Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age

by Brian J. Walsh and J. Richard Middleton

Book Overview

Voted one of Christianity Today's 1996 Books of the Year

The carnivalesque, pluralistic culture in hich we live can be seen as a consequence of the breakdown of modernity (which touted itself as the "greatest show on earth"), combined with a recognition of the socially constructed character of reality.

Since the old construction has been discredited and is in a process of decomposition, the season is open on the construction...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830818561
• ISBN13: 9780830818563
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

What is truth?

To a certain extent, the title says it all. The truth is stranger than it used to be. Who would have ever guessed that there would be a book that takes both the postmodern intellectual paradigm and the evangelical sense of the Bible seriously? And yet, here it is. Perhaps this is a testament to both the resilency of the Bible in the face of even the most monumental of paradigm shifts in cultural and intellectual history, as well as an admission on the other hand that postmodernity is 'here to stay', and the differing intellectual pieces that make up postmodernism must be addressed, not ignored.Authors Middleton and Walsh ask in the first chapter four key questions, that they put in context of the controversy over honouring the discovery of Columbus in 1992. Whereas in the not-too-distant America, the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the New World would have been heralded as an historical success, in the growing postmodernity sensibility, the varying interpretations of Columbus (the destruction of Native America, the original intention of colonialism and resource exploitation, the fact that others had in fact 'discovered' America first, etc.) made sure than no particular view held sway. This was new -- we no longer knew who we were. Who are we? Where are we? What's wrong? What's the remedy? These are the key questions, and in typical postmodern fashion, they are deceptively simple in construction, and nearly impossible to answer completely.Whereas modernity saw society as always in progress, a sense of continuing evolution toward the better, postmodernity saw the failures of this -- empires fall and don't always lead to better situations; science cannot in fact answer all questions and solve all problems; reason and intelligence and individuality are not the unqualified 'goods' that the Enlightenment made them out to be. But not only is our worldview different, but how reality is constructed and deconstructed is different (can there be a book on postmodernism that does not reference Derrida? If there were, would it be worth anything?). The self becomes de-centered, and objective history and society gives way to narrative -- Middleton and Walsh reference Alistair MacIntyre's significant work 'After Virtue', which, while far from being a postmodern book, anticipates much of postmodernism's interest in recovering useful aspects of the ancient and pre-modern. One of the concerns of postmodernism in relation to narrative is the distrust of the universalising and totalising nature of metanarratives, i.e., making all things fit into one story, usually told one way.The authors an interlude serving as a bridge between the two primary sections of the text, here to examine a few crucial points, one of which being an obvious problem -- if postmodernism is suspicious of metanarrative, how can Christianity and its attendant scriptures have any real authority, being one of the greater and more powerful metanarratives in human history?Middl

A good start on postmodernism

Walsh and Middleton, famed for their work on The Transforming Vision, have continued in their endeavor to wrestle with Christian faith in light of our present culture. By starting off with an excellent overview of how we came to be in the state we now know as "postmodernity", Walsh and Middleton write a scathing attack on modernity. The reader becomes relived when we can appreciate that in fact there are many good things to which we may bid farewell in modernity. The concept of the autonomous, objective self is replaced by cultural and worldview lenses. Here is where Walsh and Middleton are strongest and where this is in many ways a continuation of The Transforming Vision - they employ the concept of the "Wordview" to show that Christianity is also one among many worldviews. How this worldview is enacted in culture is the second part of the book. Ultimately, it is not just a "view" but a perspective that is told through stories - narratives. The Christian story is a narrative through which we continue to live out. This is where the more dubious idea of the "biblical metanarrative" is described in the book. Postmodernity is precisely a rejection of ANY metanarrative, particularly the modern metanarrative of the objective, autonomous human who can manipulate nature and know truth objectively. And it is a metanarrative that has often co-opted Christian faith over the past few hundred years. While Walsh and Middleton acknowledge that this is true, they nonetheless make a case that the best way to express the Christian faith is to live out the biblical metanarrative of the faith in our culture. I find their argument that a maetanarrative can be proclamed as normative to not be entirely convincing. They argue that by its nature of being an inclusive, non-human centred narrative that it can appeal to the postmodern mind. I do not see how this is going to be convincing as a normative claim. With that said, it is one of the better books to wrestle with the philosophies of our age. And I applaud them for it.

The good old days were not that good

I loved reading this book. It begins with a review of modernity, and explains how it is based on "the progress myth." Essentially the notion that science will win out. It accepts the pitfals of this position and then develops the postmodern response. The authors then point out that postmodernity is also based on a flawed myth. Orthodox christianity is developed as an alternative- based on a true myth. Much better than a call to return to the good old days.

Good Summary of the postmodern question

Middleton & Walsh give a good summary of modernity and the shift in thinking to postmodernity. While they emphasize that modernity is definitely on the way out, they question whether postmodernity has really developed enough to be considered a new philosophical base. Postmodernity has been an effective tool in challenging many of the short-comings of modernity, but it has not provided an answer to the questions raised. Instead, postmodernity has begun the process of moving to a new philosphical base. In the second half of the book they try to provide a Christian perspective on the answers to the questions postmodernity has raised. I felt that Middleton & Walsh did a good job in the first half of the book (summarizing and presenting the weakness in modernity and postmodernity), but their answer to the questions raised in the second half of the book good use some improvement. Indeed, answering these questions is a challenge to Christianity. This is a great book and a very helpful book for Christians in understanding the issues. I do highly recommend it, but it fell short of receiving a five rating for me because of the weaknesses in the second half of the book

excellent

From among the recent flood of books on Postmodernism from evangelical authors on the topic of Postmodernism, 'truth is stranger than it used to be' this is clearly my faourite. Most writers write on postmodernism 'from the outside looking in', full of fear and anxiety of what the PM era holds. Walsh and Middleton however understand, correctly in my opinion, that fearful rejection is not an option, and instead they explore how people who want to live by Biblical truth can carry out an inspiring witness in the new era. In doing so they treat Postmodernism on its own terms and do so fairly. Christians wanting to come to grips with life in the Postmodern era will find this book most helpful, indeed more helpful than many other books on the same issue.