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Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism

douglas groothuis

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The concept of truth as absolute, objective and universal has undergone serious deterioration in recent years. No longer is it a goal for all to pursue. Rather postmodernism sees truth as inseparable from culture, psychology, race and gender. Ultimately, truth is what we make it to be. What factors have accelarated this decay of truth? Why are people willing to embrace such a devalued concept? How does this new view compare and contrast with a Christian understanding? While postmodernism contains some truthful insights (despite its attempt to dethrone truth), Douglas Groothuis sees its basic tenets as intellectually flawed and hostile to Christian views. In this spirited presentation of a solid, biblical and logical perspective, Groothuis unveils how truth has come under attack and how it can be defended in the vital areas of theology, apologetics, ethics and the arts.

303 pages, Paperback

First published May 1,2000

This edition

Format
303 pages, Paperback
Published
May 1, 2000 by IVP
ISBN
9780830822287
ASIN
0830822283
Language
English

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About the author

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douglas groothuis

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Douglas Groothuis (PhD, University of Oregon) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado, where he heads the Apologetics and Ethics masters degree program. His articles have been published in professional journals such as Religious Studies, Philosophia Christi, Themelios, Christian Scholar's Review, Inquiry, and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. He has written numerous books, including Christian Apologetics and, most recently Philosophy in Seven Sentences.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 22 votes)
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22 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
no_forehead
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse at the postmodern mindset, and enjoyed reading the answers Christianity has to Postmodernism's questions, the facts Christianity has to Postmodernism's paradoxes, and the Truth Christianity offers no matter how hard Postmodernism tries to deny it.
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No-Life-101
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I first read this work as a 16-year old passionate about philosophy and worldviews. On a second passage through Truth Decay, it's a marvel how well-written, timely, and relevant the author's treatise remains. Of particular note is Groothuis' 2nd Chapter, "From Modernism to Postmodernism," a highly informative, well-organized examination of the similarities and historical underpinnings of both movements, viewed through the lenses of their philosophical and social tenets, respectively. In reference to the latter tenet, Groothuis' bold statements back in 2001 regarding the mass media's "welter of conflicting and confusing images and ideas" have only proven more relevant thanks to the subsequent explosion of social networking since Truth Decay's original publication.

The only thing that keeps me from giving Truth Decay a 5-star rating is Groothuis' anti-television diatribe at the end of his work (found in the appendix: "Television: Agent of Truth Decay), where Groothuis repeatedly overstates the case for the moving picture as the carrier of all things postmodern.
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Rinshuu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I enjoyed the experience of this but there is a lot of information and sometimes it is hard to follow, but the arguments are interesting.
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Eclipsa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This is a hard read dealing with modern philosophy and Postmodernism in particularism. I enjoyed it, but I'm sure I didn't get it all.
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AnmolNegi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I went in hoping to get a kind of sequel to Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture. And that's... kind of what I got?

Grouthuis focuses on refuting Christians who say we can agree with Postmodernism and incorporate it into the Christian worldview. I didn't know there were Christians in that camp, so it was a little odd for me to see Groothuis get so defensive. Several chapters felt more like a long critique of a particular writer he disagreed with, rather than explanations of his own ideas. He was on the defense rather than offense most of the time. And too many block quotes.

I went in with questions, and some of my questions were answered (the book offers good definitions of Modernism and Postmodernism). But most of the time it felt like this book was answering questions I wasn't asking. Still worth reading, but pick up Veith first.

Other books on religion and Postmodernism:
--Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church
--A Primer on Postmodernism
--The Culture of Interpretation: Christian Faith and the Postmodern World
--Faith Without Dogma: The Place Of Religion In Postmodern Societies
--Understanding Postmodernism: A Christian Perspective

Groothuis praises Love Your God with All Your Mind.
Veith also has a similar title: Loving God with All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in a Postmodern World.
Loving God with All Your Mind also has good reviews.
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ZerothZero
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This book utterly demolishes the trendy (now pretty dated) post-modern gibberish that is peddled at too many evangelical seminaries.
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doitsu-pancakes
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Solid. Groothuis exposes the groundless epistemology of postmodernity as well as its dangers. I enjoyed, in particular, the chapter on beauty and the appendix on television.
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Yubisoft
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Hm...Butuh keseriusan membacanya. Setuju dengan penulisnya, sekalipun menurutku postmo itu punya sisi baik juga....
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