Sample by Topic from Apologia Report

 

POSTMODERNISM
 
"Back to the Bible (Almost): Why Yale's Postliberal Theologians Deserve an Evangelical Hearing" by Roger E. Olson -- "Postliberal theology is a form of postmodern theology that rejects the Enlightenment emphasis on the authority of human reason and modern experience." Olson also defines the players and their roles. This is a valuable piece for anyone who desires to understand currents in today's theology. Christianity Today, May 20 '96, p31.
(from Apologia Report 1:16, June 17, 1996)
 
Truth Is Stranger than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern World, by Richard Middleton and Brian Walsh (SPCK, 1995) -- "The significance of this book lies in its ability not only to explain esoteric concepts to the novice, but also to draw on instances in popular culture where these concepts find their expression (such as the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Star Trek)." Nonetheless, this is a critical review. Churchman, v110 n2 '96, p166; for a lengthy review by an evangelical source see Trinity Journal, Spr '96, p95.
(from Apologia Report 1:17, June 24, 1996)
 
A Primer to Postmodernism, by Stanley J. Grenz (Eerdmans, 1996) -- a critical review, yet more pro than con. Concludes with the synthesis of "errors Evangelicals share with modernism: an emphatic individualism, a positivistic approach to apologetics (Evangelicals are rather modernist in their epistemology), a mistaken dualism which pervades Evangelical habits of thought, and an impotent noeticism with respect to the nature of saving faith. Grenz identifies postmodern ways of thinking that can function as correctives to these Evangelical errors, and he does this in a reasonable and evangelical way." Christian Scholar's Review, Wtr '96, p223.
(from Apologia Report 2:5, March 10, 1997)
 
"Christianity Challenges Postmodernism" by Grant R. Osborne -- "D.A. Carson reports an experience I too have had: lecturing on the validity of Christianity on university campuses, we used to be challenged on the validity of our proofs for the truths of the Christian faith, for instance, the reliability of Scripture or the resurrection of Christ. No more. More often than not today, the first question is, 'But what about the Buddhists or the Muslims?'" Opens with a definition and significant history of postmodernism, gives a short history of "Christianity's response to its enemies," discusses the problem of postmodernism, and suggests a solution. Evangelical Journal, Spr '97 (behind schedule), p1.
(from Apologia Report 2:20, July 1, 1997)
 
"Postmodernism and Pentecostals: A Case Study of Evangelical Hermeneutics" by Malcolm R. Brubaker -- briefly reviews postmodernism and "its impact in the theories of interpretation," surveys the "landscape of contemporary evangelical reactions to postmodern hermeneutics," concentrates on "what is happening among Pentecostal scholars as they hammer out theology by hermeneutical principles forged in the fires of the postmodern context." Evangelical Journal, Spr '97 (behind schedule), p33.
(from Apologia Report 2:20, July 1, 1997)
 
"What's Wrong with Relativism" by Lewis Vaughn -- the executive editor of Free Inquiry explains "why postmodernism's most radical doctrine is dead in the water." Valuable reasoning from a unique source. Free Inquiry, Sum '97, p40.
(from Apologia Report 2:22, July 21, 1997)
 
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Sources:
 
Christian Scholar's Review, (616) 395-7582, <steen@hope.cit.hope.edu>, <http://www.hope.edu/resources/csr>
 
Christianity Today, (800) 999-1704, <http://www.christianity.net>
 
Churchman, fax 01923 800362 (England)
 
Evangelical Journal (Pentecostal), (717) 866-5775
 
Free Inquiry, (716) 636-7571, <http://www.secularhumanism.org>
 
Trinity Journal (Trinity Evangelical Divinity Sch.), (847) 945-8800


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