Modernism

Is the church stuck in a cultural past? My discussion of this question is unfortunately a little lengthy, and so I’ve addressed it in a number of parts. Relax. Pretend your reading a book. Take your time. I think in the end you'll find this discussion thoughtprovoking.
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For about 500 years, until around 20 years ago, western Europe and North America was influenced by various sources that shaped its citizen’s worldview, i.e. the way people respond to ideas, facts, others, the world around them. The "systems of thought and attitudes of mind" of that time are now what is called modernism. If you lived during the modern age, your thinking has been affected by modernist ideals. This does not mean that you hold to all of the ideas offered by the science, artists, politicians and others whose thinking influenced the age, but rather that you have modernist ways of thinking or approaching subjects. The church and its people (they) were not immune from the influence of modernism. Again, athough they held to some different facts and ideas as compared to many in their society, their organization, presentation, and response to the world they lived in was modernist. It could hardly have been otherwise. Since they lived in a modern world, their thinking could not have been anything other than modern in style, even if the substance may have differed, and as well, since their audience approached ideas from a modernist frame of reference it was natural for them to present their views in a modernist way in order to be heard.

Generally speaking modernism affirmed the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. It encouraged the re-examination of every aspect of existence, from commerce to philosophy, with the goal of finding that which was "holding back" progress, and replacing it with new and better ways of reaching the desired ends. The modernist movement embraced the industrial and mechanized age. They believed that reason, organization, and science and technology would lead to enlightenment and freedom in all areas of life. Modern thinkers were rationalists, believing there was an order or system to all things which could be discovered by objective study. Modernists rebelled against tradition, believing the "traditional" forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated and not in step with the new economic, social and political aspects of an emerging, industrialized world. Scientific disciplines (particularly in the field of physics and mathematics) asserted that it was necessary to break entirely with previous norms. The social sciences began to play an increased role in public policy. Literature, the visual arts and music began to radically change. No longer did artists attempt to reproduce nature, but rather they proceeded from the notion that the nature of reality was itself in question and so they too would shed historical restrictions. In the result, Modernists fashioned a complete worldview that encompassed every aspect of life.

Science gained prestige in this time and offered grand unifying metanarratives (ideological stories) purporting to determine the meaning of life – what we are and our place in the cosmos – said to be supported by objective scientific fact. Economic and social ideologies were proposed, all of which undermined religious certainty and the uniqueness of man. Humans were evolved animals said Darwin. Freud and Jung claimed that the impulse to defy social norms was essential to the animal’s development. Freud offered a view of the mind that excluded the influence of an external and absolute reality. Rationalism rejected the unexplainable. That which could not be explained and placed within a thought system was unacceptable, thus excluding mystery, the supernatural and the divine. Further rationalism rejected faith and emotions as credible means to discern truth or upon which to base one’s actions. Determinism claimed that we were shaped by forces beyond our control a consequence of cause and effect. Materialism became the ideology by which many found meaning for their lives.

Finally, in line with the philosophy of the age, broad social trends emerged. A few are notable. Progress in industry and agriculture and increased production shifted workers from production to administration and services, their efforts being to maintain production and increase consumption. Rural workers, attracted by jobs moved first to the city, then later to the suburbs. There was a corresponding desire for and respect of privacy , which later led to an affirmation of rights to privacy and individual rights. Faith was seen as a personal and private matter. In this climate it was natural that the individual and his/her achievements was celebrated. One’s position gave him a unquestioned right to lead. Later in the age a variety of social and scientific factors along with world events led to women entering the workforce, a subsequent factor in the disintegration of family life and a loss of protection for children. Early in the modern age books were popular and reading increased, but subsequently there was a decrease in quality of the contents while at the same time newspapers became popular with an increase in pictures, followed by moving pictures, then TV and films. All of which led to a decrease in imagination, people becoming pictorial rather than verbal, and attention spans decreasing.

It's vital, to understand the influence of modernism, if you are to understand how the church acts today. It's also vital to understand modernism, if you want to understand our present time, the post-modern age, which is anti-modern in many ways. The concern is, if the church is modernist in its structure and presentation it will not reach the post modernist. But, next, consider whether modern ways of thinking and attitudes are integral to the fundamentalist/ evangelical church of today.