Truth and the New Kind of Christian [eBook]

The Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church

The latest clarion call in the never-ending cavalcade of “what’snew” in the evangelical world is the confident assertion from somequarters that the church needs to embrace “postmodernism” if it isgoing to engage postmoderns effectively. Pastors trying to breakdown the often indigestible subject matter of postmodernism intobite-size chunks in order to equip their people to engage it, andteachers who are aiming at giving their students a workingknowledge of the way postmodernism is impacting the church willfind a good deal of help from Smith.
–J. Ligon Duncan III, Senior Minister, FirstPresbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi

Scott Smith and I agree on a lot. We share a deep commitment toJesus Christ, a love of the Bible, and a passion for the church. Wealso agree that we’re currently living in a liminal time, and it’sthose “boundary times” when people look most closely at the beliefsthat underlie their practices. So, we’ve all got some things tofigure out right now, including what we can really know and thecertainty with which we can state our claims in a pluralisticsociety. I appreciate Scott’s voice in this conversation. He is acareful reader of my work, and he writes with a gracious andgenerous tone. Interlocutors like Scott will be a helpful challengeto all of us in the “emerging church.” I consider him a friendlycritic and a brother in Christ.
–Tony Jones, author of Postmodern YouthMinistry and National Director, Emergent

Scott Smith is uniquely suited to enter the Emergentconversation with this helpful volume. Not only is he an analyticphilosopher with a razor-sharp mind who has specialized inanalyzing postmodernistic views on the relationship betweenlanguage and the world, but he is also a man who cares for thelost, loves the church, and has an ability to communicate complextruths to people in the pew.
–Justin Taylor, Executive Editor, Desiring God

Every leader in the new Emergent Movement will want to read thisfascinating book. They simply will not find a more engaging,knowledgeable, balanced, and kind treatment of their concerns,ideas, and practices.
–Craig J. Hazen, Professor of ComparativeReligion, Biola University

Scott Smith’s study challenges us to take seriously the truthclaim of the gospel both in how we proclaim it in words and in howwe manifest it in our personal and community lives.
–Gary Inrig, Senior Pastor, Trinity Church,Redlands, California

“The latest clarion call in the never-ending cavalcade of “what’s new” in the evangelical world is the confident assertion from some quarters that the church needs to embrace “postmodernism” if it is going to engage postmoderns effectively. Pastors trying to break down the often indigestible subject matter of postmodernism into bite-size chunks in order to equip their people to engage it, and teachers who are aiming at giving their students a working knowledge of the way postmodernism is impacting the church will find a good deal of help from Smith.”
—J. Ligon Duncan III, Chancellor and John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi

“Scott Smith and I agree on a lot. We share a deep commitment to Jesus Christ, a love of the Bible, and a passion for the church. We also agree that we’re currently living in a liminal time, and it’s those “boundary times” when people look most closely at the beliefs that underlie their practices. So, we’ve all got some things to figure out right now, including what we can really know and the certainty with which we can state our claims in a pluralistic society. I appreciate Scott’s voice in this conversation. He is a careful reader of my work, and he writes with a gracious and generous tone. Interlocutors like Scott will be a helpful challenge to all of us in the ’emerging church.’ I consider him a friendly critic and a brother in Christ.”
—Tony Jones, Author of Postmodern Youth Ministry and National Director, Emergent

“Scott Smith is uniquely suited to enter the Emergent conversation with this helpful volume. Not only is he an analytic philosopher with a razor-sharp mind who has specialized in analyzing postmodernistic views on the relationship between language and the world, but he is also a man who cares for the lost, loves the church, and has an ability to communicate complex truths to people in the pew.”
—Justin Taylor, blogger, Between Two Worlds

“Every leader in the new Emergent Movement will want to read this fascinating book. They simply will not find a more engaging, knowledgeable, balanced, and kind treatment of their concerns, ideas, and practices.”
—Craig J. Hazen, Professor of Comparative Religion, Biola University

“Scott Smith’s study challenges us to take seriously the truth claim of the gospel both in how we proclaim it in words and in how we manifest it in our personal and community lives.”
—Gary Inrig, Senior Pastor, Trinity Church, Redlands, California