Amazing Grace played on a Musical Saw

Who's Afraid of Postmodernism by James K. A. Smith was a Christmas gift. (I think it probably says something about me that this is the sort of book I receive as a gift for Christmas.) The subtitle paints an amusing picture: Taking Derrida, Lyotard and Foucault to Church--imagine those three guys in a church...I just can't do it.

Smith's thesis in the book is that it is possible to be believe in both postmodernism and Christian theology. It's an odd thesis. At one level, it is perfectly trite--there is nothing in the Nicene Creed, for example, which is contradicted by postmodern thought. So, at one level, the obvious answer to Smith is, "Well, of course one can be both."

But, the more intriguing experiment is imagining what a postmodern scholar would make of the book. I think they would barely recognize their thoughts in Smith's descriptions of postmodern thought. Smith does his best to tame the whole enterprise--but, postmodern scholars have a reputation for being intellectual nihilists for a reason. I suspect that the average postmodern scholar would simply scoff at Smith's attempts to show that what they believe is really a natural entry point to Christan theology.

On the other side, sure a Christian can be a postmodernist, but why would anyone want to be? Smith never gets around to explaining why I should junk my old modernist beliefs in things like Truth and Reason.

Now, the book is good for the most part. Each chapter starts in a very silly way with a plot summary of some movie which is theoretically going to help illuminate the chapter, but which really should just be skipped altogether. However, the argument is somewhat interesting and Smith does a great job of avoiding all the standard jargon in describing postmodernists.

But, his view of a great church service at the very end of the book is an example of my living nightmare of church--lots of video screens and U2 songs and "surrealist stained glass" and the "scent of good Sumatran (fair-trade) coffee" and a "jazz combo" including a guy playing a "musical saw" (no, I am not making this up) and theater in the round (literally, there will be dramatic reenactments of Bible stories in the middle of the audience, which sits in concentric circles--around a communion table, so I am not sure where the actors do their play, but then again, there are those video screens all over the place, so maybe you aren't supposed to be watching the actors anyway), and readings from a wide array of inspirational works (e.g., the Bible (obviously) and Anne Sexton and "one of the congregation's gifted poets")--it is like some sort of Postmodern Hell with the gospel preached in the midst of it.

In the end, this is the sort of book which is akin to something Paul talked about: "The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Now I am fairly certain after reading this book that Smith's motives are true, so the middle clause would need to be rewritten as "whether from absurd postmodern viewpoints or sensible modernist ones."