“The Search for a Postmodern Apologetic Starting Point”

Demographic: Born 1965-1981

Generation X is a transition generation that grew up with broken homes, the decline of the importance of religion and church attendance, a higher education rate than previous generations, and rapid advances in technology, particularly telecommunications.

Creating a strategy to reach this generation en masse’ is a very tricky endeavor. In one sense, this is a generation of paradox. They possess a sense of empowerment and independence, and yet, desire community and see the importance of healthy relationships. They value work, and are in fact hard workers, and yet, this does not define them in the same way it did for their parents as they value a more balanced work, leisure, and family life.

As consumers, Gen Xers tend to be savvier; utilizing internet sites, blogs, and product reviews to make a well informed decision before buying. Baby boomers and previous generations were loyal for a variety of reasons – habit, product reputation, and perceived lack of choices, even sentimental value of buying the same product that their parents and grandparents used. These can sway Generation X, but not as far, nor for as long. A growing body of research tells us that Xers are very likely to seek competing options after just one negative experience with a company or organization.

In a broad stroke, this generation shares a particular experience and outlook that has had a deep impact upon the American landscape. This outlook has been defined as postmodernism. A ton of ink has been spilled on this topic (both good and bad), and it’s not my desire to recapitulate those studies here. Suffice to say, Generation X and postmodernism exhibit a mood of abandonment and alienation. [1] There is a general sentiment that our families, governments, schools, and religious organizations have failed us. The modernist hope that scientific achievement and technological advancement will solve all of our problems has been proven invalid.

As a Christian man in his mid-thirties (ugh!), I am beginning to recognize how influential my cultural upbringing has been upon my thinking on such subjects as career, family, materialism, media, politics, and of course … God. When I read through the list of key factors above, I find myself checking off each box. I am Gen X, not just by birth, but to the core of my personality and experience. Broken family? Check. Suspect of authority? Check. Cynical of anyone who thinks he has the market on truth? Check. Longs for true and lasting relationships? Check.

I came to Christ, or rather was drawn to Him, not by careful examination of doctrinal facts, nor through philosophical debate, nor by witnessing a stellar role model of moral excellence, but through reading a simple story – the story of Jesus as found in the Gospel of John. I found myself in my early twenties longing for something more. I wasn ’ t sure exactly what “ it ” was that I longed for, but I knew I didn ’ t possess it. I quickly found it was not at the bottom of a bottle, nor in the bed of a pretty girl, nor in career advancement or the amassing of things. There was a God-shaped hole in my heart and only the person and work of Jesus Christ could fill it. One night I found a paperback version of the New Testament and read the Gospel of John and said, “ Okay, I believe this god-man! ” Not exactly the sort of testimony that ends up in a made for TV special, but it ’ s mine and it ’ s simple. I found myself longing for joy and satisfaction, and once I met Jesus Christ, I realized He alone could quench this thirst.

Forward ahead fifteen years and I find myself still satisfied completely in this savior. But as I ’ ve grown in my knowledge and experience of theology, philosophy, and apologetics I have not had a very successful track record in reaching the lost. I am the worship leader in a missionally minded church, and I long to see all people praising the God from whom all blessings flow. So I ’ ve recently gone back to the drawing board to rethink my missional strategy; how to present the Gospel to postmodern people. It dawned on me a couple weeks ago that I am a Gen Xer and pretty postmodern, too (even though I don ’ t like to admit it). Maybe the things that God used to draw me, could prove valuable in reaching others? But what exactly was it that He used? The answer: longing!

A postmodern generation, as Dunn writes, “ is not prone to ask questions like, ‘ Does this worldview present a true account of reality? ’ and ‘ Is this argument valid? ’ It is unmoved by traditional arguments for Christianity. ” [2] Instead – this generation gravitates towards spirituality, meaning, experience, and narrative. All of these are solidified with an apologetic of longing.

Into the Wardrobe of CS Lewis

It wasn’t until I started researching this topic that I found out that this is why I love the books of CS Lewis so much. My theologically astute brethren have always sort of scoffed at my fondness for him, because he doesn ’ t cross every “ T ” and dot every “ I ” when it comes to reformed theology. Nevertheless, I have found his use of language, logic, and connection to every day life compelling and edifying. But really it is his use of longing as an apologetic that has taken root within my soul. As a theme, it saturates all of his work, always pointing heavenward.

For example, in his novel, Till We Have Faces, look how he uses this idea so powerfully. The king ’ s beautiful daughter, Psyche, is to be sacrificed to Shadowbrute, the god of the mountain so that peace and prosperity will come to the land of Glome. Her sister, Orual, who loves Psyche deeply, comes to comfort Psyche before the sacrifice is to occur. Orual is beside herself with terror, but Psyche is calm and collected:

"I have always,” she says, “at least, ever since I can remember, had a kind of longing for death. ” “ Ah, Psyche, ” Orual replied, “ have I made you so little happy as that? ” “ No, no, no, ” she said. “ You don ’ t understand. Not that kind of longing. It was when I was happiest that I longed the most. It was on happy days when we were up there on the hills, the three of us, with the wind and sunshine where you couldn ’ t see Glome or the palace. Do you remember? The colour and the smell, and looking across at the Grey Mountain in the distance? And because it was so beautiful, it set me longing, always longing. Somewhere else there must be more of it. Everything seemed to be saying, Psyche come! But I couldn ’ t (not yet) come and I didn ’ t know where I was to come to. It almost hurt me. I felt like a bird in a cage when the other birds of its kind are flying home. The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing – to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from, my country, the place where I ought to have been born. ” [3]

Psyche ’ s deep longing is one we can all relate to. And this, I believe, has been the key to Lewis ’ impact and longevity. Lewis said, “ One feels this longing. He then tries to satisfy it by pursuing its possible objects, discovers that each of them in fact do not satisfy it, and rejects them each in turn. ” [4] This is the story of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Eventually, if you continue the search – to itch the scratch, as it were – you are brought to the conclusion that the object of this deep longing lies beyond this world. Like Psyche, you look expectantly toward a holy other for the answer.

There are some objections to this form of apologetic and Lewis answers them admirably in his work Mere Christianity. As he explains, “ Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exist. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If that is so I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country. ” [5]

I am not saying that this apologetic approach is a silver bullet for my generation, nor does it give an unbeliever the complete gospel. Nor is it a replacement for presuppositional apologetics, evidential use, or classical arguments. It is merely a starting point in the conversation. It is like the first couple pages of a book that set the stage. If those first pages are good, you naturally want to continue reading. An apologetic of longing is attractive and universally appealing, and is found in a multitude of ways in throughout the Bible.

“ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul ” (Matthew 11:28-29).

“ Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good …” (Psalm 34:8).

“ I shall not be in want … He restores my soul … I will fear no evil for you are with me … I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever ” (Psalm 23).

“ As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my pants my soul for you, O God ” (Psalm 42:1).

“ I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst ” (John 6:35).

Postmodernism is restless and longs to stop running on life ’ s never-ending treadmill. Christ brings comfort and rest for the weary soul. He is the eternal satisfier for a hungry heart.

My friend recently filmed a series of video interviews on the campus of San Diego State University dealing with Gospel Christianity. [6] One of the compelling points of data to come out of these interviews was how willing these unbelievers were to open up and discuss the topics of God, Jesus, truth, and meaning. You could tell that many of these young people were wrestling with these things, yet remain suspect of “ organized religion ” or anyone “ selling ” them their idea of truth. Most of these students are trying to put together a puzzle, but lack the box top that displays what the pieces actually form. They know they should fit together (long for them to fit together) in a meaningful way that will manifest order and beauty, but they just don ’ t know how to do it. Nothing they ’ ve tried has worked.

As we embrace our unbelieving friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family with an apologetic of longing, we are simply sharing our experience (our story) of how Jesus Christ has radically shifted our outlook, putting the puzzle of our life together. And in doing so we have found a meaningful and lasting relationship that will last for all eternity. We have found a home that will never break apart. We have found true joy that is not dependant upon temporary pleasures. We have found an authority that is completely trustworthy. In short, we are showing empathy as we tell them we were once hungry, and the Bread of Life was the only thing that satisfied.

God is sovereign and will continue to build his flock, and it seems that for my generation He is making use of this approach to draw hungry and thirsty sinners to Himself. As the Psalmist said, “ Taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8). ”

[1] Much of this analysis, especially the apologetics of CS Lewis have been informed by Peter Kreeft, and in Gregory Dunn’s article, Jack Meets Gen X: Apologetics of Longing and the Postmodern Mood, Discovery Institute, July 1998. My use of this material is more personal and far less academic. Many of these ideas are fleshed out fuller in the work of Peter Kreeft.

[2] Ibid.

[3] C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1956), 74-76.

[4] C.S. Lewis, The Pilgrim’s Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason and Romanticism (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1933), 7.

[5] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1943), 105.

[6] These will soon be available online at www.kaleochurch.com as part of the SDSU teaching series: Gospel Christianity.