A Faith Built on

Sand

The Foolishness of Popular Religion in a Postmodern Age

Expectations for this class

• Class slides will be printed.

• Engagement from every student.

• Read assigned text before every class.

• Classroom discussion (questions at end of chapter)

• Quizzes every two chapters.

• Everyone receives a number (write it in your book!)

• Quizzes are take-home (can work with others, call teacher).

• Quizzes will be self-graded.

• Memory verse every week!

Introduction

•This study is mission critical.

•Postmodernism is a cancer that must be identified, assessed and eradicated.

•1 Peter 5:8

Two faiths:Matthew 7:24ff

““Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matt 7:24–25 NKJV)

““But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”” (Matt 7:26–27 NKJV)

Key Definitions“Popular”1. liked, admired, or enjoyed by many people or by a particular

person or group

2. intended for or suited to the taste, understanding, or means of

the general public rather than specialists or intellectuals

Key Definitions“Worldview”“Underlying all that we think, say, or do are basic assumptions that form what we call a ‘worldview.’

A person's worldview is the collection of all his presuppositions or convictions about reality, which present his total outlook on life. Nobody is without

such fundamental beliefs, yet many people go through life unaware of their presuppositions.

Operating at the unconscious level, their presuppositions remain unidentified and

unexamined. The result is that people generally fail to recognize how their worldviews govern every

dimension of their lives.”

Key Definitions“Worldview”

"As individuals develop, they do seem to adopt certain answers to the fundamental questions of

life. These answers are put together into a comprehensive system: a view of the world. At the

same time, however, this view of the world becomes the way they view the world. It becomes the spectacles through which they look, the grid

upon which they organize reality. This view affects the way they answer the fundamental questions of

life, and so on.”

Key DefinitionsOur worldview determines how we

answer...What is ultimate reality?

Is there a God?Who is God?

What does God expect from man?How are we to live? (Ethics)Human nature?Human

origins?Human destiny?

Key Definitions

Key Definitions

Key Definitions

Key Definitions

Key Definitions

Key Definitions

Key Definitions“Postmodernism”“A term used to designate a variety of intellectual

and cultural developments in late-twentieth-century Western society. Postmoderns generally

embrace pluralism and place value in the diversity of worldviews and religions that characterizes contemporary society” (IVP Pocket Dictionary).

“In the second half of the 20th century, many extrapolated this argument to conclude that there are no facts, only interpretations...insists we are confined to a quagmire of relativity, and exults in the disappearance of any possibility of objective

truth” (IVP Biblical Theology).

Key Definitions“Postmodernism”

"Instead of attempting to fashion a rational worldview, postmodernism opts for lesser goals by

cobbling together various ideas, practices, and goals for pragmatic purposes. As postmodernist

Walter Truett Anderson puts it, “Truth isn’t what it used to be.” Postmodernism embraces a cluster of

ideas, most of which contradict the Christian understanding of truth, authority, and

rationality...Postmodernists claim that any comprehensive and authoritative worldview is

forever out of reach and that to claim otherwise is an arrogant pretext for dominating those with

whom one disagrees. For example, claims for the objective truth of the Christian worldview are

unwarranted and lead to the oppression of non-Christians.” (Apologetics Study Bible).

Key Definitions“Postmodernism”“Although no major religion adheres to the postmodern view of truth, this mindset has affected how many people view spirituality,

particularly in nations with significant religious freedom. Many think that religion is a matter of

choice, taste, and preference. One seeks a designer religion that suits one’s taste, or one is born into a religion that defines who one is. One may even mix and match elements from several religions. Debating whether a religion is true or

false is pointless. All are “true” in the postmodern sense because they give meaning to people’s

lives” (Apologetics Study Bible)

Key DefinitionsName Reality Man Truth Values

Postmodern

Reality is socially constructed.

Humans are a product of their cultural setting.

Truths are relative to one’s culture.

Tolerance, freedom of expression,

inclusion, and refusal to claim to have the answers

are the only universal values.

Christian Theism

An infinite, personal God

exists. He created a finite, material world. Reality is

both material and spiritual. The

universe as we know it had a

beginning and will have an end.

Humankind is the unique creation of God. People were

created "in the image of God,"

which means that we are personal, eternal, spiritual,

and biological.

Truth about God is known through revelation. Truth

about the material world is

gained via revelation and the

five senses in conjunction with rational thought.

Moral values are the objective

expression of an absolute moral

being.

Postmodernism is not compatible with the bible

•Romans 3:4

•2 Timothy 3:15-17

•Acts 17:28

•Jn. 8:32; Jn. 14:6

•Eph. 6:11

Postmodernism is the root of two main problems in the church

•Ignorance (“I don’t know”)

•Apathy (“I don’t care”)