Postmodernism and the dilemma of an appropriate Christian paradigm for ethical descision making

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The Church is facing a dilemma in how to apply and live out its message ina postmodern world. For many in the Church an understanding andapplication of morals and ethics has become bewildering. This assignmentattempts to develop a Christian vocabulary and conceptual framework formorality.This is done by firstly elucidating the milieu out of which postmodernismarose. Modernism, through universal claims of reason and instrumentalrationality, believed in the ultimate mastery of the world. The failure of theEnlightenment project to develop universal morality and law led to a newperspective on reason and reality and new reflection on life, morality andmeaning. Thus, I reflect on' the parturition and value of postmodernismthrough offering an evaluation and critique of the ideology ofpostmodernism. Next, I propose the need for Christian ideology to be firstlyseparated from cultural interpretations so as to avoid ethnocentrism andcultural imperialism. After exploring the development and purpose ofworldviews I argue for the building of cultural bridges and for the Gospeland Biblical worldview to be suitably encoded.Finally, I posit an understanding of what postmodern ethics entails and howthen to define and respond to ethical issues. Through case studies I applythe key principles identified in the study. These are that moderation is avirtue; that many timeless truths are customary truths that arise in a specifichistorical/cultural situations; that many problems are not ethical issues butare rather a comprehension and/or a misinterpretation of the Scripturesregarding what it means to be a Christian and how we are to live ourChristian profession to mention a few. I reason and plead for a Christianethical system of incarnational engaged compassion in a postmodern world.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University