Why Is It So Hard to Really Say What We Mean?

It's difficult in two senses, and I expect these will come up again in a later post, but for now I'll tell you that one of those senses involves a certain fear-factor.

So, guys, I just wrote something that was a little heated, and probably controversial, and I'm not sure I'm ready to expose it to the vast world of the internet just yet. Sometimes the internet really depresses me, because while there are a lot of things that are great about it, it is certainly not a safe and friendly place. My husband would tell me, "If you don't want to get into a fight, then don't publish." The thing is, if you aren't prepared to get into a fight, can you really ever afford to publish anything?

You ask your innocent question on Facebook, and then are shocked when your so-called "friends" don't react as warmly as (or maybe even react more warmly than) you anticipated. I've seen ugly responses to blog posts and YouTube videos. Am I prepared to receive them? Honey, when you tell the truth you have to be prepared. And to tell you the absolute truth, I am not so prepared.

Do I want people to read my blog or don't I? You know guys, sometimes I really don't know the answer to that. What was I writing about this morning? Um, postmodernism. You read that correctly and now I'm embarrassed. Surely postmodernism is safely theoretical? Well no, actually it isn't. It creeps into everything we think and say and do. As does it's predecessor, modernism.

Is this a spiritual issue? Why, yes to that one too. It most certainly is.

So let me just quickly tell you the name of my favorite book on the subject, Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church by James K.A. Smith. I've recently discovered through other written contexts that I don't necessarily follow Smith's political reasoning, but I love his Christian analysis of postmodernism. Smith is a man who doesn't separate his faith from his study of philosophy, and I believe he manages very well to integrate the two. It's worth reading. I think that Smith demystifies the theory, boils it down to its most basic assumptions, and shows very clearly that at its root postmodernism is not antagonistic to a holistic Christian worldview. In fact, it can be mobilized in favor of kerygmatic theology, as Smith might say. Don't let that big Greek-derived word scare you. It simply refers to the gospel that is preached.

Read it. It's a good book, and much more easily accessible than trying to read Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault directly.