As readers of Equip are aware, one of my favorite writers is Millard Erickson. He is gifted with skills to communicate Christian truth and theology in a helpful, challenging, and readable manner. He writes in a way that provokes biblical thought on relevant topics. He is an outstanding theologian and writes from the Baptist tradition, but with a commitment to the Reformed faith. That makes his works valuable tools and assets to us, particularly in the Calvinistic tradition. He blends together biblical understanding, theological acuteness, and a philosophical framework that makes his theology so helpful.

When we reviewed his book on systematic theology, Christian Theology, we remarked that in the first 200 pages, Erickson demonstrated his ability to understand how to do theology within a philosophical framework. Diogenes Allan wrote that those who understand philosophy are better theologians. He could be referring to Erickson.

In The Postmodern World, he focuses on the prevalent philosophy known as postmodernism. We are hearing that word more and more. While some are trying to ignore it and others calling it a passing fad, Erickson takes it seriously. Although he believes that there are positive things postmodernism teaches us or brings to the surface, he also is critical of it. For example: though postmodernists believe there is no meta-narrative or grand story of life, postmodernism becomes its own meta-narrative. Postmodernism is all pervasive in today’s culture. It advocates pluralism, individualism, tolerance, and casualness. It impacts what we see in our pop culture environment. It influences what we eat, how we dress, what we buy, and how we interpret life. For the postmodernist, truth is whatever an individual (or his or her group) wants it to be. Words mean whatever we want them to mean because they are within us. Logic and reason are often sacrificed to feelings, emotions, and experience.

This book contains topics that Erickson has addressed on college and university campuses, churches, and conferences. It is readable and deals with postmodernism credibly, but it does not require an academic background in philosophy to understand the concepts. The Postmodern World would be a good prelude to his longer and more detailed book, Truth or Consequences: the Promise and Perils of Postmodernism, which we hope to review at a later date.

Working on the premise that postmodernism is a particular way of looking at life and a set of ideas; Erickson helps us understand its structure. In the chapter entitled “Postmodernism: ‘It’s Everywhere You Want to Be’”, he points out how current popular TV sitcoms compare or contrast with older ones. “Gunsmoke” was a long-running western series, which clearly delineated right and wrong. That distinction was not altered by circumstance. Later, programs like “L. A. Law” suggested that we must be flexible with our moral standards. Finally, we now have “Fraiser” and “Seinfield”, shows about nothing—no subject, no moral base. They tell a story about life and that story is quite postmodern. Chapter two “Postmodernism in the University” shows postmodernism as the prevailing philosophy on campuses and in classrooms. He refers to men in the foreground of the postmodern philosophical movement; Michael Rorty, Jacque Derrida, Michael Foucault. While these and others approach this topic from different perspectives, they basically agree that you cannot devise a philosophical system that sums up everything and yet postmodernism does just that. Everything is basically subjectively determined and whatever you want it to be, even truth, if there is such.

His chapter on Postmodernism and Christianity shows what we can learn about postmodernism and how it can assist us in teaching and witnessing to the Christian faith. Postmodernism says that there are no universals and absolutes. Christianity is built on these things. Christianity says that Jesus is the way, truth, and life. Postmodernism challenges the idea that there is only one way to anything. While some say there is no need to alter the way we, as Christians, understand and teach truth, others realize that we must frame the message for today’s audience. This later view requires some understanding of postmodernism’s ideologies.

Erickson includes a chapter entitled “Postmodernism: Good, Bad, or Indifferent” in which he shows some positive things that postmodernism can do for us by reminding us of things such as: truth cannot be something outside us, we have to embrace it personally. It is not something that we can understand in its objective existence because understanding objective truth requires our subjective understanding of it thus coloring our understanding of it. It emphasizes the value of community even beyond the individual. However, we must question postmodernism’s casting off logic and reason for subjective experience and feeling and emotion. All of these are part of who we are and we cannot be God’s image without them. They must interface and compliment, not nullify or destroy.

You will also be intrigued by his final chapter ‘Beyond Postmodernism.’ Where is postmodernism going? What is next, remembering that pre-modernism was replaced by modernism and modernism by postmodernism? This philosophy is not a fad. It is real, pervasive, and one of the most powerfully influential ideologies that we know something about. You will find that reading this book will be helpful but then you will find it to be a good reference book to keep available.