A return to classical Christianity is a return to the roots of the faith, stripping away all the layers - good and bad - that have built up over the message of grace over the centuries. It peels back arguments about finer points of theology in favor of a truth presented in broader strokes. It accepts the shades of gray in matters of which we are not certain rather than straining for a black and white answer. It looks for community among Christians rather than splitting into more and more denominations. It has a passion for social issues rather than a passivity toward them. In a nutshell, Christians of the classical era, much like today's postmoderns, embraced mystery, community and and symbolism.
To the postmodern, primary truth and authentic embodiment are essential. We might also describe postmoderns as being concerned with theology and practice. The two concepts coexist in the mind of the postmodern so closely as to be inseparable. A postmodern wants not only to see the truth, but also to see it in practice. To see someone proclaiming the truth, but not putting it in practice would create a chasm the postmodern would have great trouble in crossing.
The postmodern has grown up a world in which assumption after assumption has been shattered. Thinking just in my own lifetime, there have been wars and presidential resignations. Our scientific know-how wasn't enough to prevent two disasters in the space program nor has it been able to put an end to diseases like cancer and AIDS. The very definition of a family seems to be evolving before our eyes. The standards of acceptable language in the public discourse is in a continual slide. To make a long list short, the things that we grow up believing have been challenged.
It's no wonder, then, that the postmodern wants to see the proclaimed truth backed up with authentic action.
