Similarities Between Postmodernism and Presuppositional Apologetics - Convincing Proof Podcast

10 months ago
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It may be surprising to hear that postmodernism and presuppositionalism could be similar. Postmodernism is a philosophy that, among other things, is very committed to the idea that truth is relative in some sense. Presuppositionalism is the idea that we should start doing apologetics by assuming (or presupposing) that God exists and the Bible is His Word. So, how could these two ideas be related? Both postmodernism and presuppositionalism were overreactions to philosophical modernism. Both movements tended to downplay the importance of using reason in forming our beliefs and instead focused on other means, such as our inner feelings (postmodernism) or blind faith (presuppositionalism). James K. A. Smith is an example of a presuppositionalist who has recognized and even promoted this connection.

Resources mentioned:
Adam's Philosophy Class, explaining the roots of modernism and postmodernism:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTEkXbr4qlVMKIVGtsvM1ODMffPh8Hgfr

Paper "Created to Know" about the epistemologies of Francis Schaeffer and Michael Polanyi:
https://convincingproof.org/created-to-know/

Video explaining how God used reason in the Bible:
https://youtu.be/8EUzE15gQ6c

James K. A. Smith, "Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?" Book
https://www.amazon.com/Afraid-Postmodernism-Church-Postmodern-Culture-ebook/dp/B00B8540TI/

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0:00 The Term "Christian Worldview"
4:24 Christians Influenced by Wrong Thinking
7:55 What Is Presuppositionalism?
12:59 Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?
16:29 Both Movements Overreacted to Modernism
20:34 How Modernism Crashed and Burned
29:02 Both Movements Look Down on Reason
37:14 Mistakes of Presuppositionalism
44:38 We Have No Choice But to Begin with Reason
50:54 Is the Bible Presuppositional?
54:31 Francis Schaeffer Would Not Agree with James K. A. Smith

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