Speaking of Avatars

Modernity into Post – Modernity

There are two terms being bandied about in theological circles: modernism and post-modernism. We hear that we live in a “post-modern world” which would cause many folks to ask, “What was the modern world then, if we have already entered a post-modern world?” As we try to grasp the concept of Emerging church, we need to understand these terms.

Modernism brought with it reason, optimism, universality, and objectivity. In America, it was a natural response to our collective loss of innocence during the traumas of two world wars. Modernists embraced normalcy and assimilation. We embraced science as a provable, rational way to solve our problems, as in: “There’s a pill for that.” In modernity, we embraced sameness, and encouraged our children and newcomers to “fit in” and to live and dress like the Cleavers. We celebrated being collectively white and middle class. Mystery was out; reason was in. Foreign was out, American was in. Spirituality was out, science was in.

Post-modernity, to risk an over-simplification, is essentially the antithesis of modernity. If modernity was vanilla ice cream, post-modernity is cappuccino macadamia nut frozen yogurt. Mysticism – to post moderns – is enjoying a renaissance. Traditions from other cultures and from bygone eras are embraced and adapted for Christian use. (Icons, prayer beads, Sufi wisdom literature, and labyrinths are examples.) Recovering our ethnic backgrounds and bringing them to the common pot brings a rich deep flavor to a community. In addition, the post-modern church is becoming technologically savvy. Several mainline denominations are investing serious money in virtual reality worlds. Today, we can attend regularly scheduled worship services online at Anglican Cathedral in a virtual world known as Second Life.

The question becomes: Can an online priest absolve the confessed sins of an avatar?

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