Mapping Postmodernism: A Survey of Christian Options [Paperback]

Robert C. Greer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2003

By now we've all heard the word postmodernism.

• But what is it?
• Can it be defined?
• Does it really represent a monumental shift away from how we use to think about right and wrong, truth, the world, and even the whole cosmos?
• Most important, how should Christians respond?

Robert C. Greer helps us grasp the nature of the shifts in thinking and believing that are taking place in our world. More important, he helps us navigate the complex debate among Christians as to how best to respond to these new challenges. Astutely he maps four different ways Christian thinkers have recommended we respond. These alternatives are represented by four theologians: Francis Schaeffer, Karl Barth, John Hick and George Lindbeck. Greer warns that being merely for or against postmodernism is inadequate. He guides us across the terrain of alternatives along a path that leads neither back to the land of modernism nor to the wild frontiers of postmodernist relativism. Acknowledging the relative strengths and weaknesses of these options, Greer turns us to a thoroughly Christian theology that points beyond them to the true Subject who makes knowledge possible through the language of revelation and relationship with God. This book is an illuminating map for all those who feel lost in the maze of conflicting analyses of postmodernism and are looking for a faithful way forward .

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Greer's map provides the educated Christian with a helpful orientation to locate the positions people have taken when postmodernism intersects the faith. He does this with a user-friendly grid that is neither simplistic nor in the academic stratosphere. And he explores this terrain as one who is on his own journey among Roman Catholics and Protestant fundamentalists. He rightly chastens conservatives and liberals alike for their reliance on modernity's promise of a universal human foundation upon which to anchor faith. He commends us to do what some folks have reminded us to do all along: to ground our faith in a relationship with the God revealed in Christ and alive in us through the Holy Spirit. This gives Greer a critical calm rather than a reactionary alarm that helps us to recognize the opportunities postmodernism affords the church to articulate her faith in fresh ways and the challenge postmodernism poses when it steers us toward 'radical relativism.' (Dennis Okholm, Professor of Theology, Azusa Pacific University )

"Even at the beginning of the twenty-first century, many evangelicals remain unclear what postmodernism means and how it affects current theological dialogue. Greer adeptly navigates the terrain by defining terms, considering the effects of 'modern' concepts on theology, critically examining various types of theological 'realism' and ultimately pointing us to what he calls 'post-postmodernism.' (Bruce Ellis Benson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College, and author of Graven Ideologies: Nietzsche, Derrida and Marion on Modern Idolatry (IVP) )

About the Author

Greer (Ph.D. in systematic theology, Marquette University) has served as a church pastor and as a missionary with UFM-International among the Aztec Indians in central Mexico.

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830827331
• ISBN-13: 978-0830827336
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #947,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, September 20, 2011

By 

K. Durbin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mapping Postmodernism: A Survey of Christian Options (Paperback)

A lot of students I was in class with when reading this complained about it, but I thought it was really great. It explains everything so well and helped me understand people and denominations so much better. Really glad this was assigned, back in my MTh program.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great read, July 6, 2008

By 

Joshua Jones - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mapping Postmodernism: A Survey of Christian Options (Paperback)

This book was excellent. Greer opened up whole new worlds for me to consider. As a minister seeking the most effective ways to live and work in a postmodern world, Greer's insights constantly made me put down the book and consider the implications of his arguments.

While other reviewers seem to be unimpressed, I suspect this has a great deal to do with the worldview they brought into their reading of the book.

The subtitle claims it is a "Survey of Christian Options" and in this respect I felt it did a great job.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a mixed reaction, May 22, 2009

By 

Isabella (U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mapping Postmodernism: A Survey of Christian Options (Paperback)

I have a mixed reaction both to the book and to the three reviews that precede mine. I found that the author sometimes succeeds in his goal (stated in his prologue) to write about a difficult subject in a way that is neither overly theological nor too simplistic. He does provide some helpful ways of understanding difficult concepts, but as one reviewer has already noted, he occasionally oversimplifies to the point of misleading. However, I certainly would not characterize his style as a "rant"; his tone is quite calm and measured, which I appreciated, and I never doubted either his devotion or his intellect. His epilogue of questions about his ideas about what he calls "post-postmodernism" is very thought provoking. As someone who shares Mr. Greer's conservative Christian background and maintains ties to that tradition, however, I must say that I would have preferred that he had focused on someone besides Francis Shaeffer, whose influence on the Christian Right (of which I am decidedly NOT a part) has been pernicious. And while many may find this to be an extremely minor complaint, I was shocked that Jacques Derrida's name was misspelled through the book (with an accent on the "a" in Derrida, a spelling which does not exist in French and which Derrida never used). Overall, I expect that this book will be most helpful to a theologically conservative Christian who is willing to learn more about postmodernism and recognize its complexity, rather than reducing it to "relativism."