I Hear "Postmodern" A Lot...So What is MODERNISM?

Modernism as an era in human history, especially in Western society, marks a period characterized by confidence in reason, natural law, and secular humanism. The mood of the modern period was an optimism that humanity was progressing in its discovery of absolute truth and working toward human solutions to the world's greatest problems like poverty, ignorance, war, and, for many, even religion. The period was marked by a transition from faith in Divine Revelation to reliance on human reason alone.

Some Influential Figures on the Modern Era

• René Descartes (1596-1650) -- Mathematician and philosopher who wanted to prove God's existence but started with doubt instead of faith. Beginning with human reason as his premise, he arrived at the logical conclusion: "I think, therefore I am." Descartes' legacy for future generations was his influence on the shift from faith and theocentric reasoning to doubt and humanistic reasoning.
• Copernicus (1473-1543), Galileo (1564-1642), and Kepler (1571-1630) -- Astronomers whose collective work demonstrated the errors in the traditional geocentric models that claimed the earth as the center of the universe and the revolving of all planetary bodies in perfect circular orbits around the earth. The implications of the rejection of some of traditional science led to questioning of traditional theology as well.
• Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) -- Laid the groundwork for the rise of the Historical Critical Method of studying the Bible, which does not start with the assumption of inspiration of the Scriptures but rather looks at other theories of the origin and "editing" of the text before reaching its final form. This method has dominated much of biblical scholarship for at least the last 200 years and has led to many influential "scholars" becoming increasingly skeptical of the inspiration of Scripture.  
• David Hume (1711-1776) -- Enlightenment philosopher whose work largely consisted of skepticism of religion and the rejection of any biblical or historical claims of miracles. In Hume's mind, the physical or material world was a closed system of natural laws which could not be "violated" by supernatural intervention. He saw no evidence for miracles in his time and therefore argued by analogy that they never took place. Belief in a supernatural being who tried to "suspend" those laws of nature was not rational. Hume's influence led to the rise of Deism (a belief in a Creator God who stays distant from His Creation) and eventually to an increase in Agnosticism (a claim that we can't know if God exists or not) and outright Atheism.
• John Locke (1632-1704), Voltaire (1694-1778), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Thomas Paine (1737-1809), and other Enlightenment Philosophers -- Following down Descartes' road of focus on human rationalism, the Enlightenment era questioned traditional political monarchies and their suppression of man's natural rights derived from a "natural law." They were highly influential on movement toward democracy, often through political revolutions -- most notably the American and the French. Many Enlightenment figures were also skeptical and in some cases vocally critical of any religious institutions such as the various Christian churches in the Western world. "We hold these truths to be self-evident" begins with focus on man instead of God.
• Charles Darwin (1809-1882) -- Author of The Origin of Species and founder of the Theory of Evolution, which has obviously had a profound influence on scientific thought and society in general. Maybe not his intention, but Darwin's legacy is marked by a movement in academics toward a dominance of natural science among the disciplines and emphasis on the explanation of human origins and purpose without God in the picture.   
• Karl Marx (1818-1883) -- Author of The Communist Manifesto, which heavily influenced figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and other world leaders who led revolutions in places like Russia and China in order to set up new socio-economic and political systems in which faith in anything other than secular humanism was violently suppressed.
• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) -- Philosopher who may be best known for his statement, "God is dead," claiming that humanity was killing God off by entering into a new age of "nihilism" -- a worldview that fails to find purpose or meaning in life. Although Nietzsche himself turned to nihilism, he also warned of the depths of atrocities the world was about to be plunged into with no standard of moral authority. His concept of the "Super-Man" who would exert his superiority over weaker men and establish his own moral code for humanity appears to have had a profound influence on Adolf Hitler and his assertion of the Master Aryan Race.
•  Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) -- Known as the father of psychoanalysis, his worked spanned a variety of aspects of human psychology, a notable one being the connection between the mind and sexual desire. With a pessimistic view of humanity's future in Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud saw God as an illusion out of the human desire for a supernatural reality and the suppression of violence.

If the World is Now "Post-Modern," What Happened to Modernism?

The optimism of the secular modernist spirit came crashing down through the two World Wars of the first half of the 20^th-Century. The World Wars proved that humanity was not progressing in morality and its ability to fix its problems. We were just as savage as ancient man. Our Tower of Babel of reaching the heavens through our own accomplishments and making a name for ourselves came crashing down with a thud.

Positives from the Modern Era

The Modern Era was marked by amazing scientific discoveries and technological advancements, many of which have improved the function of the world as a whole. A belief in real truth was definitely a positive. The use of human reason was not the problem. The search for absolute truth and the metanarrative of humanity was not the problem. The problem lied in arrogantly divorcing reason from revelation, distancing truth from its source, and failing to see Jesus Christ as the centerpiece in the world's metanarrative.

The Bottom Line

Absolute truth exists, and it belongs to God. He reveals the portions that we discover both through the revelation of His Word and through reason of a mind made in His image. But we should never have the arrogance to claim either to know all truth or to be able to fix all the world's problems.

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our sons forever..." (Deuteronomy 29:29)

To His Glory,
Caleb