The Way it Was
Teenagers in 1936
Several years ago in preparing for the sale of my parents’ home, I came across the first edition of The Brady Bugle. This was the student newspaper of the defunct Brady High School. This March 1936 issue was entitled the Senior Edition. Dad had an article in it, thus his retention of this heirloom. You will see a great contrast between the concerns and wit of teenagers [I am sure they were not called such in 1936!] then and teenagers now. You will enjoy this but it should also give you great concern. By reading The Brady Bugle, I think you will begin to understand what a godless, violent, family shattered, self-centered, sensate culture has done to 21st century young people over a 70 year period.
Knarr’s View on Activities
By James Knarr
A majority of the students of this high school will never continue their education in college, so why should we spend all our time in preparation for college courses? In my four years at school, I could not have gained more practical knowledge in such courses as home economics, manual training and bookkeeping, than to spend my time learning facts. I am not complaining about learning facts, because I realize that facts are the foundation of all education.
If my daily routine includes something I like as well as what is necessary for me, my interest in all my work would naturally be stimulated. Is there a student among us who will not have to perform the ordinary tasks around the home? It is true we can learn those things from experience, but experience is a dear school. I believe it would be an advantage to each student to know those these simple principles rather that to learn them for himself by trial and error method. Our daily life would be made happier by application of these courses and undesirable home conditions aided. Courses of appreciation, such as Art, are necessary if we are to enjoy the more beautiful things of life.
What we do in school does determine our future lives. It often brings out in us some talent that might otherwise never materialize. If our daily activity is increased by extra curriculum we would have a better chance in finding something that would appeal to us. There courses should be optional as it would not pay to force such studies on those who do not are for them, though these are people who may need them most. Study of manual training and home economics should be included in B.H.S.
Tall Story Reveals All
By Clarence Kriner
I suppose you folks would wonder how I came to be a large pepper manufacturer, at which I am now a rich man. A friend and I went into the north of Alaska for a camping trip in the dead of winter. Imagine camping in the winter! We did not take enough supplies along, but that was not unusual. This time we forgot the pepper, the same of which I am very fond. It was a bitterly cold morning. I arose to kindle the fire. I lit the fire and, to hurry it, I poured some kerosene on it. The kerosene hastened the fire up so much that the flame shot up the chimney. I ran out to see if there could be any harm done and to my surprise, the afire had frozen as it come out. That was just the thing! We took the frozen fire down, ground it up, and sold it for pepper. Believe it or not!
Etiquette
By Ruth Bennett
Don’t be a Goop! Know your manners. Which of your friends have the best manners? What pleases you most in their manners? Come manners to remember.
Conversation or gossip – Do not monopolize conversation, either with an older person or with people of your own age. Remember that conversation is an interchange of thought and ideas not a monologue. Courtesy demands an interest in others. If you don all the talking it is a ding that your interest centers on yourself.
Having a guest – Always rise to greet a guest, and, after seeing that he is comfortably seated, turn the conversation of interest to him. If you are a girl and your caller is a boy, who has a tendency to stay late, it is not discourteous to tell him that your parents prefer your caller should not stay after ten o’clock.
Dress – Girls, as well as boys, should be inconspicuously dressed at all times. The simple rule is not so simple as it seems, nor is it as easy to follow. Smartness is in simplicity. Consult your physique or figure, before choosing clothes. Heavy figures do not look their best in tight clothes. Complexion should determine the colors you wear and they should be harmonized and be limited. To be becomingly dressed, you should consult your mirror rather than the fashion books for many details, for dress is an individual matter.
This is the type of good manners we want – the kind that will make others more comfortable or happy.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Living in the World
Brian Wells and David Vitter
These two names are associated with two of the more interesting stories of the week in summer heat where our minds are creaking from the on-going arguments over the war in Iraq. Two separate lives, one a nondescript Pizza delivery man, the other a powerful U.S. Senator from Louisiana.
You remember Wells. He robbed a bank in Erie. He was caught and cuffed. He claimed he had a bomb strapped to him and police noticed a metal device around his neck during the arrest. The police backed off retreating behind squad cars with weapons drawn. The astounding thing was Well’s demeanor through this. He spoke in non-excited tones about the bomb that was going to go off. The bomb detonated and Wells died.
The case was inexplicable. Why would a bank robber kill himself? How did he get a bomb built and fastened to his neck? Things didn’t add up. The public got a glimpse that this was really a homicide when six months later the FBI released documents that were a series of instructions to disarm the bomb requiring a scavenger type hunt for clues! So, now foul play was clearly in view, but the case became even more bizarre.
This week Wells re-emerged in the news with the report that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong would be arrested for the pizza man’s death. Ms. Diehl-Armstrong was already in prison for the homicide of James Roden. Three weeks after the Wells affair, her former fiancé, William Rothstein, called PA State Police and reported that Roden’s body was in his freezer. Ms. Diehl-Armstrong asked him to help her dispose of the body. It turns out that four men associated with Ms. Diehl-Armstrong have mysteriously died, including a friend of Wells who also worked at Mama Mia’s Pizza.
David Vitter shows up as one who was on the phone/client list of the DC Madam. A Roman Catholic who is a lector in his church, Vitter’s indiscretion(s) immediately hit the press. And, why not, he was an unspoken proponent of family values. While there are a myriad of definitions of “family values” it seems quite clear they do not include cavorting with prostitutes under any definition. The “H” word is prominent in the coverage of this matter. Hypocrite is a favorite definition applied to moral conservative Christians who fall into sin. This makes sense since a liberal Democrat whose “sexual mores” are matters of choice, not standards, cannot be a hypocrite. So, now Vitter is better known for being a “John” than a US Senator.
So, there you have it. Two men in the news, one a victim of a bombing through what appears to be a rarity, a female serial killer. It first appeared he blew himself up, which turned out not to be as it seems. Wells knew the explosion was coming; and everyone could see the bomb. The other has blown himself up by acting in a way not comporting to his outward appearance. When the senator did what he did in the company of the “call girl”, I am sure he did not see an explosion coming. But, both explosions were inevitable because of sin.
Muggeridge is credited with saying that the one Christian principle that can be empirically shown ever day is the total depravity of man. Here it is in spades. Brian Wells was nothing more than a human pawn in the mind of a depraved killer(s). David Vitter was a victim of his own sinful and depraved heart and desires. If Vitter is the Christian he claims, Paul outlines his plight well in Chapter 7 of Romans. Jesus Christ has broken the power of sin for His. But, any of us, Christian or not, is capable of death dealing sin at any time. Living in the world we are subject to Satan, sin and our flesh everyday. If you doubt this, watch the news tonight.
Brian Wells and David Vitter
These two names are associated with two of the more interesting stories of the week in summer heat where our minds are creaking from the on-going arguments over the war in Iraq. Two separate lives, one a nondescript Pizza delivery man, the other a powerful U.S. Senator from Louisiana.
You remember Wells. He robbed a bank in Erie. He was caught and cuffed. He claimed he had a bomb strapped to him and police noticed a metal device around his neck during the arrest. The police backed off retreating behind squad cars with weapons drawn. The astounding thing was Well’s demeanor through this. He spoke in non-excited tones about the bomb that was going to go off. The bomb detonated and Wells died.
The case was inexplicable. Why would a bank robber kill himself? How did he get a bomb built and fastened to his neck? Things didn’t add up. The public got a glimpse that this was really a homicide when six months later the FBI released documents that were a series of instructions to disarm the bomb requiring a scavenger type hunt for clues! So, now foul play was clearly in view, but the case became even more bizarre.
This week Wells re-emerged in the news with the report that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong would be arrested for the pizza man’s death. Ms. Diehl-Armstrong was already in prison for the homicide of James Roden. Three weeks after the Wells affair, her former fiancé, William Rothstein, called PA State Police and reported that Roden’s body was in his freezer. Ms. Diehl-Armstrong asked him to help her dispose of the body. It turns out that four men associated with Ms. Diehl-Armstrong have mysteriously died, including a friend of Wells who also worked at Mama Mia’s Pizza.
David Vitter shows up as one who was on the phone/client list of the DC Madam. A Roman Catholic who is a lector in his church, Vitter’s indiscretion(s) immediately hit the press. And, why not, he was an unspoken proponent of family values. While there are a myriad of definitions of “family values” it seems quite clear they do not include cavorting with prostitutes under any definition. The “H” word is prominent in the coverage of this matter. Hypocrite is a favorite definition applied to moral conservative Christians who fall into sin. This makes sense since a liberal Democrat whose “sexual mores” are matters of choice, not standards, cannot be a hypocrite. So, now Vitter is better known for being a “John” than a US Senator.
So, there you have it. Two men in the news, one a victim of a bombing through what appears to be a rarity, a female serial killer. It first appeared he blew himself up, which turned out not to be as it seems. Wells knew the explosion was coming; and everyone could see the bomb. The other has blown himself up by acting in a way not comporting to his outward appearance. When the senator did what he did in the company of the “call girl”, I am sure he did not see an explosion coming. But, both explosions were inevitable because of sin.
Muggeridge is credited with saying that the one Christian principle that can be empirically shown ever day is the total depravity of man. Here it is in spades. Brian Wells was nothing more than a human pawn in the mind of a depraved killer(s). David Vitter was a victim of his own sinful and depraved heart and desires. If Vitter is the Christian he claims, Paul outlines his plight well in Chapter 7 of Romans. Jesus Christ has broken the power of sin for His. But, any of us, Christian or not, is capable of death dealing sin at any time. Living in the world we are subject to Satan, sin and our flesh everyday. If you doubt this, watch the news tonight.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Church and State
Peace in the city
I never thought in my lifetime I would be in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a tough city. Although there has been only one bombing incident since the accords of peace were signed in 1998, the symptoms of the “troubles” are everywhere. Fences toped with barbed wire still separate Protestant and Catholic blue collar neighborhoods. Murals are painted on buildings commemorating green and orange “heroes” and evidencing the deep seeded animosity, even hatred that still exists. Neighborhoods are marked with flags of their particular cause. And, in Protestant neighborhoods wood is being gathered for the annual march and bon fire of the Order of the Orange on 12 July which is the celebration of the Williamite army of Wm. of Orange’s victory over the Jacobite army of James II at the Boyne River in Ireland.
So, while there is peace at the moment, always fomenting below the surface is the distrust and rejection of the religion of the other side. The government is run by a coalition of Protestants and Roman Catholics. But both sides express unhappiness that they have to share power with hoodlums and criminals of the opposition. When you ask the man on the street if the peace with hold they reply, “I hope so.” There exists a stability that is uncertain and uneasy. It is a peace that passes understanding.
But, more astounding for me was the opportunity to worship God in Belfast on a. Sunday in a Reformed Presbyterian Church that has been in existence at the same location for 150 years. A church where the roof was blown off by an IRA bomb blast in the 1990s! The congregation went on worshipping in their building without a roof until it could be replaced. What a rich experience to worship with Covenanters who have stood for what they believed in a hostile environment for all these years. To hear the Psalms sung without accompaniment, RPC fashion, in Gaelic tones and accents is a rare treat. And, the pastor preached on Phil 4:6: “be anxious about no thing.” This message preached in a city that displays anxiousness aplenty.
Not many years ago, there was doubt that peace, even the fragile peace of today, would come to Northern Ireland. We should take heart at what has happened there. While the political parties in No. Ireland surely remain sectarian, I seems for the present they recognize that the government must provide peaceful existence for both Roman Catholic and Protestant alike. One can more fully appreciate the concept of separation of church and state. Paul instructs Timothy that prayer must be offered on behalf of kings and those in high places “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” [1 Tim 2:2].
So, we must pray for the governing authorities in No. Ireland. May they provide the peace and quiet that permits folks to worship God…be they Protestant or Catholic. Pray for the maintenance of a peace that will allow a godly and dignified life to be lived by all. It may take generations for the flags and painted murals to disappear and the fences to come down. But, by the Grace of God this will finally occur and the battle for the hearts and minds of the people will be fought with weapons of truth and life and not weapons of death.
Peace in the city
I never thought in my lifetime I would be in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a tough city. Although there has been only one bombing incident since the accords of peace were signed in 1998, the symptoms of the “troubles” are everywhere. Fences toped with barbed wire still separate Protestant and Catholic blue collar neighborhoods. Murals are painted on buildings commemorating green and orange “heroes” and evidencing the deep seeded animosity, even hatred that still exists. Neighborhoods are marked with flags of their particular cause. And, in Protestant neighborhoods wood is being gathered for the annual march and bon fire of the Order of the Orange on 12 July which is the celebration of the Williamite army of Wm. of Orange’s victory over the Jacobite army of James II at the Boyne River in Ireland.
So, while there is peace at the moment, always fomenting below the surface is the distrust and rejection of the religion of the other side. The government is run by a coalition of Protestants and Roman Catholics. But both sides express unhappiness that they have to share power with hoodlums and criminals of the opposition. When you ask the man on the street if the peace with hold they reply, “I hope so.” There exists a stability that is uncertain and uneasy. It is a peace that passes understanding.
But, more astounding for me was the opportunity to worship God in Belfast on a. Sunday in a Reformed Presbyterian Church that has been in existence at the same location for 150 years. A church where the roof was blown off by an IRA bomb blast in the 1990s! The congregation went on worshipping in their building without a roof until it could be replaced. What a rich experience to worship with Covenanters who have stood for what they believed in a hostile environment for all these years. To hear the Psalms sung without accompaniment, RPC fashion, in Gaelic tones and accents is a rare treat. And, the pastor preached on Phil 4:6: “be anxious about no thing.” This message preached in a city that displays anxiousness aplenty.
Not many years ago, there was doubt that peace, even the fragile peace of today, would come to Northern Ireland. We should take heart at what has happened there. While the political parties in No. Ireland surely remain sectarian, I seems for the present they recognize that the government must provide peaceful existence for both Roman Catholic and Protestant alike. One can more fully appreciate the concept of separation of church and state. Paul instructs Timothy that prayer must be offered on behalf of kings and those in high places “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” [1 Tim 2:2].
So, we must pray for the governing authorities in No. Ireland. May they provide the peace and quiet that permits folks to worship God…be they Protestant or Catholic. Pray for the maintenance of a peace that will allow a godly and dignified life to be lived by all. It may take generations for the flags and painted murals to disappear and the fences to come down. But, by the Grace of God this will finally occur and the battle for the hearts and minds of the people will be fought with weapons of truth and life and not weapons of death.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
May/June Issue of SGM Magazine
The May/June 2007 issue of SGM Magazine is on the newstand now. It contains an article on the English Reformation under Elizabeth I which will be the first in a series of articles on the Reformation in England, Scotland and Ireland. Also, there is an article on the Post-Modern Man...Joe; why we should not be surprised at the emergence of such men today and why they too need a savior. Finally, two book reviews highlight two books for serious summer reading: Whatever Hapened to Truth? and A Secular Faith.
If you haven't picked up or received your copy of this latest issue, contact us. Happy reading!
The May/June 2007 issue of SGM Magazine is on the newstand now. It contains an article on the English Reformation under Elizabeth I which will be the first in a series of articles on the Reformation in England, Scotland and Ireland. Also, there is an article on the Post-Modern Man...Joe; why we should not be surprised at the emergence of such men today and why they too need a savior. Finally, two book reviews highlight two books for serious summer reading: Whatever Hapened to Truth? and A Secular Faith.
If you haven't picked up or received your copy of this latest issue, contact us. Happy reading!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Postmodernism
…and Truth
In his essay, “Truth, Contemporary Philosophy and the Postmodern Turn”, philosopher JP Moreland has this to say about the relationship of truth and postmodernism:
As a philosophical standpoint, postmodernism is primarily a reinterpretation of what knowledge is what counts as knowledge. More broadly, it represents a form of cultural relativism about such things as reality, truth, reason, value, linguistic meaning, the self, and other notions. On a postmodernist view, there is no such thing as objective reality, truth, value, reason, and so forth. All these are social constructions, creations of linguistic practices, and as such are relative not to individuals, but to social groups that share a narrative.
To Moreland and many others this denigration of truth is the key problem with postmodernism. This is a major problem for Christians who believe the truth can be known in Christ, for He is the way, truth and life (John 14:6). The Gospel is not a social construct but it is God’s good news. It is a story for all people for all times. It is not relative to a certain time or place.
Truth is not created by people it is discovered and truth is not dependent on belief to be true. This is why postmoderns reject the correspondence view of truth [a proposition is true when it corresponds to reality]. When truth is constructed in the postmodern sense, how can it exist independently of those who construct it? Truth is not dependent on integrating it into an individual belief system and as such, it not a creation of believers. Objective truth exists whether you, I or JP Moreland believes it.
There is more than a little disingenuousness in the postmodern position on truth. Esther Meek, Professor of Philosophy at Geneva College in her book Longing to Know, is extremely critical of the irresponsibility of failing to recognize objective truth:
It is not responsible to deny objective truth and reality in knowing; it is irresponsible. It is not responsible to make the human knower or community of knowers the arbiters of a private truth and reality; it is irresponsible.
The postmodern view of truth fosters irresponsibility and makes our individual decisions irrelevant to the overall good of humanity. Why? Because we are responsible for constructing our own truth for our own space and time and there is no reality or truth that binds us all together as humans created in God’s image. We are not responsible to and for each other. There is only self-seeking in a culture of private truths. There is an absence of loving one another and your neighbor. There is no imperative to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.
Postmodernism and truth is a challenge to Christians today. Truth is exclusive in and through Jesus Christ not a choice by or construct of individuals or communities. It requires courage and resolve to defend the truth in today’s cultural climate. But, it must be done or the Gospel is lost in a sea of relative truths. The Gospel is the only hope for all mankind. Moreland calls postmodernism “intellectual pacifism” in its treatment of truth. We must take Paul’s advice and put on the full armor of God and boldly proclaim the Truth of the Gospel [Eph. 6: 10-20].
…and Truth
In his essay, “Truth, Contemporary Philosophy and the Postmodern Turn”, philosopher JP Moreland has this to say about the relationship of truth and postmodernism:
As a philosophical standpoint, postmodernism is primarily a reinterpretation of what knowledge is what counts as knowledge. More broadly, it represents a form of cultural relativism about such things as reality, truth, reason, value, linguistic meaning, the self, and other notions. On a postmodernist view, there is no such thing as objective reality, truth, value, reason, and so forth. All these are social constructions, creations of linguistic practices, and as such are relative not to individuals, but to social groups that share a narrative.
To Moreland and many others this denigration of truth is the key problem with postmodernism. This is a major problem for Christians who believe the truth can be known in Christ, for He is the way, truth and life (John 14:6). The Gospel is not a social construct but it is God’s good news. It is a story for all people for all times. It is not relative to a certain time or place.
Truth is not created by people it is discovered and truth is not dependent on belief to be true. This is why postmoderns reject the correspondence view of truth [a proposition is true when it corresponds to reality]. When truth is constructed in the postmodern sense, how can it exist independently of those who construct it? Truth is not dependent on integrating it into an individual belief system and as such, it not a creation of believers. Objective truth exists whether you, I or JP Moreland believes it.
There is more than a little disingenuousness in the postmodern position on truth. Esther Meek, Professor of Philosophy at Geneva College in her book Longing to Know, is extremely critical of the irresponsibility of failing to recognize objective truth:
It is not responsible to deny objective truth and reality in knowing; it is irresponsible. It is not responsible to make the human knower or community of knowers the arbiters of a private truth and reality; it is irresponsible.
The postmodern view of truth fosters irresponsibility and makes our individual decisions irrelevant to the overall good of humanity. Why? Because we are responsible for constructing our own truth for our own space and time and there is no reality or truth that binds us all together as humans created in God’s image. We are not responsible to and for each other. There is only self-seeking in a culture of private truths. There is an absence of loving one another and your neighbor. There is no imperative to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.
Postmodernism and truth is a challenge to Christians today. Truth is exclusive in and through Jesus Christ not a choice by or construct of individuals or communities. It requires courage and resolve to defend the truth in today’s cultural climate. But, it must be done or the Gospel is lost in a sea of relative truths. The Gospel is the only hope for all mankind. Moreland calls postmodernism “intellectual pacifism” in its treatment of truth. We must take Paul’s advice and put on the full armor of God and boldly proclaim the Truth of the Gospel [Eph. 6: 10-20].
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Postmodernism
Mo and Pomo…the Christian Response
There is a sense in which this entire Mo/Pomo discussion is irrelevant to Christians. After all, these movements are of men and have no affect of the Biblical God. God is in control of history and His story is about His covenant faithfulness to Israel and the Church. This story of God is not part of the world rather the world and man in it are part of God’s story. Without God there would be no world. And, of course, there is the rub. Mo and Pomo careen thorough God’s world as if He did not exist, or is at best an irrelevance. There is no concern of God’s creation, providence and redemption in Mo and Pomo. They are, after all, social movements of man.
But, as Christians we must seek to understand where man is, or at least where he thinks he is in history. We can only be effective witnesses of God’s grace and glory if we know the audience. So here in Pomo, how does one proclaim Truth in its propositional and personal dimensions where there are many truths? To begin with, at least Christianity merits a hearing in Pomo. It matters not that it is reasonable and foundationally revelatory. With no universal position as in Mo [reason] all truth claims are open for business. Christianity is relevant once again. But, there is a caveat. The Truth of Christianity can be true but it may be true for one but not another. All truths are true because they are believed, not because they are true. Truth in Pomo is a personal preference, no more no less.
Here, Pomo is vulnerable. To allow that all preferences are true because someone believes it leads to moral irresponsibility. How does a Pomo deal with a Hitler or Stalin or Pol Pot? Together they killed millions because they thought it was right to do so. It was their personal truth. As one who has practiced law for 35 years, it is hard to conceive of justice without discerning truth. I have a revelation: Not everyone who testifies to the truth tells the truth! A life, a society, a world cannot be long sustained without standards or judgment that separate truth from error, truth from tyranny.
Pomo through its spokesmen malign truth and allow that it is merely a tool of repression. But, one must ask, how can they say that? Where is the standard used by them to make such a judgment? They smuggle their principles in the back door. Pomo fails to answer one simple question. Is Pomo true? If it is, why? If it is not, why do we believe it? Pomo affirms what it actually claims it is not…a system of truth preferable to all others.
Pomo gives the Christian a chance to do what Mo did not allow. Mo relegated Christianity to proving Truth by reason alone. Pomo on the other hand grants a hearing to the Truth of Christianity without any limits. There is a dangerous tendency, however, for an accommodation to Pomo as there was to Mo. Those styled as “reformist evangelicals” and the “emerging church movement” tend to be relativistic in Truth claims and without boundaries of belief. Is this not adapting Pomo to the church? One must ask whether the Christian is affecting the culture or the culture is infecting the Christian. The Christian must not miss the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel as Truth both in belief and living, teaching others to be hearers and doers of the Word. The culture, be it Mo or Pomo, must not be shown that the Gospel is intelligible or the best preference available, but that the world and individual lives are not intelligible without the Truth of the Gospel.
Mo and Pomo…the Christian Response
There is a sense in which this entire Mo/Pomo discussion is irrelevant to Christians. After all, these movements are of men and have no affect of the Biblical God. God is in control of history and His story is about His covenant faithfulness to Israel and the Church. This story of God is not part of the world rather the world and man in it are part of God’s story. Without God there would be no world. And, of course, there is the rub. Mo and Pomo careen thorough God’s world as if He did not exist, or is at best an irrelevance. There is no concern of God’s creation, providence and redemption in Mo and Pomo. They are, after all, social movements of man.
But, as Christians we must seek to understand where man is, or at least where he thinks he is in history. We can only be effective witnesses of God’s grace and glory if we know the audience. So here in Pomo, how does one proclaim Truth in its propositional and personal dimensions where there are many truths? To begin with, at least Christianity merits a hearing in Pomo. It matters not that it is reasonable and foundationally revelatory. With no universal position as in Mo [reason] all truth claims are open for business. Christianity is relevant once again. But, there is a caveat. The Truth of Christianity can be true but it may be true for one but not another. All truths are true because they are believed, not because they are true. Truth in Pomo is a personal preference, no more no less.
Here, Pomo is vulnerable. To allow that all preferences are true because someone believes it leads to moral irresponsibility. How does a Pomo deal with a Hitler or Stalin or Pol Pot? Together they killed millions because they thought it was right to do so. It was their personal truth. As one who has practiced law for 35 years, it is hard to conceive of justice without discerning truth. I have a revelation: Not everyone who testifies to the truth tells the truth! A life, a society, a world cannot be long sustained without standards or judgment that separate truth from error, truth from tyranny.
Pomo through its spokesmen malign truth and allow that it is merely a tool of repression. But, one must ask, how can they say that? Where is the standard used by them to make such a judgment? They smuggle their principles in the back door. Pomo fails to answer one simple question. Is Pomo true? If it is, why? If it is not, why do we believe it? Pomo affirms what it actually claims it is not…a system of truth preferable to all others.
Pomo gives the Christian a chance to do what Mo did not allow. Mo relegated Christianity to proving Truth by reason alone. Pomo on the other hand grants a hearing to the Truth of Christianity without any limits. There is a dangerous tendency, however, for an accommodation to Pomo as there was to Mo. Those styled as “reformist evangelicals” and the “emerging church movement” tend to be relativistic in Truth claims and without boundaries of belief. Is this not adapting Pomo to the church? One must ask whether the Christian is affecting the culture or the culture is infecting the Christian. The Christian must not miss the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel as Truth both in belief and living, teaching others to be hearers and doers of the Word. The culture, be it Mo or Pomo, must not be shown that the Gospel is intelligible or the best preference available, but that the world and individual lives are not intelligible without the Truth of the Gospel.
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