Modernism, Postmodernism, and Poetry...oh my...

I'm including the link below to an article from Salon.com that is an incredible example of discussion happening outside the typical Jesus-blogosphere regarding religion, faith, meaning, and transcendence.http://www.salon.com/books/atoms_eden/2008/07/21/james_carse/index2.html

For me, the key point here is where Carse identifies that he believes the fragmentation of Christianity has come largely from its being wedded to certain state/nationalistic themes. I could not agree more, however the chilling thing is that his prediction of Christianity's demise is rooted in this marriage. The faith-tradition of following Jesus will die and disappear because Jesus is made subject to Caesar. Sounds like Philippians, no?

I will say that Carse is bathed in a modernist education with postmodern lenses, complete with relativism and the emphasis on Platonic and 19th-20th century German philosophy. Therefore, some of his stuff misses the greater point, namely that Enlightenment modernism is no longer the given structure for reality, and when reading Scripture or church history you must take into account the fact that it was written in a pre-Enlightenment period. You know, before we figured everything out. Hmm...

I am posting this for your reading (I know it is substantial but it's worth it) for a few reasons:1. To expose you to some comments perhaps outside the normal sphere of your interest2. To engage in a discussion of what exactly makes up contemporary Christian life3. To reveal the greater challenge of "poetry" in expressing the outworkings of discipleship

I'm excited to hear what you have to say on this score. grace and peace.

Listening: Imogen Heap, "Hide and Seek"