©2005, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 339 pages in hardback.

How do we Christians reach the postmodern world with the Gospel?  In this thought-provoking work, the author delves into the origins of postmodernism and explores tactics that evangelical churches have used to minister to these people.

Wells begins by exploring the contributing factors of Enlightenment thought and modernization that  produced an environment where God could easily be dismissed.  Goals of freedom and prosperity could be pursued and attained by man on his own terms.

The postmodern generation has seen its dream of joy and fulfillment end in failure and emptiness.  Meaning in life is non-existent.  Truth is a vapor.  Nothing matters.

In their search for answers, many have turned to spirituality.  The author provides an excellent analysis of this and, insightfully, points out that spirituality is not to be equated with Christianity.  In spirituality man retains control.  He picks and chooses from various beliefs that, to him, can be most relevant for the moment. Man remains his own god. He sees no need to search for the true God.

Desiring to reach postmoderns, the evangelical church has frequently tossed aside its own distinctiveness.  In a society filled with image-oriented marketing techniques, the church has soft-pedaled the gospel of redemption and highlighted the provision of answers for peoples’ felt needs.  Therapeutic teaching has replaced theological truths as the answer for modern man.

Wells pulls back layers of postmodern ideology that have ensnared believers and unbelievers–the absence of objective truth, the lack of personal responsibility, and the fragmentation of relationships.  He repeatedly shows that Christianity, properly understood, provides the only answers for the basic problems of the postmodern world.

Humanity’s main problem is soteriological   The evangelical church must return to a dependence on Him, Who is above all earthly powers, and proclaim the inerrant truth of a  Gospel, applicable to all areas of life, to this and future generations.

Wells correctly points out that ultimate meaning is not found in meeting felt needs each week but in proclaiming a resurrected Christ, the Lord of creation, sinful man’s Redeemer, who gives meaning to all of life.  In doing this we point to objective truth that is outside of man.

Evangelicals, in their zeal, have replaced the God-centered message with a man-centered one.  In doing so they have become like the liberals of last century, although for different reasons.  A number of pages are devoted to open theism, a teaching which allows man to be his own god.  In essence, this is no different from postmodern thinking.

Christians will be challenged to confront the culture with the Gospel in a loving but uncompromising manner.  I was refreshed time and again by the clear presentation of basic elements of Christianity.  The atonement, the resurrection, the Trinity, and objective truth are non-negotiable aspects to be communicated to postmodern people.

This work is God-centered throughout.  Man and God are put in their proper places.  Wells reminds readers that man, dead in his sins, does not seek God.  Ultimately, God sovereignly seeks out man, raising the dead to life, through Gospel application.

This volume is highly recommended as an educational and encouraging read.  Wells has done his homework.  He includes a wealth of information in his analysis.  His book needs to be in church libraries.  Church officers, as well as laymen,  who want to better understand postmodernism and the unique and essential worldview of Christianity can profitably read this volume.

Review ©2007 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia