The Intrinsic Error of the Post-modern "Whatever"

I do not claim to be the first person to conceive of this error in post-modern practice. However, I do claim that I came to the realization on my own, and therefore will share it with any reader.

Post-modern philosophy (coming out of France through the likes of Derrida, Lyotard, & Foucault) has led to a cultural mentality of "Whatever." That is, "Whatever you want to do, do it." While at the same time the cultural mentality tells us "Just don't press your beliefs on others. People are free to believe whatever they want to believe. Don't try and convince them otherwise."

Thus it is that the Christian faith has come under quite some fire from the post-modern culture. The Christian faith makes claims such as "Jesus is the only way to salvation," and "Jesus is the only true source of Truth because he is the Truth." Post-modern culture does not like to hear this because it is not a worldview of "Whatever" but rather what the world calls a worldview of exclusiveness. (Which, by the way, makes no sense, since Jesus invited the entire world to come to him. That alone sounds rather inclusive.)

Now, here is where post-modern practical philosophy begins to undermine itself. It is a philosophy of "Whatever" and "Don't press your ideas onto other people," but if Christians begin to press there morals and beliefs (which are Jesus' morals and teachings) upon others, post-modern philosophy turns on Christians and says, "No, you can't do that. You need to believe what we believe, and that is to leave people alone in their individualism."

Thus it is that post-modern philosophy (which professes individual living and thinking) presses itself upon Christians, trying to make Christians part of the post-modern cultural community (which is not individualism at all). So, post-modern philosophy both pushes itself on a group of people and desires them to be part of an inclusive community.

Take that.