THE CULT OF SELFISM AND THE POST-MODERN WORLD-Part 4

This is part 4 of a 6 part series from an essay which I entered into an essay contest. Over the next several days we are going to be looking at the cult of selfism and postmodernism from a historical, philosophical, sociological, and theological angle. I promise not to get to deep into the subject but get ready to start looking at our culture from a totally different viewpoint. Today I wish to look at the sociological effect of postmoderism and the cult of selfism took on our culture.

What Has Been The Impact?
(Sociological)
There are three basic areas in which the impact can be seen regarding society. The first can be seen in the strong sense or idea of personal pleasure. The second can be seen because history is ignored. The last thing which is reflective of the impact that the cult of Selfism has made is how that the cultural relevance is brought down to the individual.
While working in churches in the suburban areas in Dallas I have seen the first impact most strongly. Now that I am working in an urban church in Dallas I see the impact of this cult even more. Most people including youth and adults alike have a constant flow of desire for personal pleasure mixed with worship. This is existentialism the idea that experience is more important than fact. Now we see our society and churches moving toward a form of nihilism. No longer are we a society which desires to care for the community for the sake of the community, but we care for the community on the basis of what the community means to me. Selfism becomes the driving force for taking care of the community and we are only in support of it if it takes care of us. What brings pleasure to me is what is important not what is sacrificially good for the community.
This can be seen because of the second thought which is ignoring and a miscommunication of history. History is being redefined and re-crafted so that it no longer shows how events took place or the downfalls from faulty ideas. Rather it is viewed as opinions and other people’s thoughts rather than facts. I first ran into this while working on my degree for history. In 1982 I decided I wanted to have a degree in history which would open me up to all kinds of areas and possibilities in life. The first history professor I had changed my mind about the degree. While in the class he made the statement that history was a series of circumstantial events which come together to form one big mess. If someone is coming from a humanistic view that would be true but from a purely Biblical view that was not true at all. If the facts and timelines were followed correctly along with an understanding of the philosophies which were being propertied at the time we would to see a beautiful tapestry being put together by a force far beyond our understanding. Today history is either ignored or misinterpreted for the sake of the individual. If it does not have a direct impact on me then why should I care?
This leads to the third point which is cultural relevance is brought down to the individual. The do it if it feels good culture of the 1960s and 1970s has now come to the point of everything being about the individual. Working in the ministry allows me to counsel people making me aware of this philosophy. When a couples marriage is in danger and divorce looks to be on the horizon, no longer is the impact of the divorce what matters rather “whatever works for me” is their idea. When singles entangle themselves into sexual lifestyles, the implications are not what matters it is whatever they want for the moment. When drug abuse is involved or suicide is regarded as a way to end the problem or when children massacre their families or friends, when the worker gets tired of dealing with the issues of employment, violence becomes the answer because it is the thing which purports to lead to the greatest self pleasure. There is no concern for the community or the impact on those they love. Post modernity leads to the cult of Selfism.

Next time we will look at the psychological effect regarding post-modernism and the cult of Selfism.