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"Click on the endnote
numbers to read endnotes; click on "back" on your web browser to
return to your place in the article." CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION I charge you therefore before God and the
Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and
His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all
longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching
ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears
away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry.[1] These words from the
Apostle Paul to Timothy, written over nineteen hundred years ago, are
appropriate for the church of Jesus Christ as the twentieth century draws to a
close. The current culture has experienced a paradigm shift from modernism to
postmodernism. Truth is dead and intellectual anarchy reigns. Experience and power are
what people are seeking in postmodernity, and the church is not unaffected.
Christians have been influenced by postmodern culture more than they have
influenced the culture. In resistance to modernism, evangelical Christians
created their own Christian subculture. But now they are letting their guard
down and the Christian subculture is looking more and more like a microcosm of
the larger secular culture. Postmodernism has
brought society from an age of reason to an age of relativism. The only thing
postmodernists cannot tolerate is intolerance. The only absolute truth they
believe is that there is no absolute truth. People create their own “truth” and
all “truths” are equally valid. The result of all these equally valid “truths” is known as pluralism. The influence of
postmodernism can be seen in the church in various areas and to varying
degrees. One area is theology. Theology has classically been made up of three
major branches: dogmatics, ethics, and apologetics/polemics. The fact that the
average Christian, and minister, does not know what these words mean illustrates
the point all the more. The postmodern attitude toward dogma is seen in the
bumper sticker that reads, “My karma ran over my dogma.” Dogmatics, or
doctrine, is not popular because truth is not popular anymore. While 88 percent
of those in evangelical churches say the Bible is the infallible Word of God,
53 percent also say there is no such thing as absolute truth![2]
Ethics is the study of moral values and practices. It is the application of
dogmatics. Apologetics is defending Christian truth before unbelievers. If
Christians do not believe in absolute truth, then it is no wonder that they do
not engage in apologetics. Polemics is defending Christian truth within the
professing church. In order to strengthen itself against the negative
influences of postmodernism, a renewed interest in doctrine is needed by the
church. The Apostle Peter wrote, “For the time has come for judgement to begin
at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of
those who do not obey the gospel of God?”[3]
The most neglected branch of theology is polemics. The reason is because of the
rise of tolerance in the church. The growing attitude of tolerance among
Christians today is seen in the downplay of doctrine for the sake of unity.
This position used to be considered repulsive by evangelicals who resisted
ecumenism and groups like the World Council of Churches. But now the spirit of
the ecumenical movement is back and can be seen in groups like Promise Keepers
which is committed to interdenominational unity even with the Roman Catholic
Church.[4] Postmodern thought is a
rejection of absolute, objective truth. Today’s church needs polemics to resist
the influence of postmodernism which undermines the gospel and the authority of
Scripture. The following chapters will bring broader coverage of postmodernism,
polemics, examples of the need for polemics, and how to use polemics to resist
postmodernism. [1] 2 Tim. 4:1-5
NKJV (New King James Version). [2] George Barna, The
Barna Report: What Americans Believe (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1991),
292-294. [3] 1 Pet. 4:17,
NKJV. [4] Don Matzat,
“Inside Look at the Promise Keepers,” Issues, Etc. Journal 2, no. 6
(winter 1998): 3-13; Dave
Hunt, “Q&A” and “News Alerts,” The Berean Call (September 1997): 3,
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