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Christians are Dynamic Postmodernists Relative to Conservative Bruce — Caitlyn Jenner

Christians are Dynamic Postmodernists Relative to Conservative Bruce — Caitlyn Jenner

Last updated on: June 3, 2015 at 2:41 pm by Artur Rosman

Christians are Dynamic Postmodernists Relative to Conservative Bruce — Caitlyn Jenner 2015-06-03T14:41:55-07:00 Artur Rosman

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Let’s reflect on current events (C.W. Eckersberg, Woman Standing in Front of a Mirror, 1841; Source: Wikimedia Commons, PD-Old-100).

Theorists and practitioners of Gender Theory are frequently mistakenly considered to be postmodern relativists.

But, this is not so, if you actually pay close attention to what Bruce, now Caitlyn, Jenner says in a promo video for Vanity Fair:

You might remember Jenner also self-identifies as a Republican and has gotten much flack for it.

This actually makes perfect sense, because neoliberal economic theory is libertarian in that it stresses the importance of individual choice against governmental and societal control. What’s more, you have to be a neoliberal in economics, and successful at it, in order to be able to afford gender reassignment surgery.

The Jenner video is quite conservative in another way, in its notion of human destiny. We are made what we are. Therefore, we should do everything in order to be honest with the destiny that’s been assigned to us, for all we know, since the foundation of the world.

On the other hand, Trinitarian theology is inherently dynamic.

According to Christian theology, our natures are not made stable and unchangeable, but should instead remain open to radical change. This is what traditional theology calls conversion. According to A.D. Nocks classic study Conversion: The Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo a dynamic understanding of selfhood (mirroring the Trinity’s interpersonal relativity) is what made Christianity unique among the worldviews of late antiquity.

So there you have it, postmodern fluidity is more suited to Christian theology than the conservative Republican credo. This is not to say that Christians should throw themselves at the Democrats.

However, they should remember that Christianity is neither progressive, nor conservative, but developmental, as John Henry Newman would say.

Perhaps it is also time to consider The Postmodern God? Or to finally see Aquinas as being postmodern because he was so premodern?

For a related thought experiment see What if Judith Butler was Ockham’s God?

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