First off I would like to say Thank You to all you people who commented on my lack of posting. Sometimes, in this world, its nice to know you've been missed.
These last few weeks have been extremely eventful for me. I've had tons of new experiences and have mostly loved them. I've served on a federal jury, helped plan and work in a Missions Conference, finally figured out where my parents stand on Brittany (more ups and downs than a roller coaster), traveled to and from Ohio, had Thanksgiving with Justin's family, saw James and Aisling Solarek and burned my throat out from the chlorine in their hot tub, actually got to see Dale and Jess a little bit and realized I haven't read a good book in months (by far the longest time in my life - previously it was maybe two weeks).
Back at Maranatha I was extremely tired of the politics involved with the college. I was tired of having rules all around me that - while they made sense and were possibly necessary - were not at all what I believed in. I was almost physically ill with the way that people were destroyed because of the way they didn't fit into the 'good kid' mold. And I was upset that the system in place had no way for me as a person to voice my concerns in a way that would not be construed as rebellious and sinful.
Because of these things (and because I'm twenty-two and ready to get on with my life) I was very happy that God plopped the opportunity to go to Shannon into my lap. But I was concerned because of what I would be giving up, I wouldn't see any of my friends, I was moving away from an established routine, I wouldn't be able to see much of Britt, etc. Now I can see that - just as I needed to gain perspective from Falls before I could judge it accurately - I also needed space from Maranatha and all that I had known to be able to accurately understand what it had meant to me. I don't profess to understand everything, I can't even understand myself 90% of the time but I do know that I've started to be able to judge effectively for my own self for the first time. (sorry for the syntax of that sentence - but I try never to rewrite).
I have seen that it is possible in a staunch Midwestern community to have a traditional fundamental church that does well. But more importantly I've seen that the importance isn't the preaching or the music or the knowledge or the standards that make this difference. Its the people, the people here are genuine, there belief in the tradition that makes up most of fundamentalism is still real and unjaded. Its because of this belief that the church works - because they haven't forgotten about people and because they haven't forgotten that mistakes are part of being a human. Now I'm not really saying that I'm a traditional fundamentalist - because I'm not and I really can't stand the stigma that's attached to the title. What I'm saying is that it is very encouraging for me to see Christian faith in action; with a group of people who are truly passionate about what they believe.
And now its your turn. Is it possible that the move to postmodernism in Christianity is driven by people who are disillusioned with fundamentalist modernity, or by the desire for change, or is it possible that there really is no change in Christianity, only a rewording and retradionalizing?
p.s. Dale - this discharges me from having to write anything serious for a long time.
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First of all, I think that dissillusionment and desire to change are two sides of the same coin. I think that the desire to change is a positive reaction to dissillusionment. You don't desire to change something unless you see the negative aspects of the original. And I do think that these two attitudes are driving much of what we see in the postmodern church landscape.
But in a sense, Christianity has been doing this for its entire existence. Every time the church gets really comfortable, it forgets what it is on this earth for. And then a new generation rises and sees the problems, and the church reinvents itself yet again. And if you want to go back farther, read Judges. Or the Old Testament History books. The children of Israel would have a revival, live for God for a time, and then forget. New judges or prophets would then rise and bring God back to the forefront of their minds. Rewording and retraditionalizing is a continuing part of man's interaction with the divine.
But it is a necessary part. Even you admit that you aren't comfortable with the stigma that is attached to the term "fundamentalist."
So maybe we should admit that God is universal and that it is us and our culture that is constantly changing in the way that we know and interact with Him on the societal level.
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