Postmodernism and emerging culture

Towards a Prophetic Christology

What is Christian Youth Ministry?

Will the real We please stand up?

Over the past 20th and now 21st century and arguably even before that, we have witnessed the commodification of Jesus and religion. As Emergents can we see this as a benign reaction to the commercialisation of other aspects of life, or there a more sinister force at work or ill effects upon our perception of Jesus and religion in general. Is religion forced, and in fact happy to compete in the information market place or does this devalue our beliefs and our faith, should we stand back and work against these trends?

Those who desire to be effective in ministry must be aware of the cultural contexts of their ministries. They must understand the underlying ways people think and especially the way people view truth and reality. Missionaries have known this for many years. Those who minister in western cultures have fairly recently recognized some significant shifts in the way people view truth and reality. This shift has been identified as movement from a modern to a postmodern culture. Is this shift as significant as some profess it to be? If it is, what does it look like and how should we respond to it?

The recent “Jerry Springer - the Opera” issue divided Christians sharply: from those who were so opposed to it that they went as far as issuing personal names and addresses of BBC employees; via a mobilised multitude who opposed it, quite legitimately, without having seen it; to those who were disinterested and finally, to those who saw it as a prime opportunity to engage in “conversation” with post-modern culture, as well as to critique those who failed to see or grasp such opportunity.

Nevertheless, can anyone fail to be shocked by this latest twist to the morality of Europe?

A 25-year-old waitress who turned down a job providing “sexual services’’ at a brothel in Berlin faces possible cuts to her unemployment benefit under laws introduced this year.

I only discovered the raging controversy surrounding the screening of the “Jerry Springer – the Opera” show on BBC television, around about the actual time of its screening, last night.

Initially, for some reason, I was surprised to discover that the BBC had chosen to ignore the complaints of thousands of its licence-fee payers (ceefax quotes more than 45,000, the largest number in its 78-year history.)

Having discovered that it was essentially religious voices who were protesting aginst the broadcast, I was also initially heartened to hear about the fairly militant demonstration of disgust which had been duly levied.

I went back to see Olafur Eliasson’s The Weather Project again today at Tate Modern and took a camera with me. This is really jonny baker territory but I couldn’t resist posting a picture here. Besides, it seems to me that this sort of art is not without theological import.

I rather like this letter to The Times from the vice-president of the National Secular Society in the UK following recent debate about the continuing decline in anglican church attendance.

Sir, Your correspondents… seem to labour under the impression that, if they get the formula right, the outward surge of people from the churches will be somehow reversed. Many conservatives argue that these deserters would respond better if there were a stronger moral steer (or, more plainly, more authoritarianism) while liberals demand more inclusivity (that is, a rewriting of the Bible). Some think that it is because the services are dry and boring and could be made more interesting with various additions, while others assert that the theatricality of the traditional smells and bells approach is what the punters are really after.

None has considered the most likely explanation for their empty churches: that people don’t believe it any more. And no amount of tinkering round the edges is going to tempt them back. Once the genie of unbelief is out of the bottle, it won’t be forced in again.

He’s not entirely correct as is evident from the large number of people who are leaving churches but retaining a strong and developing faith. Emergent-UK had a very stimulating gathering today with Alan Jamieson, author of A Churchless Faith (see the review on this site). Alan’s work suggests not only that there may be a significant ‘submerged’ church that needs to be taken into consideration but also that networks of invisible believers may eventually provide the matrix for a renewal of corporate Christian life in post-Christian societies.

Nevertheless, I think the vice-president of the National Secular Society has a point: the church has a fundamental credibility problem and we have to face up to that fact. So what can we do to get the genie back in the bottle?

The Tate Modern in London is currently showing an intriguing video work by the British artist Mark Wallinger. The screen is massive, occupying a whole wall of the darkened room in which it is displayed. You see Wallinger at the bottom of a long escalator at the Angel underground station in north London, walking on the belt towards the camera, against the movement of the stairs which rise behind him. He appears as a blind man, with dark glasses and a white cane, which he twitches rhythmically in front of him, like a metronome, from side to side. Two other escalators to the left and right ascend and descend, carrying commuters who watch the artist in silent bemusement.