We talk about how we are now entering the Postmodern Era, and before the Modern Era there was the Premodern Era. I feel we could come up with some terms that better describe the eras, especially since the word modern means present day or recent history. The terms I came up with were “Directed Human” for the Premodern Era, “Rational Human” for the Modern Era, and “Self-Determined Human” for the Postmodern Era. Note these are broad descriptions that describe the general description of what a human is supposed to be in that era. It is easy to find exceptions to these general human descriptions, but I feel these descriptions give a flavor of how humans were viewed in these eras.
The emerging “Self-Determined Human” (Postmodern) Era is all about you determining everything. You are the authority. You decide what is true. You look inside yourself at your feelings and desires and decide who you are. You can even decide what gender you are. You determine who and what to believe. It is all about you, and you are free to express yourself as you see fit. The reality is you are not truly self-determined but are influenced by culture. Those feelings and desires that you base your self identity on, they change and are not very stable. Your mental state and expressive self is more fluid, because there are outside influences that affect base, your feelings and desires.
This can be compared to the “Rational Human” (Modern) Era. In this departing era, you used reason to determine the truth. The scientific method was the preferred method to use to discover the truth. The belief was that a rational person using reason will discover the truth. The authority was rational thought or reason. Your goal was to live a rational, reason filled life and to contribute to the progress of humankind. Because of science/rational thought, people today live longer, have more food, and live in better surroundings. Science/rational thought have improved life externally but there was not much progress on the internal lives of people. The focus was mostly on the material things of life and not on the internal feelings and desires.
And before the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation there was the “Directed Human” (Premodern) Era. In this era people were under different authorities. There was the authority of the church who told you how to live. There were the nobles to whom you declared your allegiance to. And your family determined your occupation. If your father was a noble, you became noble. If your father was a peasant and a peasant you became. If you had access to learning, you learned from the ancient Greek and Roman scholars. They were the academic authorities. Every part of life had an authority that you were under. They directed your life choices. You can argue it was quite restrictive, but you knew where you stood. (Becoming a monk or a nun was one way to break free of the restrictions though you then had new restrictions.)
The funny thing is that I am a modern day “Directed Human”. I am under the authority of God and he has revealed his story and made his will known for me in the Bible. Do I use reason? Yes, I do. Am I influenced by the self-determined culture? Yes, I am. But I believe the Bible is the word of God and that is my ultimate authority. In my life choices, I am directed by the Bible because it is God’s word to the world. I have had a good life and have avoided many problems by following God’s direction. I am not as restricted as those in the “Directed Human” (Premodern) Era, because the culture today is one of self-determination (with the emphasis on rational thought and reason fading away in the cultural transition). And I have hope because I know there is more to life than material things and satisfying my desires. God brought me into a relationship with him and one day he will make all things right. Until then I can serve God by serving others in love to improve their lives. I do not need to determine who I am and what is true. I do not need to seek truth with rational thought. God has made himself known to me in the Bible. He made me his own and has in the Bible told me what is good and right. He is the Truth. He directs my steps.
heinsite 