You may have heard this illustration before but I thought I would share it since it fits in with this week's sermon. Think of the difference between pre-modernism, modernism, and post-modernism as three umpires and the ways they call balls and strikes.
The Pre-Modern Umpire - "I call's 'em as they are." This reflects a belief in objective standards and an objective reality. A ball is a ball and a strike is a strike.
The Modern Umpire - "I call's 'em as a sees 'em." This reflects a scientific worldview where reality is defined by what can be proven or verified by empirical observation.
The Post-Modern Umpire - "They ain't nuthin till I call's 'em." This reflects a subjective worldview where we create our own definition of reality.
Good analogy - I never heard that before. I just finihsed Wisdom Hunter, by the way, and hope you don't mind me linking to your review.
Posted by: Dianne | September 06, 2004 at 10:44 AM
The "modern umpire" comes off best in the comparison. There's no reason he can't believe in an objective reality not dependant on the way he sees it, but unlike the first he doesn't think he always gets it right, and unlike the last he knows there's a right call apart from what he thinks and honestly tries to figure out what it is.
Not sure if you should read this as an endorsement of modernity.
Posted by: Aaron Armitage | September 06, 2004 at 10:53 AM