11/3/19 - Interview with Tripp Harmon on Postmodernism

EMG radio for today's culture and timeless truths come together it's reasoned relevant content apologetics worldview and answers to the questions that you need to know from Alex McFarlane ministries. This is true for a new generation radio and now the man who preached in 50 states and 50 days speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics Dr. Alex McFarlane in the book of Romans chapter 1 it talks about time that is coming when people really can't tell right from wrong because they had so embrace sin they had so tried to redefine reality to placate their conscience and to accommodate their sin and ultimately in Romans 122 it says of a darkened sinful world. It says, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools professing themselves to become wise they actually were self deceived diluted fools hi Alex McFarlane here with trip arm in your listing to TNG radio and they were going to talk about postmodernism.

I call this the re-definitions of postmodernism and the reshaping of our world and I'll tell you why.

We've got that title here in just a moment, but I want to welcome our newest staff member treat for new generation are long time when my best friends in the ministry and now my daily colleague in the evangelistic apologetics working TNG, but our trip it's good to have you back at the mic brother and welcome to this program. Alex is always good to be here. How did you discover apologetics to me. I know you you recognize the need to reach people of different viewpoints, but from the Bible or from, you know, the authors that you and I know of as personal friends likely Strobel and Josh McDowell. How did you get into apologetics.

What I did know of the of Josh McDowell, Emily Strobel from my years as a youth leader and so I was quickly turned all of the my apologetics pursuit really started with just systematic theology I was dealing back in some systematic theology because of these different worldviews and that systematic theology component and apologetics at all, just came together and then I found out about SES and I said I gotta do it. I got ago sure will you I discovered Dr. Geisler in the footnotes of evidence that demands a verdict. This is way back in the fall of 1985 and in I remember it, I was reading evidence that demands a verdict had been a Christian, a very very short time. And of course in the footnotes you know of Josh's incredible book. There's CS Lewis and GK Chesterton and Francis Schaeffer and Chuck Colson a lot a lot of people but I kept seeing the name Norman Geisler Norm Geisler and I begin to buy his books and not for those that that don't know he just passed away this year, but he was a giant I mean, my goodness, I cannot overstate the importance of Norm Geisler to modern apologetics. And you know I would urge everybody listing to begin to build a good library of resources on how you can defend the faith but we are talking about postmodernism and trip to headlines really prompted this broadcast and what were going to talk about in the moments that follow some of the redefinitions. The redefinition of truth. The redefinition of morals really even the redefinition of God, but a couple of weeks. I was reading Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton and she's very pro-abortion and and simply ask her how do you reconcile your Christianity with your unit vehement, vehement, lifelong defense of abortion and your mother to and down. She said while she doesn't consider herself a Christian anymore and listen to this. She said, quote I left the church at age 6 witnesses Chelsea Clinton talking when I realize that the church was against abortion and first of all I thought I question how at age 6 web searches that how it age 6. Are you able to really parse out the intricate topic of abortion and in pro-life with the flannel graph Bible characters on the board in the 60s, a six euros I really question whether or not any six euros are seriously thinking about the constitutionality in the theological implications of pro-life versus pro-abortion.

But here is the thing that I want your response on trip. She said the Bible. As I read it doesn't prohibit abortion now and that's a quote she said the Bible. As I read it so let's talk about are we at liberty to quote read the Bible to see our pre-assumed biases that is the crux of it augmented the discarding MS that's one of the key.

I want to say tense, but as all of the pillars of postmodernism is that throwing out of objectivity it it's what I feel about it. It's how it you know it makes me does he give me a warm fuzzy does it get me angry. It's all about the emotion and not about truth, and of course the unapologetic argument has been around for years is we we demand objectivity in so many areas of life, but I think the enemies of one a big battle and that he is convinced a lot of folks that will you know with with God's word. You can just, take an pick and choose what you want, you know, we don't do that in other ways. You know I mean you know if if you invite someone to dinner and you say were having spaghetti but spaghetti is the way I interpret it doesn't have noodles or salt you not get for cheating husbands at those marriage vows as I understood them did not prohibit me from seeing other women had is that why feel about that yet. We gotta take a brief break. This is TNG radio tree for a new generation radio with Alex McFarlane and trip arm in staging because when we come back were going to talk about the redefinitions of postmodernism and the reshaping of our war from I am a watchman ministries. Here's today's I am a watchman minute. It is said that for every one hour that you are extremely angry. Your life is shortened by a day.

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Postmodernism redefines our understanding of truth.

Truth is not objective truth is whatever I make it up to be, but it redefines our use of language that that words don't really mean things but words mean whatever I say, then you have a great illustration of that from the news. Just this morning out of San Francisco. What you in San Francisco folks that they had a city Council meeting and then I can use the word felon because they said it unfairly stigmatizes people a convicted felon, a lawbreaker, so we don't use the word felon anymore in the upper Northwest. We say a quote justice involved person. Let me just say this. Sometimes if we make choices we do things that are illegal. We do things that are just unhealthy destructive ungodly. Maybe we need that stigma to get our attention, and cause us to as Nat King Cole used to sing, straighten up and fly right. So what you think about that you and I both have been pastors.

You and I both have been in the ministry, more than two decades.

Each I've done my share of ministry in jails and prisons and and I know you probably been to prisons to what is due when we people that have done wrong and we try to shield them from the consequences of their wrongdoing as a pastor, or even as a parent what you respond well how do you learn how you improve how you get better if if there's not consequences for actions you know you said is apparently know if you have a child who never experiences any discipline as a young child. They grow up to be a person who is sometimes out of control. These all lawmakers who seem to want to coddle breaking the law was not even call him a felon list change the words this change the definitions analyst column. I believe the term was justice involved in a person's you know if persons who are about if if you're a person involved in justice. You didn't commit a crime you know it just it's a redefinition of terms and and the folks we need to understand that and I know there are some who say well you're being an alarmist, but we need to understand when it comes to postmodernism. These things are intentional are these redefinition of terms of blurring the lines between right and wrong of morality and what God wants even to the point of of rewriting history to decide what's right and what's wrong where we been where we need to go.

These are all intentional things that are happening in our universities. It's happening now on a political level at people in government has level what will shirt. Do you know what I was talking to a music teacher and when I was growing up.

My sister played piano and and I played guitar and I still play guitar.

I loved the recitals.

I mean I would practice old man I strove and I strove till I learned my recital piece. This particular music teacher said they don't much do recitals anymore. Do you know why this is because it stresses the kids to practice and if in the in the recital.

If you mess up. It's very demoralizing is that we don't do recitals anymore. And in this thing of postmodernism and the it's it's as you know, different people like George will have said in different writers and in a Robert Bork who wrote the book years ago, slouching toward Gomorrah. There is the collective dumbing down of the cultures that lowering the bar that recital illustration is a great one.

If you do not have kids who one of the biggest part of me know.

You and I both with plates and some music in front of people on stage is one of the biggest hurdles is just your EI think a kid it's gonna be a musician even if you're not that great yet.

Go ahead and get on stage get in front of people get those kinks worked out, but you know if a kid never learned to have a bunch of kids in the future who think their great musicians who really aren't that good, and as a whole. Music of quality comes a thing when I last if you're just gonna whatever in others what I do raise children to a higher standard nest and raised bar the morality as a whole goes down, you know, I believe it was Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the politician who said in a defining deviancy down and as a country.

Now look hey I'm I'm an evangelist. Job one help people find Christ to be safe, but I'm a patriot and I love America. We are losing our greatness. We are losing our greatness.

I will say this, I've played guitar in a number of churches and your kids come up now say I want to see your guitar not unlike sure this is you, here's my guitar and I've had plenty of teens you have banged on my guitar and and they would say Dena this or that song not so sure this of this is how I play it and and I'm like yeah will. That's not how you play it. But you're right trip unless there's this object of standard and whether it's salvation and godliness, or whether it's practice an excellent postmodernism pushes back against all of the nested teen folks were going to talk about the things we've lost.

If we continue to embrace postmodernism.

What will we lose positive that a history lesson of where postmodernism came from.

So stay tuned because P&G radio back after this Alex Farland is here to bring you answers for the tough question Scripture speaks to the issues and help to develop a personal, stable and strong Christian faith and with the help of notable names like colleges and author Josh McDowell, an award-winning author and pastor emeritus of Moody church would lose her. Alex and the truth for a new generation conference is committed to packing our nation Christ and the future and to equipping you to be a difference maker. Don't miss the final TMG unashamed conference for 2019 November 15 and 16th at landmark church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Romans 116 says I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. Register now by calling 877 yes God one gets 877 yes, God, and the number one or visit truth for a new generation.com. If you're a Christian parent. You of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children, your pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church.

This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum.

The 21 toughest questions your kids will ask about Christianity. I interviewed hundreds of children ages 5 to 12 and we address actual questions from actual children.

The spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids the book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 toughest questions your kids will ask the book study guide and video series. You'll find it@afastore.net that AFA store.net in the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism. Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to the truth for a new generation radio where back if truth for new generation and were talking today. Postmodernism forced Dr. out with Colin and I am trip Harmon and talking about out your palms would come back the stability postmodern history list. Well, yet there's a British historian and a in Wilson and he is great historian and I don't know if he's Christian or not, but he is well-documented how Europe was changed as Darwin published on the origin of species.

In 1859.

Wilson wrote a book called God's funeral and it basically goes back a little ways here after the Reformation in 1517, Luther preach the gospel in Europe was swept with Christianity and and praise God for that. But out of that very same Germany came liberalism, and there was a man named Friedrich Schleiermacher who critique the Bible, slime, or was it a minister's son but he basically died a pantheist he believed everything is God yeah and so he wrote some books in the late 1700s that critique the Bible. The Bible is not the word of God today I would say this though, Schleiermacher would be more conservative than most liberal pastors today. Even though Schleiermacher was the Colin, the father of German liberalism while his rejection of the word of God influenced people like Charles Lyal while wrote a book in the early 1800s, principles of geology that really I rejected Noah and the flood and God is the creator. Then Charles Lyal influenced Charles Darwin and Darwin published on the origin of species by the end of the 19th century the beginning of the 20th century as early as 18 in the 1870s, we see a phrase call post modernism.

Now, the phrase really came into the by 1915 1920 but postmodernism says there is no ultimate truth. We make our own truth.

Words don't have objective meaning words mean whatever we want them to me now. In 1914. Listen to this. Folks there was a philosophical quarterly, inhibit journal amending JM Thompson use the phrase postmodernism and and it was basically a philosophy crafted as a critique of religion now hang with me. Folks listen to this, JM Thompson, 1914, speaking of postmodernism. He says the resin Detra of postmodernism is to escape from the double mindedness of modernism.

End of quote numb modernism says look everything is black and white. There's right and there's wrong. There's true and there's false. There's true revealed religion. That's Judaism and Christianity religion is not the speculation of man at the revelation of God. There's truth and error.

There's God there's Satan there's morality, there's immorality. See the double mindedness and by the way, it is a binary world. There's dark, there's light, you know there's there's marriage, there's singleness, you've got to understand folks here in the 21st century, when I've debated at universities or people email me if I write an article or if I appear on the media they'll it's very hip nowadays to slam people that are binary. See you believe in male and female network transgender that was it.

But postmodernism doesn't want the world to be binary God and Satan saved or lost. No, no, it's whatever I wanted to be a everything is very fluid that nothing is black-and-white. Nothing is concrete.

Everything is in flux and so postmodernism award that's been around for roughly 130 years. It was once the plaything of the unbelieving philosophers but now it's the worldview of street-level America is an absolutely and it is crafty and even into the churches you know when our education system doesn't push objectivity when our students study history and and and study literature and asked him how do you feel about this. What would you have written. If you would've been there and we have pastors teaching the Bible like that on your way home from church on a Sunday, you know your your your partner not what did God's word to me.

What does God want what does God deserve I how does this you relationship with her with the one true living God.

Work stayed there thinking about how do I feel about what will hate when he said I was in a publishing meeting a few years ago and you know one of my books is because stand courtroom for an unshakable faith so a major publisher was looking at that book, but they wanted to use the stand content in a Sunday school curriculum that would go throughout the country. Well, my book stand is very true false black-and-white you Christ is born of a virgin Christ is deity, so the editor said here's what I want I want send school classes to discuss how did Mary feel the first time she saw the baby Jesus giggled again this is that lowering the bar that emotional softness is when it comes down to you know this is not about us, it's about God is not about how I feel about anything.

It's free.

He's done everything for his glory and his how do I fit into his plan for bringing glory to him.

And so what I think Mary might've thought when the first time she saw Jesus giggled so what. So I doubt we will meet her in heaven that she's gonna mention it wants Dena what part of the reason that the church in America right now is unraveling and every major denomination has plateaued or is declining is because we have deviated from the word of God were not teaching Scripture memorization and let me say folks read Matthew 721 through 24.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord Jesus is. I never knew you look there's saved there's lost, there's true. There's fines and with postmodernism. We have a loss of our moral compass, a loss of rational thought, a loss of social structure, a loss of our national history and even in the church as we succumb to the assumptions of postmodernism. There's there's going to be the loss of the gospel, but most tragically, the loss of many souls is a trip we have to have the courage and frankly the discipline to be vigilant for truth absolutely and and knowing that will be in the minority, even even among some churches, a lot of churches will be in the minority on this has been truth for new generation of discussion of postmodernism. Please let us know what you think or email us@alexmcfarlane.com. I can also find this@truthforanewgeneration.com would love to get your questions in your comments. Thank you much. TMG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland ministry, PO Box 10231 is Burrell, NC 27404.

That's PO Box 10231, Greensboro, NC 27404 Collis at 877 yes God one that's 877 yes, God, and the number one or give online@alexmcfarland.com while you're there, listen the program archives. Read Alex's blog invite Alex to speak at your event or contact Alex with a question or comment, Alex McFarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time is we bring you more true for a new generation fund TMG radio