# Book Recommendations -- Postmodernism



## Tripel (May 8, 2014)

I'm looking for some book recommendations on Postmodernism. Please share, and also (if you don't mind) please briefly state what you like about the book! 

Thanks!


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## reaganmarsh (May 8, 2014)

This isn't a book (only a booklet) but it provides a quick survey & response: www.chapellibrary.org/files/2213/7643/3314/post.pdf

It's a start!


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## CharlieJ (May 8, 2014)

Hi, Daniel. I might be able to offer a better recommendation if I knew a few more things, such as your primary disciplinary interest, previous level of exposure, etc. 

In lieu of that, I'll make a general recommendation: Postmodernism by Kevin Hart Postmodernism: A Beginner's Guide (Beginners Guide (Oneworld)): Kevin Hart: 9781851683383: Amazon.com: Books

One thing I like about Hart's book is that it recognizes that postmodernism has played out differently both geographically and by academic field. I think Hart gives a good topography. He also addresses religion toward the end of the book, which I think is better than ignoring completely or having it dominate the conversation. 

If you want to read a postmodernist, I think Michel Foucault is one of the more readable and useful: _The Order of Things_ is probably the work that most established him as a philosopher. If you're into politics and science, one highly interesting work on postmodernism by a postmodernist is _The Postmodern Condition_ by Lyotard. If literary theory is your thing, You can try reading Derrida, but you'll have to like playing games with language.


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## RamistThomist (May 8, 2014)

Michael Horton intelligently interacts with it throughout his Covenant series.


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## RamistThomist (May 8, 2014)

CharlieJ said:


> Hi, Daniel. I might be able to offer a better recommendation if I knew a few more things, such as your primary disciplinary interest, previous level of exposure, etc.
> 
> In lieu of that, I'll make a general recommendation: Postmodernism by Kevin Hart Postmodernism: A Beginner's Guide (Beginners Guide (Oneworld)): Kevin Hart: 9781851683383: Amazon.com: Books
> 
> ...



I think I am about five pages into On Grammatology.


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## Stephen L Smith (May 8, 2014)

Don Carson's "The Gagging of God" is very helpful. Perhaps it needs updating. Its strength is that it is a very thorough study of Postmodernism; it seeks to cover all the key issues at some depth Gagging of God, The: D. A. Carson: 9780310479109: Amazon.com: Books


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## Hamalas (May 8, 2014)

Would David Wells have any works that would engage with this topic?


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## Tripel (May 9, 2014)

CharlieJ said:


> Hi, Daniel. I might be able to offer a better recommendation if I knew a few more things, such as your primary disciplinary interest, previous level of exposure, etc.



Charlie,
I'm looking for material to serve two purposes: 1) I live and work among young postmoderns in Europe, and while I'd say I have a pretty good level of exposure, I'd like to have a better foundation to help guide my conversations. 2) I'd also like a good overview that I can recommend to people who are entering into this culture for the first time. Perhaps the one by Kevin Hart serves that purpose?


Thanks everyone for your help!


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## RamistThomist (May 9, 2014)

Hamalas said:


> Would David Wells have any works that would engage with this topic?



His Above All Earthly Powers deals with postmodernism, though not perfectly (it's stilll good, though). James KA Smith's Who's Afraid of Postmodernism does a fine job explaining it without the normal hysteria, but he is too soft on it and at the end of the book he has some bizarre and wacky suggestions for church life.


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## Scott1 (May 9, 2014)

We're so smart, so wise, so sophisticated in our idolatry and rationalization of it in this generation we think ourselves beyond 'modernism.'

It might be helpful to first understand 'modernism' before its successor. This is the classic work, received by both sides in its day, and still relevant today:

_Christianity and Liberalism,_ by J. Gresham Machen.

Christianity and Liberalism: J. Gresham Machen - Paperback, Book | Ligonier Ministries Store

You may find helpful, this seminar, "The Pursuit of Holiness in a Postmodern Age":
2013 Sessions


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## hammondjones (May 9, 2014)

I read A Primer on Postmodernism for seminary, and I enjoyed it. 


> Postmodernism is an emerging force in contemporary Western culture. But what is it and how should Christians proclaim the gospel to a postmodern generation? In this scholarly yet accessible overview, Grenz introduces you to thinkers such as Derrida and Foucault, and helps you understand the impact of this cultural shift on art, philosophy, literature, and the media.



It's been 2.5 years since I read it, and I still think about the ideas I read in it. Especially his Star Trek analogies (full disclosure... I am a little bit of a trekkie).


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## RamistThomist (May 9, 2014)

And Postmodernism itself is a varied monster. Most of the time when we "attack" postmodernism, we actually mean the more crude forms of deconstructionism. They overlap at points but they aren't the same thing.


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## Mathetes (May 10, 2014)

Admittedly, I don't own it (yet), but this looks interesting:

Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against The Challenges Of Postmodernism, by Douglas Groothius


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## RamistThomist (May 10, 2014)

Mathetes said:


> Admittedly, I don't own it (yet), but this looks interesting:
> 
> Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against The Challenges Of Postmodernism, by Douglas Groothius



It's a decent read. He covers the basics though I like Mike Horton's project better. Groothuis has since rejected the presuppositionalism he espoused in that novel (though I am sure he still holds to the same arguments).


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