The Post Mortem On Postmodern (Part 1)

It is widely thought that the "emergent church" is a modern phenomenon - so modern in fact that they are post modern or "pomo" for short. Solomon once said that there is nothing new under the sun and so it is with the emergent movement. It is well worthwhile taking a “journey” examining the origins and history of this not so new movement.

The movement is so old in fact that it's pioneer appears in Genesis chapter 3 where we see the introduction of the deconstructionist post modern hermeneutic or put more simply, twisted Scripture. You know, when the serpent said to Eve "Yea, hath God said?". Admittedly, the "conversation" was rather short winded as they were not yet able to do it over coffee. Nonetheless Eve, and her husband Adam, were more than willing to explore the serpent's narrative rather than be bound by the black and white absolutes of God's commands.

Adam and Eve were now progressives and no longer wanted to confine themselves to the limitations of paradise and besides, they had strong suspicions that the owner voted Republican anyway. It was outside Eden that they got to learn about the real world and the real problems it faced. Their eldest son Cain, for example, had a deep concern about overpopulation. They also had to deal with the archaic idea of right and wrong and figure out the truth that worked best for them.

As time progressed a man called Noah appeared on the scene. He was a man who completely disrupted the societal harmony and pleasure of his day. For one thing, he built a very large boat destroying a lot of old growth forests in the process. Noah's disregard for the environment certainly had a dramatic effect on weather patterns. More and more grey clouds started to appear in the sky.

Noah also talked a lot about a flood that God was going to send that would destroy everybody who didn't get inside his boat. It was important for people not to interpret Noah literally. After all, conjecture over whether this flood would be a literal historical event would be to completely miss the depth and meaning of the metaphor God was trying to convey. They decided to contemplate Noah's words as to their true meaning for each individual. Anyway, there was no way anybody was getting on a boat that didn't have a carbon neutral footprint.

Eventually, Noah's disregard for the environment led to greater and greater climate change. Those grey clouds now filled the sky and Noah's family entered their boat. Noah's words had ceased and the rains had begun and no post modern paradigm could change it . . . .


Go On To Part 2