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Postmodernism presents a challenge to the Christian view of epistemology. What are some practical ways you, as a Christian educator, can respond to this challenge?
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The Bible tells us who we are and what we should believe. Postmodernism tries to shake that foundation, but I relate to my students that postmodernism is building a foundation on sand. We are building our foundations on rock and the postmodern ideas will go away as all the other false ideas have gone away, but the ideas and truth from the Bible and God will stay and help us to be steadfast in our ideas and beliefs.
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I agree with many of the replies here that scripture is the most effective way to combat postmodernism. The Bible is full of stories about sinners, and individual Biblical stories help make vague ideologies dissipate so that discussions about concrete actions and concrete consequences can be evaluated.
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Always bring them back to the scripture. There are things that we know for sure can or cannot happen. However, with God, all things are possible. We can’t solely rely upon our senses and feelings, but we can use them in conjunction with the things that we know are sure. I like the story of Peter that the professor used to make this point clearer. Peter only failed to walk on the water when he used what he knew to be true instead of also considering who God is, and what he can do.
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“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” My job is to proclaim, share, read God’s Word and to teach. God will convict, reveal, seal, etc. As an educator, I must be faithful to my job, pointing students to Jesus, sharing God’s Word, loving them, showing them my faith when I am faced by trials, and sharing how God has faithfully revealed himself, loved and provided for me.
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I would keep it as simple as always referring back to God’s Word and expanding upon faith, telling my students that all truths are found here. We should be able to recognize evil, and as long as we trust in the Lord, we can know that His word is true. If we go back to the meaning of philosophy (Love of Wisdom), and recognize that wisdom comes from God, then we can trust in His Word as a believer. As an educator, I would refer to the Bible and discuss the heart, the mind, and foolishness of this world. I would give examples of how our feelings can deceive us. Sometimes just because something feels good, doesn’t mean it is good for us. Sometimes what we want isn’t what is right and can lead to more destruction down the road. I would share with my students that if we want to acknowledge, serve, and trust God, we can’t let the things of this world distract us from His truth. They need to know that they will face many “giants” in this world that will try to tell them “this or that” is okay, but they must always refer back to God’s truth and test their feelings against the Word. If it is a situation where a student is struggling with a worldly belief, I would also pray with them after discussing these things & sharing scripture.
I might refer to verses such as:
Proverbs 28:26: “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
Proverbs 13:20: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
Romans 1:28: “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”
Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
1 Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
