The Bible and Post-postmodernism

Yesterday, President Obama announced his endorsement for same-sex marriage. This is not a surprise, considering President Obama's actions against the Defense of Marriage Act as well as his enthusiasm toward the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. What is most interesting about yesterday's announcement is the sign of the times that such a media hyped announcement regarding a politician's thought process is even necessary. Yet, this evolution of thought has been a long time coming for the American culture. America has stepped completely out of postmodernity and into the great unknown of post-postmodernism. The retreat of Christianity from American culture has been a devastating run as secularism took the field in postmodernism, claiming that words cannot be defined and the Bible can be interpreted based on each individual's opinions and experiences. Now with the approach of post-postmodernism, Christians who believe the world is still being viewed through the lens that words have no meaning are being crushed by secularists who have a new worldview that sees absolutes and ethics defined through an entirely different lens.

The Christian retreat has been called many words, not the least of which is the term liberal. However, liberal is a political term that usually divides the lines regarding American political ideology. The real underlying problem in Christianity is more broad, however. The battle is being waged along the line of the doctrine of Scripture. Is the Bible fully authoritative? Is the Bible sufficient for properly viewing the world and ethics? How are we to read Scripture?

The Post-postmodern President

The sense of this battle divide is found in the President's announcement. The President said,

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."

Let's break this down. Notice where authority comes from for ethics: family, friends, neighbors, and members of his staff who are homosexual. This is an appeal to authority, which is outside Obama, for ethical choices. Rather than that authority to be the Bible alone, ethics are drawn from the experiences and lifestyles of those around him. This is essentially postmodern. However, the President does not stop there. Before his affirmation, the President says, "I've concluded that for me personally..." The authority of the experiences and lifestyles of those around him made an absolute truth in conclusion to his ethical thought process. This is post-postmodern. The President is not saying that this is his personal opinion which has no effect on policy making. The President is saying that his decision is an absolute truth that everyone everywhere must accept. There will be policies and legislation passed that affects every American based on his "conclusion."

President Obama also defended his position against Christian opposition. President Obama said that he and his wife

"are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated."

 The President claims to be a practicing Christian and knows that this position is "at odds" with other Christians. How does he remedy the battle divide? His ethic is driven by Christ's sacrifice on his behalf and the Golden Rule. However, Jesus did not teach in isolated and contradictory proverbs. Jesus' Golden Rule is one line in an entire Bible that claims itself full authority. The same authority Matthew 7:12a has on all of God's human creation is found in Leviticus 18:22. The only way to decide that the Golden Rule is authoritative and the rest of Scripture is not would be upon the interpreter rather than the Author. That is to say, the reader is the master over the text rather than the text is to be master over the reader.


Sola Scriptura and Post-postmodernism

In postmodernity, the cultural elites convinced Christians to keep religion in private devotion and maintain a secular worldview when in public view and discourse. This Christian retreat has led to a post-postmodern American culture that believes in absolute truths in total opposition to the teachings of the Bible. Without a worldview in total commitment to the absolute truths taught in Scripture, Christianity has no sword to fight with.

Creatures are not afforded the freedom to tell God His attributes and His Law. We are not attorneys finding loopholes in the Law of God to squeeze any camel of immorality into the needle head entrance to the Kingdom of God. President Obama would like to convince biblical Christians that the Golden Rule affirms same-sex marriage, so all Christianity should embrace his "conclusion." Matthew 7:12 states, "whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Jesus says that the Golden Rule sums up the Torah and the writings of the prophets. To examine the details of the Golden Rule is then to affirm the entirety of the Old Testament, which has already been mentioned to condemn homosexuality as a practice. Jesus is here affirming His worldview which includes a high esteem for the authority and sufficiency of the Scripture.

The President's attempt to isolate Matthew 7:12a (without the part about the Law and the Prophets) as authoritative and ignore the remainder of Scripture is an eisegesis that claims the culture as authoritative in biblical interpretation. In other words, President Obama's conversations about the lifestyles and experiences of homosexuals around him gave him interpretive authority over the text. To formulate a worldview based on worldly wisdom then looking to Scripture for authority makes the reader the master.

In Matthew's Gospel, the very next verse reads, "enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." Jesus not only gives us a brief line to recall the entire teachings of the Old Testament in the Golden Rule, but also a promise of His judgment that sends the majority of humanity to eternal damnation and a minority that maintains the narrow way into the narrow gate of life. The gate of cultural understandings of divinity, justice, and ethics are wide and lead to destruction. 

Colossians 3:5 reads, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."Our earthly wisdom and urgings, yes even those we are born with, are to be put to death. Paul does not contend this to be a simple debate on ethics, but a battle divide of spirituality. Paul calls this practice idolatry. Practicing Christians are to put to death such idolatry, not encourage this behavior and thought.

The Christian Response

The post-postmodern worldview permeates both conservative and liberal politics. Such practice of eisegesis has slipped into many local churches and, eerily enough, even "conservative" seminaries. Yet, the Christian response is not simply analyzing the battle divide and retreating back to private devotion. The public Christian response is the same message that has been given to us by our Savior: repent and believe. Colossians 3:5 ("Put to death...sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry") is part of a passage that many on the side of post-postmodern eisegesis claim as "judge not lest ye be judged" when Paul says in verse 7, "in these you too once walked, when you were living in them." Yet, read this passage carefully. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul states that you once walked, that is past tense. Repentance is the key to understanding this passage. The Christian response to post-postmodern eisegesis is to affirm and to maintain the traditional doctrine of Scripture as authoritative, sufficient for every human creature, and the only absolutely true worldview.

Homosexuality is a sin, yet it is a sin that is forgivable by the amazing grace affording to us by faith alone through Christ alone for the glory of God alone. Homosexuality is not to be embraced as an acceptable practice simply because our culture seeks to have authority over the Word of God. The Word of God is to have full authority over all of God's creation. In this authoritative Word of God we read that Jesus "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Sinners of any kind of idolatry, including homosexuals, cannot serve Christ in His efforts of grace. The Christian response is not "stop sinning and try harder at conforming to Christian ethic." The Christian response is to preach Christ and Him crucified.

If you are reading this and you are a homosexual, or perhaps a post-postmodern supporter of so-called same-sex marriage, you cannot justify yourself before God by twisting Scripture or arguing with other creatures your worldview. No matter how the cultural tides shift, no matter how many Christians you debate, God is an unchanging Rock and His Word endures forever. Repentance does not mean clean yourself up or pretend to change. Repentance is required for both the immoral unbelievers as well as the religiously moral. The gospel of Jesus Christ demands our full responsibility to the breaking of God's eternal law, then turning from our idolatrous practices such as immorality (like homosexuality), worldview shaped by culture over Scripture, and religious morality that claims oneself clean in any way apart from what Christ has done for us. Christ who is without sin has taken that punishment we deserved for our idolatrous and immoral practices to the cross. In return, Christ gave us His perfect righteousness. The new birth in Christ is not a lifestyle tainted with any sinful or idolatrous wisdom from the world, but is a new life founded by the Word of God alone. I pray that you believe this most glorious good news, that Christ reigns in His eternal kingdom over His creatures by His eternal and fully authoritative Word.