In a book that has done the rounds, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism, James K Smith critiques evangelicals for their unfair dismissal of postmodern thought. He takes the three most common “bumper sticker” lines from three of postmodernism’s most influential thinkers, tells us what they really mean and why their contributions are helpful for an “emerging postmodern form of church.” I remember the postmodernism/postevangelical debates we all had (far too late) in the early 90’s. And, as I have mentioned before (here and here), the whole thing left me rather non-plussed. However, I thought Smith’s summary of radical orthodoxy in his book of that title was so good that I would flick through his contribution to…
-
-
Speaking of Terror – Part II
Let us begin speaking about 9/11 with speaking about speaking itself – what can we say about 9/11? Is man to be left speechless in the face of such an event? Postmodern philosopher, Jacques Derrida, argues that 9/11 cannot be adequately spoken of, that it is beyond conceptual reach. Derrida argues that the events of 9/11 offer opportunities for deconstructive discourse. Deconstructivism sets out to subvert the conceptual pairs which are found in general discourse. Conceptual pairs include light/darkness, male/female and good/evil. These pairs, according to Derrida, have no reason for being in the order they are nor should their alignment be taken for granted. Deconstructivism attempts to identify the…