College Faith

#55: Engaging Postmodernism On Your Campus (Or In Your Church)
In this edition we are discussing a very prevalent philosophy on university campuses today (as well as in many churches): Postmodernism. My guest is Dr. Scott Smith, Professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. Scott has written quite a few articles and well-received books on this topic and often speaks on postmodernism and its implications in churches, at conferences, and on podcasts like this one.
In this podcast we discuss:
- What postmodernism is, and how it developed out of modernity
- Why the theory of nominalism (the belief that there is no reality beyond the words we use for things) is the foundation of postmodernism
- Why Scott is so interested in this issue as a Christian
- Examples of where students will encounter postmodern thought
- Concerns about the rise in “expressive individualism”
- What we can learn from postmodern thought
- What we must reject in postmodern thought
- A practical suggestion for how to converse with someone who embraces postmodernism
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
- Scott Smith, Truth and the New Kind of Christian: The Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church
- Scott Smith, Authentically Emergent: In Search of a Truly Progressive Christianity
- Scott Smith, Exposing the Roots of Constructivism: Nominalism and the Ontology of Knowledge
- Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution
- Carl R. Trueman, Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution
- Douglas Groothuis, Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism
- Scott Smith’s Website:
- The Dangers of Nominalism
- Making Sense of Morality: Problems with Naturalism
- Podcast discussing Scott’s book Exposing the Roots of Constructivism