I have been having a conversation with a co-worker recently regarding postmodernism. This is a topic that I’ve had some exposure to through my studies at Biola University, especially in courses taught by R. Scott Smith, author of Truth and the New Kind of Christian: The Emerging Effects of Postmodernism in the Church.

As we were discussing this topic, it became clear, however, that our understanding of the topic differed. As my friend kept describing postmodernism, it kept sounding to me like psychological perception. Let me explain.

Each example seemed to revolve around how words influence our perceptions of reality, not that the reality itself is somehow influenced or restricted by words (as is my understanding of postmodernism). One of the examples was that as we begin to place importance on something, it becomes important in peoples’ minds because the importance placed on the item by our talking about it affects how people feel about it. I completely agree with this.

If a company is getting ready for a big audit and the company trains its employees what to expect from the auditors, the employees expect the audit to go as the company has trained. In the minds of the workers, the audit exists as it has been described. But this is only a psychological perception! The actual audit may be completely different than anticipated. The words did not influence the truth of the actual audit; they only influenced how people perceived it. This is not “pomo,” but perception, right?