Who would have suspected ten years ago that which we are facing now in our society? Our country is accelerating at unprecedented speeds toward necessary changes to merge with other nations to establish a New World Order for the coming “Man of Sin” and for Satan’s final kingdom to face God and His Son. The “Day of Man” is coming to its prime vision in history. Any sense of innocence and simplicity in the former natural life of human existence in America is becoming but a dim memory. All of humanity is being forced to accept new concepts of thought—a new language, a new economy, a new approach to education, and a new concept of government—that is intelligently molding a new America and world. It is evident that God’s will is permitting man to have his free season of unrestrained disobedience; this willfulness will finally lead to a global confrontation with Christ before heaven ultimately sets up its righteous kingdom on earth.
This issue of Straightway will first consider the “powers that be” and then conclude with a needed view of Post-Fundamentalism. A fourfold view of our contemporary will necessitate understanding post-modernism, post-America, post-religion, and post-Fundamentalism.
Postmodernism: The Present-day Movement
Postmodernism is often defined in today’s literature in terms of modernism or modernity. Simply declared, postmodernism is thinking “after modernism” or after the “age of reason.” Yet because of its bold denial of language and definitiveness, there is confusion about whether it is a concept or a practice. Perhaps the reason for the inability to define its “principles” or forms and concepts is that it is very fluid in its movement. Postmodernism truly is an ideological defiance and abhorrence of absolutes, principles, and standards; it aggressively discards these words in order to embrace non-reason. It seeks to make the irrational rational, the insane sane, the illogical logical, the ugly beautiful, the heretical truth, the immoral moral, and the abnormal normal.
While there are many terms associated with postmodernism, no single, definitive philosophical term seems adequate. Postmodernism is the belief or concept that metaphysical views of absolutes and eternal principles have failed humanity; it believes that the Enlightenment’s hope of reason (the concept of “modern”) has also failed mankind; it even concludes that the former approaches to the economy and government in the context of modernization have all become futile in hopes to assist mankind. Therefore, contemporary thinking has embraced the absurd and insane as a viable belief system. Postmodernism forcefully declares that all accepted concepts and presuppositions of the past are futile and worthless; ironically, it even casts away all language and terminology used to define mankind’s beliefs in history.
Postmodernism tries very hard to reject a description of itself as embodying any set of timeless ideals. It is an ever-changing philosophy existing only for the “now” and the “present”; it is not viewed as any other time period, past or future. It despises history; it despises the future; it despises facts, knowledge, and anything that makes life and belief concrete and perpetual. It insists on being recognized only as a set of viewpoints embraced at a given moment of time and only justified by the circumstances at that moment.
Because postmodernism is only a new form for the older philosophy called existentialism, it defies any established terminology to define or describe it. Postmodernism can be found in every area of literature, academic disciplines, and the cultural topics of a people, including art, music, architecture, advertising, photography, and cinematography, to name a few.
While the modernists assailed the validity and surety of science and the scientific method as objective and unbiased, the postmodernists argue that their truth is true only to those who share a dedication to use that particular version of scientific expression and terminology. In this context the postmodernists are strong in the concept of “constructivism.”
Constructivism is a main underlying learning theory for postmodern education. It is the belief that knowledge is invented or constructed in the mind. In a simpler word, the ideas and concepts that teachers teach and students learn are not “reality” but merely human constructions. Postmodernists do not believe that knowledge is discovered; knowledge simply arises from the mind of an individual. Therefore, all reality does not exist objectively outside the mind; reality is merely in the mind of those who perceive it. The postmodernist concludes that no one’s version of reality can therefore lay claim to having more objectivity and authority than another’s.
This view of knowledge has serious implications. It means that all knowledge is based on relativism and is somewhat pragmatic. To the postmodernist, knowledge can never be objective; no one person’s knowledge is necessarily true, for everything is changing. Thus, whatever is taught in school can never be viewed as “classic” education; even math is always changing or is simply deduced from the perspective of the individual performing the math problem. There is no absolute answer; it is a matter of the individual mind and how it perceives the problem. This postmodern concept is behind the Common Core curriculum of our federal government; there is a shift away from a teacher-centered classroom to a more student-centered environment. Certainly this is related philosophically to the progressivism of John Dewey. Much of postmodern education is based on Dewey’s perspective.
How does all of this fall into the present distress in which we find ourselves? How does this control the present United States of America or even the present distress of religion and that of Fundamentalism?
Post-America: Present America
One of the original presidential promises given by the present administration was that a radical change would come during its administration. Though other candidates had made similar prom-ises, little did we know the “radical” meaning behind this promise in 2008. Obama declared that he was to bring about a “Post-America” that would literally bring to naught the former America, destroying and denouncing its birth and greatness. He believed that all of the concepts of the Constitution were founded in the minds of those who colonized America; therefore, although the ideas of certain men molded this country, now others had to influence today’s America. This belief in the “colonization of minds” is a characteristic of American education; and according to postmodernism this concept must be abolished, for there can be no colonization of the mind for everyone. Whenever the dominant culture asks other minorities to do what they do, to speak using classroom English, to solve math problems, or to view history and science the dominant culture’s way, or to have the same concepts of morality, music, religion, etc., they have acted in the old colonial ways. Therefore, this “colonization” must end and “radical” (root) changes must come to America.
What does this mean in a postmodern America? This would demand that the country now pursue great diversity of values, tastes, morals, etc. The suppressed and oppressed subcultures in our society must now be given the right to express themselves unhindered by law and discrimination. There must come an equality through postmodern ideology, an equality which means equal in terms of power relationships within the government and the right of expressive voice. A tolerance and freedom must also come to such downtrodden people.
This term tolerance has been changed to mean that such people are never to be denounced, criticized, or oppressed. There must now be the freedom for cultures, lifestyles, and heretofore suppressed underground communities to be free to live, do, and say what they want, with no negative words declared against them. Such people must be given the opportunity for creativity in constructing knowledge concerning themselves and defending their values; their diverse viewpoints are to be encouraged. There is also the importance of the affirming of emotions of such individuals, so this will promote the need of self-esteem. Such emotions are never to be challenged, including their hatred or selfish jealousy; this is true both in the classroom and in the adult world of those who loot and destroy property because of their anger. Such individuals would be “disabled” if a teacher’s or a policeman’s mind reality was imposed upon them.
From this perspective the child or the adult creates his own knowledge, and thus there is no objective knowledge to learn. Any concept of a “classic” education must be destroyed, and the student himself is to create knowledge and truth for himself. Thus the student must create his own solution, whether or not it is right (from the “colonization” perspective) or whether or not it makes any sense. A student or an adult must never be told that he is wrong, for this would not be helpful to the individual; it would produce inhibitions and warp his personality. This concept is even to be taken into the areas of science and social studies, for all the knowledge that has been taught in Western civilization has been taught from a colonization perspective, and thus the present teachers have no right to declare that this is the only knowledge or right way. The postmodernists imply that the past claims to knowledge are never neutral but are representative of some institute of a power relationship between ones who say they know the truth and the ones whom they impose the truth upon.
Curriculum, according to the postmodernists, should not be organized into definite subject matter or disciplines that are separated by boundaries of what others say is right or wrong. It should be made fluid and flexible to provide for all personal and group identities, for all lifestyles, social, political, and economic ideologies. Therefore, other civilizations and cultures must be equally taught in the schools of America, including Islam. Old thinking (such as “colonial” Christian principles) must now be thrown out to welcome other contemporary diversities. This is what the present government seeks to bring all of society to—there is no right or wrong, there is no truth or error, there is no terminology of law. This is why political men can break the law, defy the established law, set their own laws contrary to the very Constitution of a country; for in their thinking this is not wrong. The concept of law only exists in what they believe to be so in their mind.
Postmodernists attempt to undefine and unidentify all previous knowledge which they believe was given by subjective minds to control a minority of people. Ironically, the ideologies and “knowledge” coming from the minds of the contemporary are likewise to control a society and bring dissidents under the political correctness of the present rulers. Thus, the concept has not changed but simply comes from other men: to overthrow the control of one political group in order to be controlled by another political group.
Post-America: The Present Distress
We may wonder where the leadership of “statesmen” of former days can be found in America—men and women of absolute principles, men of integrity and righteous character? Where are the men who once stood for America’s Constitution, its founding principles, and the preservation of its integrity and legacy? Where are those who were given to truth, to justice, and to the American way? Such men are not only few and far between but also hated, maligned, beaten down, and intimidated with the rhetoric of postmodernism—homophobic, Islamophobic, racist, Christian, narrow-minded, anti-feminist, etc. It is evident the world is not looking for men and women of character to rule; they seek those who are deeply immoral, anti-God in their words and perspectives, given to lying and deception, and capable of manipulating the truth to make evil look good. These are the men and women who lead the nation today; they are postmodernist in their belief, and to them truth is only a relative term for the whim of the moment.
God has given our country over to such leaders for its destruction. There is no country in the world now that has plunged into the depth of debauchery of sin and immorality as is so flagrantly promoted here in America. Even the Devil knows how immorality will destroy a nation, for he influenced Israel through the Midianites to be taken by the way of Balaam. The Devil knows that God Himself will judge the nation that was once given to righteousness. The Devil knows God will withdraw His presence of security away from even this nation if it turns to iniquity. We have come to such an hour, for God has given us over to a “reprobate mind,” where insanity has become sane.
The language of absolutes no longer exists in these United States. The biblical language of what a Christian is has been expanded by the postmodern Christianity to include sodomites, Mormons, and even Muslims. There is no line of demarcation drawn. The language of marriage, gender, morals, abortion, family, father, mother, “one flesh,” etc. have been forced into concepts of contradiction to their historical view. Marxism, socialism, communism, fascism, nihilism, etc. have all become terms so nebulous and without negative meaning in postmodern conversation that it is fruitless to even use the terms in warning of the decisions being made politically. Similarly, the postmodernist’s destruction of an absolute definition for words such as national deficit, bankruptcy, or takeovers has made these terms meaningless in the public political discussions of our day.
Yes, everything of the past mindset must go; we are being forced to believe that the illogical, the immoral, the absurd, the irrational, the insane, the abnormal must now be given a chance to work, believing it may work. Postmodern experimentalists do not care about the results, the product, and the destruction (to say nothing of the judgment of God) that history has proved time and time again will come upon such a nation. The postmodernists believe we can beat the odds; we can gamble away the lives of men and women, boys and girls, and come out differently than what the past has established.
Conclusion
Our days are truly numbered as a nation; perhaps we only have some twelve months before everything changes to the new order for America. Our country, which at one time was the greatest militarily, has been unilaterally depleted of its military power by executive order. Our debt is the greatest of any nation in human history by executive order. Our land has become prime real estate for the economic purchasing by other countries through executive order. Our leaders have bowed to the powers of Islam by executive order. Our national autonomy has been given over to the United Nations by executive order. A country designated as a “Christian” nation of the past has now been denounced by executive order. The fastest growing language in America is now Arabic by executive order; the Islamic religion is the fastest growing religion in America by executive order; eighty percent of all the tens of thousands of mosques in America have come into existence since 9/11 by executive order. The Islamic population of America is being imported from the Islamic countries by executive order; the Islamic demographics will reach over forty percent in our nation by 2025, and perhaps even sooner by executive order. Potentially, electromagnetic-pulse weapons (EMPs) being prepared by Russia, Iran, and North Korea could disrupt and destroy all forms of a country’s electrical infrastructure; such an attack would plunge the USA into chaos as food, water, and basic services grind to a screeching halt for at least two years. For these concerns the passivity of our current administration declares executive permission and assistance. The massive flood of immigrants in the past twelve months and the hundreds of thousands to come in the next few months from Islamic nations are being strategically placed around the country to resolve the electoral votes which will make null and void any populous vote by executive order. This next election year may do away with the Constitution and perhaps bring a subtly declared dictator to America by executive order. The courts of the land have lost their ability to rule righteously by executive order. The Christian concept of belief has become an enemy to the state and the term Christian connoted with terrorist according to executive order.
Nevertheless, to the true End-time Christian, rising higher than all of the words of “executive orders” or present earthly powers, there still stands The Word of God, which will only permit the “powers that be” to do what is part of God’s plan. Second Timothy 3:9 clearly declares that “they shall proceed no further.” We must remember that Antichrist is still yet to come:
It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear (Rev. 13:7–9).
Dear Reader, we are in the prelude generation that is to lead to the coming of Antichrist, a generation that is preparing the earth for His coming. Postmodernism is the absurd mindset that is now bringing utter chaos and insanity to the very forefront of global humanity. To such forerunners of the Man of Sin, the concreteness of history will have to be destroyed, both its memory and its influence, in order to bring about the acceptance of the chaos of iniquity in its full power. To such men’s thinking, out of the chaos will come their kosmos, their world “order.”
May God help us in these perilous and troublous times. As world leaders prepare and eagerly wait for the Man of Sin to make his unveiling, may we as God’s people anticipate the unveiling of the “Son of Man,” yea, the “Son of God,” at His Second Coming.