InterVarsity, 2006,
204 pages, $18.00,
intervarsitypress.com
Christians have been wrestling with postmodernism for decades. This book shows there’s still some wrestling to be done with this influential intellectual movement.
Downing’s book navigates the ambiguity and nuance of the postmodern movement with great care. Her work aids communicators by emphasizing the way language — both its power and poverty — shapes thought and culture.
Downing discusses her own experiences with the movement amid a wider history of the premodern, modern, and postmodern eras, arguing that postmodernism gives Christianity a seat at the table from which it was banished by modernism. Downing also addresses the challenges postmodernism presents, providing an extensive section on relativism.
While this volume’s emphasis on language may bog down some readers, Downing’s effort is commendable. Her writing is precise and witty, complementing her scholarship and passion — both for Christ as well as the postmodern movement.
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Review by: PAUL BERRY, Writer, International Bible Society, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
