“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Those words from the prophet Isaiah serve as a reminder of one basic truth: God’s Word cannot change. Conversely, the philosophies of the world could not offer a sharper contrast—here today and gone tomorrow. As we saw in our previous post, modernism was once our culture’s dominant philosophy. But it has given way to a new fad: postmodernism.

Postmodernism

Postmodernists have repudiated modernism’s confidence in science as the only pathway to the truth. In fact, postmodernism has lost interest in “the truth” completely, insisting that there is no such thing as absolute, objective, or universal truth.

Modernism was, indeed, folly, and it needed to be cast aside. But postmodernism is a tragic step in the wrong direction. Unlike modernism, which was still concerned with whether basic convictions, beliefs, and ideologies are objectively true or false, postmodernism simply denies that any truth can be objectively known.

To the postmodernist, reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. That means what is “true” is determined subjectively by each person, and there is no such thing as an authoritative standard that governs all humanity universally. The postmodernist naturally believes it is pointless to argue whether opinion A is superior to opinion B. After all, if reality is merely a construct of the human mind, one person’s perspective of truth is ultimately just as good as another’s.

Having given up on knowing objective truth, the postmodernist occupies himself instead with the quest for “understanding” the other person’s point of view. So the words truth and understanding take on radical new meanings. Ironically, “understanding” requires that we first of all disavow the possibility of knowing any truth at all. And “truth” becomes nothing more than a personal opinion, usually best kept to oneself.

That is the one non-negotiable demand postmodernism makes of everyone: Never think you know any objective truth. Postmodernists often suggest that every opinion should be shown equal respect. Therefore, on the surface, postmodernism seems driven by a broad-minded concern for harmony and tolerance; it all sounds very charitable and altruistic. But what really underlies the postmodernist belief system is an utter intolerance for every worldview that makes any universal truth claims—particularly biblical Christianity.

In other words, postmodernism begins with a presupposition that is irreconcilable with the objective, divinely revealed truth of Scripture. Like modernism, postmodernism is fundamentally and diametrically opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Postmodernism and the Church

Nonetheless, the church today is filled with people who are advocating postmodern ideas. Some of them do it self-consciously and deliberately, but most do it unwittingly—having imbibed too much of the spirit of the age, they are simply regurgitating worldly opinion. The evangelical movement as a whole, still recovering from its long battle with modernism, is not prepared for a new and different adversary. Many Christians have therefore not yet recognized the extreme danger posed by postmodernist thought.

Postmodernism’s influence has clearly infected the church already. Evangelicals are toning down their message so that the gospel’s stark truth claims don’t sound so jarring to the postmodern ear. Many shy away from stating unequivocally that the Bible is true and all other worldviews are false. 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.

But the biblical message is clear. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6), and, “He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36, NKJV). Again and again, Scripture stresses that Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation for the world. “There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, emphasis added). Only Christ can atone for sin, and therefore only Christ can save.

Those truths are antithetical to postmodernism’s central tenet. They make exclusive, universal truth claims declaring Christ the only true way to heaven and all other belief systems erroneous. That is what Scripture teaches. It is what the true church has proclaimed throughout her history. It is the message of Christianity. And it simply cannot be adjusted to accommodate postmodern sensitivities.

In spite of the Bible’s clarity, many Christians just pass over Christ’s claims to exclusivity in embarrassed silence. Even worse, some in the church, including a few of evangelicalism’s best-known leaders, have begun to suggest that people can be saved apart from knowing Christ.

But Christians cannot capitulate to postmodernism without sacrificing the very essence of our faith. The Bible’s claim that Christ is the only way of salvation is certainly out of harmony with the postmodern notion of “tolerance.” But it is, after all, what the Bible plainly teaches. And the Bible, not postmodern opinion, is the supreme authority for the Christian. Scripture alone should determine what we believe and proclaim to the world. We cannot waver on that, no matter how much this postmodern world complains that our beliefs make us “intolerant.”

Intolerant Tolerance

Postmodernism’s veneration of tolerance is its most obvious feature. But the version of “tolerance” its adherents peddle is actually a twisted and dangerous corruption of true virtue.

Incidentally, tolerance is never mentioned in the Bible as a virtue, except in the sense of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering (cf. Ephesians 4:2). In fact, the contemporary notion of tolerance is a pathetically feeble concept compared to the love Scripture commands Christians to show even to their enemies. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27–28; cf. vv. 29–36).

When our grandparents spoke of tolerance as a virtue, they had something like that in mind. The word once meant respecting people and treating them kindly even when we believe they are wrong. But the postmodern notion of tolerance means we must never regard anyone else’s opinions as wrong. Biblical tolerance is for people; postmodern tolerance is for ideas.

Accepting every belief as equally valid is hardly a real virtue, but it is practically the only kind of virtue postmodernism knows anything about. Traditional virtues (including humility, self-control, and chastity) are openly scorned, and even regarded as transgressions, in the world of postmodernism.

Predictably, the beatification of postmodern tolerance has had a disastrous effect on real virtue in our society. In this age of tolerance, what was once forbidden is now encouraged. What was once universally deemed immoral is now celebrated. Marital infidelity and divorce have been normalized. Profanity is commonplace. Abortion, homosexuality, and moral perversions of all kinds are championed by large advocacy groups and enthusiastically promoted by the popular media. The postmodern notion of tolerance is systematically turning genuine virtue on its head.

Just about the only remaining taboo is the naive and politically incorrect notion that decrying another person’s alternative lifestyle, religion, or perspective is wrong.

One major exception to that rule stands out starkly: It is OK for postmodernists to be intolerant of those who claim they know the truth, particularly biblical Christians. In fact, those who fancy themselves the leading advocates of tolerance today are often the most outspoken opponents of evangelical Christianity.

Look on the Internet, for example, and see what the self-styled champions of religious tolerance are saying. What you’ll find is a great deal of intolerance for Bible-based Christianity. In fact, some of the most bitterly anti-Christian material online can be found at sites supposedly promoting religious tolerance.

Why is that? Why does authentic biblical Christianity find such ferocious opposition from people who think they are paragons of tolerance? It is because the truth claims of Scripture—and particularly Jesus’ claim to be the only way to God—are diametrically opposed to the fundamental presuppositions of the postmodern mind. The Christian message represents a death blow to the postmodernist worldview.

But as long as Christians are being duped or intimidated into softening the bold claims of Christ and widening the narrow road, the church will make no headway against postmodernism. We need to recover the distinctiveness of the gospel. We need to regain our confidence in the power of God’s truth. And we need to proclaim boldly that Christ is the only true hope for the people of this world.

That may not be what people want to hear in this pseudo-tolerant age of postmodernism. But it is true nonetheless. And precisely because it is true and the gospel of Christ is the only hope for a lost world, it is all the more urgent that we rise above all the voices of confusion in the world and say so.

In the days ahead, we will look at three key attributes of biblical truth that are utterly incompatible with postmodernism: objectivity, rationality, and integrity. These attributes are essential to a biblical worldview—we need them if we are to form the necessary framework for thinking, for making sense of the world around us, and for ministering in this postmodern age.

(Adapted from Why One Way?)