Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 303 pages
• Published by: InterVarsity Press April 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0830822283
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0830822287
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

Product Review
Groothuis offers a fascinating and intellectually rigorous work on truth and its implications in postmodern society and personal life. -- CBA Marketplace, June 2000

Product Description
The concept of truth as absolute, objective and universal has undergone serious deterioration in recent years. No longer is it a goal for all to pursue. Rather postmodernism sees truth as inseparable from culture, psychology, race and gender. Ultimately, truth is what we make it to be.



What factors have accelerated this decay of truth? Why are people willing to embrace such a devalued concept? How does this new view compare and contrast with a Christian understanding?



While postmodernism contains some truthful insights (despite its attempt to dethrone truth), Douglas Groothuis sees its basic tenets as intellectually flawed and hostile to Christian views. In this spirited presentation of a solid, biblical and logical perspective, the author unveils how truth has come under attack and how it can be defended in the vital areas of theology, apologetics, ethics and the arts.

"Truth Decay is an impressive defense and reminder of some things evangelicals have always known but which have been recently questioned. . . . Even at those points where I disagree with Groothuis, I share his underlying concerns and convictions." C. Stephen Evans, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College



"Written with brilliance and clarity that is highly unusual among both defenders and critics of postmodernism." James W. Sire, author of The Universe Next Door



"Groothuis makes a solid, illuminating contribution to the ongoing debate among Christians about how to defend the gospel in a culture where the concept of objective truth is under siege." Philip Johnson, author of The Wedge of Truth



"Powerful, thorough and timely, Truth Decay stands squarely in the face of the Gadarene rush to the postmodern abyss. Groothuis deserves careful reading and repays it amply." Os Guinness, author of Time for Truth

Reader Reviews
This work was good but not quite as good as I was expecting having read some of Groothuis's other works. There is so much out there by the evangelical community regarding Postmodernism. Therefore, it is difficult to add any new insight into what has already been stated. However, Groothuis did add some new insight that has not been considered in quite the detail which he gave. For instance, Christian apologetics, and how the postmodern mindset effects the apologetic endeavor was covered in chapters 6 and 7 (albeit there is a fairly popular book that is devoted to this endeavor titled "Christian Apologetics in the Postmodern World" by Phillips & Okholm). Another strong point of "Truth Decay" was Groothuis's account of how postmodernism effects ethical reality. Moreover, Groothuis took a strong stand on the correspondence view of truth which I believe is unavoidable and also necessary for the overall debate of the issue of truth. "Truth Decay" is a distinctly evangelical work, which I appreciated and heartily agree. However, I could see the influences of C. F. H. Henry and Francis Schaffer coming through in much of what Groothuis purported in the area of apologetics; a method (the presuppositional) that I do not necessarily agree with in many respects. The contents of the book include an overview of modernism and the rise of postmodernism (ch. 2). Here Groothuis brings to light some information about postmodernism and clears up some confusion about "what" is labeled postmodernism when it actually is not postmodernism. This was interesting, since much of what I had read prior to this work about postmodernism did not mention these things. Chapter 4 is titled "The Truth About Truth." In this section, Groothuis discussed several views of truth, he defends the correspondence view (thank you Dr. Groothuis! ), and then he delineates the "language" of truth to which the postmodern mindset holds. Also, Groothuis discusses logic and its consistency and how this corresponds to truth (the inseparable nature of the two). One of the stronger chapters was 5. In this chapter, Groothuis discusses how postmodernism effects Christian theology. Of course, this chapter discusses language and its interpretation/propositions and the objective/subjective nature of such things. Overall, the book was well written, very informative, and I would recommend it for those who are interested in assessing postmodernism from an evangelical point of view. I wish I could have given another half a star.