“The postmodern mind refuses to limit truth to its rational dimension and thus dethrones the human intellect as the arbiter of truth. There are other valid paths to knowledge besides reason, say the post-moderns, including the emotions and the intuition.”
~Stanley Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism27
~Stanley Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism27
My children attended an elementary school that used as their method of teaching a curriculum based on the seven intelligences: spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. This style of teaching allowed each child to learn in their preferred and best style. Basically, the theory opens up the possibility that intelligence, particularly as it is defined traditionally, is not sufficient to encompass the many gifts and abilities that humans possess. Teaching only in one way limits our children’s ability to learn and process information. While Grenz delves briefly into “other valid paths to knowledge” he does not, at least in Chapter One, develop this thought to encompass the multiple intelligences. Nor does he elaborate on how the emotions and intuition enhance and broaden the understanding of knowledge.
As the postmodern view becomes more prevalent in our society, perhaps schools, churches and society as a whole will begin to embrace the concept that people learn and process information in a variety of ways. Just as my children’s elementary school embraced the theory of multiple intelligences, the church of today could broaden and deepen the worship and learning experiences of its members by examining the ways in which they worship and teach. The “emerging” church may be one example to examine. This way of worship tends to fall into the postmodern mindset as it strives to worship in what it describes as an “ancient/future” manner. Candles, incense, periods of silence, movement and visual images are all part of the worship experience. Granted, this style of worship is not for everyone, but isn’t that what the postmodern view is trying to say? Post-modernism espouses the theory that one style of worship, one way of viewing intelligence, one way of learning, or even one way of understanding God is no longer valid.
Response from Karyn Ratcliffe
ReplyDeleteOur church’s Director of Music and I have done some reading about the emerging church and have begun to incorporate more experiential elements into our worship services, which have been very positively received. I have to constantly remind myself that I am a visual learner, and words are the medium that I most love. In Proust and the Squid, Maryanne Wolf calls our attention to the many individuals who, for various reasons, have great difficulty in learning to read. In fact, just this past week, I discovered that one of the children in our church has a severe learning disability. The term “postmodern” doesn’t do justice to the general increased awareness in the 21st century that people have different abilities and beliefs, and that all are to be respected and affirmed. Postmodern sounds so secular. Could it be that the world is becoming more Christ-like?