Evangelising in the post-modern world
The opening paragraph of the great novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859), shows that today’s post-modern world is deeply entrenched at crucial crossroads: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom,...
The opening paragraph of the great novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859), shows that today’s post-modern world is deeply entrenched at crucial crossroads:
Relativism puts opinion and truth on the same par- Fr Mario Attard
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
In an article entitled The Dangers and Delights of Postmodernism, D. A. Carson argues that post-modernism has four strengths. First it powerfully criticises modernism’s vaunted autonomy and strongly controls its considerable arrogances.
Second, post-modernism is more sensitive and respectful than modernism of the profound and undeniable differences which make up people of various races, languages, ages, cultures and genders.
Third, post-modernism defines what we should have known, principally that there is more to human knowledge than simply rationality, proof, evidence and linear thought. We are now more conscious of the manner that aesthetic, social, intuitive, linguistic and other features influence the way we think.
Lastly, post-modernism is inherently pluralistic religiously, much on the same lines as the Roman Empire was in the times of St Paul, and for several centuries after.
Nevertheless, in Dickens’s words, post-modernism is the “worst of times”, “the age of foolishness”, “the epoch of incredulity”, “the season of Darkness”, and “the winter of despair”. Due to the post-modernist individualistic and nihilist way of living we are existentially left with “nothing before us”.
Post-modernism ushered the culture of death and abortion in the world. It reduced human sexuality to a mere fun game. Nowadays terrorism is alarmingly on the increase. Fundamentalism of all sorts is rising its head again. Apostasy is rampart. Satanism and occult have become part of a new mode of being spiritual.
Corporate corruption and scandals both in the Church and the state show that authority is not only to be questioned but also to be rejected.
We live in a philosophically entrapped society. Our common life together is gravely inhibited by many ‘isms’ which are seriously deteriorating the grace each of us have for solidarity and fraternity.
Secularism claims that human life and destiny are to be understood without God. Rationalism holds that human reason is enough to grasp reality and that faith is an obstacle to reason. Subjectivism proposes the self is the core of reality.
Relativism puts opinion and truth on the same par. Pragmatism wants truth to be changed according to circumstances. Materialism postulates that a person’s life is worth it as much as he or she can possess.
Hedonism tragically reduces life to absolute pleasure. Thus, suffer-ing is life’s worst evil and is to be avoided at all costs. Finally, the new paganism exalts the self against God.
In front of this chaotic spiritual scenario, Jesus says to his followers: “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matt. 5:13-15).
Are we letting Christ’s light shine in us? Are we praying, receiving the sacraments, defending human life, working for justice and peace, alleviating the suffering of people? Are we evangelising our post-modern world through our lives?
frmarioa@gmail.com
Fr Attard is a member of the Order of Franciscan Capuchins.