A trend among some parts of evangelicalism is deconstruction: questioning or rejecting the Christian faith.
I became aware of this issue through questions that students asked in the college classes I teach. At first I was curious why so many young people had questions about a movement in late twentieth century continental philosophy. But I quickly realized that what they were asking about had only a passing resemblance to a philosophical issue.
It’s not wrong to ask hard questions about faith. But deconstruction in its contemporary usage helps people avoid or escape issues, because it often claims that there are no answers to hard questions, that Christianity must collapse under the weight of recent objections.
Essentially, deconstruction involves a straw man, a weak or imaginary opposition that can be easily refuted by God’s Word.
- You have reached the end of this article preview. This article was published in the Winter 2023 Baptist Bulletin. Subscribe to the Baptist Bulletin or purchase a gift subscription. If you already subscribe to the print edition, sign up for free digital access.
J. R. Gilhooly is associate professor of philosophy and theology at Cedarville University.
