Synopses & Reviews
The latest clarion call in the never-ending cavalcade of what'snew in the evangelical world is the confident assertion from somequarters that the church needs to embrace postmodernism if it isgoing to engage postmoderns effectively. Pastors trying to breakdown the often indigestible subject matter of postmodernism intobite-size chunks in order to equip their people to engage it, andteachers who are aiming at giving their students a workingknowledge of the way postmodernism is impacting the church willfind a good deal of help from Smith.
-J. Ligon Duncan III, Senior Minister, FirstPresbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi
Scott Smith and I agree on a lot. We share a deep commitment toJesus Christ, a love of the Bible, and a passion for the church. Wealso agree that we're currently living in a liminal time, and it'sthose boundary times when people look most closely at the beliefsthat underlie their practices. So, we've all got some things tofigure out right now, including what we can really know and thecertainty with which we can state our claims in a pluralisticsociety. I appreciate Scott's voice in this conversation. He is acareful reader of my work, and he writes with a gracious andgenerous tone. Interlocutors like Scott will be a helpful challengeto all of us in the emerging church. I consider him a friendlycritic and a brother in Christ.
-Tony Jones, author of Postmodern YouthMinistry and National Director, Emergent
Scott Smith is uniquely suited to enter the Emergentconversation with this helpful volume. Not only is he an analyticphilosopher with a razor-sharp mind who has specialized inanalyzing postmodernistic views on the relationship betweenlanguage and the world, but he is also a man who cares for thelost, loves the church, and has an ability to communicate complextruths to people in the pew.
-Justin Taylor, Executive Editor, Desiring God
Every leader in the new Emergent Movement will want to read thisfascinating book. They simply will not find a more engaging, knowledgeable, balanced, and kind treatment of their concerns, ideas, and practices.
-Craig J. Hazen, Professor of ComparativeReligion, Biola University
Scott Smith's study challenges us to take seriously the truthclaim of the gospel both in how we proclaim it in words and in howwe manifest it in our personal and community lives.
-Gary Inrig, Senior Pastor, Trinity Church, Redlands, California
Synopsis
Does postmodernism have a place in the church? Some are saying yes, while others argue that it challenges objective truth and thus cannot be consistent with the gospel. R. Scott Smith provides an explanation of postmodernism and surveys its influence in the academic realm and in the church. He presents the claims of several Christian postmodern authors and uses their ideas as a starting point for a thorough critique of Christian postmodernism.