Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Biblical Truth to Postmodern Youth

Dr Leong Tien Fock's article Teaching Biblical Truth To Postmodern Youth has been published at the NECF Forum V "A Spiritual Healthcheck of the Church in Malaysia".

"Under modernity, where Biblical truth has been marginalised both in the world and (effectively) in the church, it has been “out of season” for the preaching or teaching of the Word. (Modernity refers collectively to the intellectual mood, the social and economic condition, as well as the physical environment constructed by modernisation. Since city folks are immersed in modernity, to “see” modernity one needs to contrast the environment, way-of-life and mindset in a village with that of a city. Modernity incarnates the idea that there is no God. Hence God does not feel real and the Bible seems quaint.)

Now postmodernity (a cultural trend that questions the assumptions of modernity) is making its presence felt. Will the teaching of God’s Word be “in season”? It depends. It may not be if we continue to teach the Bible based on the assumptions of modernity. But we are not suggesting that we accommodate postmodernity just to get a sympathetic hearing for the Bible. How then should we teach Biblical truth to postmodern youths? (Our basic concern is how to teach the Bible according to the nature of Biblical truth and how it is embodied in the Bible. The following discussion on “postmodern youth” and “Biblical truth” is to highlight the relevance and urgency of teaching the Bible in this “biblical” manner)."

No comments: