{"id":314,"date":"2012-12-24T11:28:29","date_gmt":"2012-12-24T15:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/?p=314"},"modified":"2019-03-24T07:17:24","modified_gmt":"2019-03-24T11:17:24","slug":"the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Origins of an Ignorant Postmodernist"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…\u00a0 Not because of the snow or the lights, but because of the emergence of critics clamoring to cast doubt on Christ and His birth.\u00a0 In this piece<\/a> on CNN’s belief blog, Professor Parini placards some of the usual canards about the Nativity.\u00a0 He claims that it’s just a co-opting of Sol Invictus (it’s not<\/a>).\u00a0 He implies that the real historical Jesus is lost amidst a sea of speculation surrounding a few ambiguous facts (He’s not<\/a>).\u00a0 He indicates that Jesus’ teachings came from a blend of Eastern and Western philosophies (Jesus, on the other hand, seemed to think his teachings came from God).\u00a0 He suggests that Jesus would be rather surprised that 2 billion people would be celebrating his birth (Jesus seemed pretty confident that a woman who poured perfume on his head would be remembered throughout the world, so I don’t think this would have come as much of a shock to him.)\u00a0 In short, the professor acts as though Christ’s nature is really up to us to decide on–as though the historical facts of what Jesus actually said about himself have no bearing on the matter because they’re just too unclear.<\/p>\n

But this post isn’t primarily about Professor Parini–his take on the matter is old hat for postmodern academics.\u00a0 What I find most tragic and worthy of comment is the response of his father (and pastor) when, as a child, he asked about how the nativity narratives of Matthew and Luke might be reconciled.\u00a0 “It’s probably better not to ask difficult questions.\u00a0 God will, in time, provide the answers. But not now. Not in this life.”\u00a0 As Prof. Parini points out, “That didn’t satisfy me, of course. Why should it?”\u00a0 Why indeed?<\/p>\n

His father taught the inscrutability of the Gospel, and so the professor learned his father’s lesson well.\u00a0 Is it any wonder that he now treats Jesus as a quasi-mythical figure whose true nature cannot possibly be discerned?\u00a0 While it’s true enough that there are some difficult questions God hasn’t told us the answer to, reconciling Matthew and Luke shouldn’t be counted among them.\u00a0 Neither is it difficult to point out other references to Christ’s birth or to explain the significance of celebrating the Incarnation of God among us.\u00a0 If we are to accept the answers God has given us as the real answers, then we must treat them accordingly.\u00a0 When it comes to revealed historical facts, we must treat them as history as well as theology.\u00a0 This means examining evidence, understanding how the different details given by the Gospel writers are compatible, and answering critical questions.\u00a0 Because the New Testament holds up to precisely this kind of inquiry, we have no reason to fear it or avoid it.\u00a0 To shrug off critical questions in this way is nothing more than laying down faith as a moral imperative that will be quickly abandoned by those placed under it.<\/p>\n

However else we might treat Christmas, it must first and foremost be treated as a celebration of the Incarnation as a real historical event.\u00a0 For when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,\u00a0 born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those that were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons.\u00a0 The law is real.\u00a0 My sin is real.\u00a0 I do not need inspiring stories or ideas about “moving away from my ego-drenched understanding of reality.”\u00a0 I instead need a Savior who is just as real as my failings.\u00a0 Praise be to God for providing precisely that 2000 years ago in Palestine.\u00a0 There is no better reason to have a merry Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…\u00a0 Not because of the snow or the lights, but because of the emergence of critics clamoring to cast doubt on Christ and His birth.\u00a0 In this piece on CNN’s belief blog, Professor … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,25],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Origins of an Ignorant Postmodernist - The 96th Thesis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Origins of an Ignorant Postmodernist - The 96th Thesis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…\u00a0 Not because of the snow or the lights, but because of the emergence of critics clamoring to cast doubt on Christ and His birth.\u00a0 In this piece on CNN’s belief blog, Professor … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The 96th Thesis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-24T15:28:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-24T11:17:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@matt_e_cochran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@matt_e_cochran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/026b49396f19b6940e8bb4a68d94b5fa\"},\"headline\":\"The Origins of an Ignorant Postmodernist\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-24T15:28:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-24T11:17:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\"},\"wordCount\":613,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/026b49396f19b6940e8bb4a68d94b5fa\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Apologetics\",\"The Modern Church\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\",\"name\":\"The Origins of an Ignorant Postmodernist - The 96th Thesis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-24T15:28:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-24T11:17:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/the-origins-of-an-ignorant-postmodernist\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Origins of an Ignorant Postmodernist\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The 96th Thesis\",\"description\":\"The Devil Never Sleeps; 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