern Christian-land. Here is another binary we hear postmodern Christians talk about and this one should not be equalized..

Christianity/Other religions

Actually they ARE being authentic here, but it isn't appropriate. If Christianity is true and the others are not, then the binary should be hierarchized to read as follows:

Christianity
All other religions

This brings us to realize that we have to really be careful as to what we hierarchize - meaning one part of the binary is over the other part because the higher one is being more stressed and is considered more important, as in:

male
female

-and what we equalize, as in:

male/female

But then in postmodern Christian-land, there are many truths. Therefore, according to their thinking, all binaries should be equal (even when they shouldn't be). But that isn't done many times in postmodern Christianity because as humans, we have the tendency to hierarchize.

So much for authenticity.


TOLERANCE
And now to the matter of the "Christian Tolerance police." It's bad enough we have this in our society at large, and especially in Academia. But now in the church too? Yes, the postmodern Christian is bringing this into church as we speak. But are they really as tolerant as they want us to believe? They are very tolerant of other belief systems but when it comes to Evangelical Christianity (or fundamentalism as the call it, which is either ignorant or part of an agenda - I'll opt for the latter), the "tolerance" goes out of the window. Many of them, when writing or speaking to or about evangelicals, become quite snarky, sarcastic, arrogant and at times just downright mean. Here is where the Tolerance Police fall down. If you are intolerant of people who, either are truly intolerant, or you think are intolerant, then aren't you intolerant of the intolerant ones? And, doesn't that make you intolerant? Hey, I'm not running around telling everyone how tolerant I am. But they are.

So much for Tolerance.



Footnote: I do hope this wasn't too pointy-headed today as I always try to write to the regular lay Christian and not necessarily the "brainy-trust."