Understanding Postmodernism : A Christian Perspective

1 Introduction And Background
2. Criteria For Evaluating Postmodernism
3. The Demise Of Enlightenment Modernism
4. The Observer As Situated
5. Philosophy Of Language
6. Truth And Social Construction
7. Postmodernism And The Self
8. Realism And Antirealism, Objectivity And Subjectivity
9. On Metanarratives And Oppression
10. Doubts About Metanarratives
11. Truth, Faith, And Postmodernism
12. Postmodernism And The Critique Of Enlightenment Reason
13. The Hope Of The Gospel
14. Where Do We Go From Here?
Appendix: Chart On Modernism And Postmodernism
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture Index

Additional Info
Postmodernity has matured. But the challenge of navigating our contemporary culture remains. In order for Christians to make wise decisions, we first need to understand the many facets of our postmodern context.

If Rene Descartes is often identified as the first truly modern philosopher in light of his confidence in human reason, then postmodernism has taken Descartes to the woodshed. Stewart Kelly and James Dew detail the litany of concerns that postmodernism has raised: overconfidence in human reason, the limitations of language, the relativity of truth, the lack of a truly objective view, the inherently oppressive nature of metanarratives, the instability of the human self, and the absence any moral superiority.

With wisdom and care, Kelly and Dew compare these postmodern principles with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. What emerges is neither a rejection of everything postmodernism is concerned with nor a wholesale embrace of all that it affirms. Instead, we are encouraged to understand the postmodern world as we seek to mature spiritually in Christ.