Reading chapter 4 of the book A New Kind of Christian, finally read something I haven’t already heard about. At the beginning it wasn’t promising; it talks about how technology and economic changes took the world from medieval times to modern, and how current technology and economic change will be doing the same (in which I still have some reservation on this) But what got me thinking is this, while talking about those great grand looking cathedrals in Europe:
Ironically, the very stone buildings that expressed the belief that their medieval version of Christiandom would last forever now mock that belief because today, when we visit them in Europe, they seem to us like museums – or mausoleums. They tell a story of a world that is over
When I was in London and Paris early last year, visiting some of the Cathedrals, I did have trouble understanding what all this is about. I remember thinking, no doubt Christians back then spent all kinds of resources and effort to building something great for God. But what about now, with hardly any Christians in there, so all Europeans have moved out of medieval world already. What about other parts of the world, like Peru I visited a couple months ago, where majority is Catholic, are they still in medieval mindset? or have they moved on to something different, not quite modern or post-modern, because it’s still a developing/border-line 3rd world country? I have also visited a few Mega churches in the states, and I remember thinking if those big grand buildings will become like Cathedrals in Europe in the future, a reminder of the old age called Modern. (I actually don’t think so, because it’s so multi-purpose, it will just be converted into something else)
Most of your peers live in a different world from you. They have already crossed the line into the postmodern world. But few of you have. Why? Because you want to be faithful to the Christian upbringing you have received, which is so thoroughly enmeshed with modernity.
So is this what churches are doing now, trying to have as many people as possible, to keep coming to church, trying to keep them in the Modern world mindset? Is this why many people feeling uncomfortable in church. And what exactly am I, Modern? Post-modern? Somewhere in between? I think it’s ok to stay with whatever I’m right now, but if I were to have children in the future, they will most likely be postmodern, how will I be dealing with that? A friend of mine has always been saying that he will let me take his kids to church (He himself doesn’t go to church) But now I think I better tell him that, in addition to the teaching of Christ and being a follower of Christ, children might be taught in a modern mindset, which could be incompatible with the rest of their peers, i.e. in a postmodern mindset. –KC
