Friday, August 07, 2009

Who is pomo?

There is a conversation going on here about post modernism and the TNIV. What does this expression mean? Here is the wikipedia entry, which finishes with this paragraph,
    The American Heritage Dictionary describes the meaning of the same term as "Of or relating to art, architecture, or literature that reacts against earlier modernist principles, as by reintroducing traditional or classical elements of style or by carrying modernist styles or practices to extremes: “It [a roadhouse] is so architecturally interesting … with its postmodern wooden booths and sculptural clock”.[3]
What is the link between the TNIV and postmodernism? It seems to me that the ESV could be considered post modern in its insistence that "man" means men only, and then using this word in several key verses which used to be thought of as referring to all people. The ESV translators are really just going by feel when they decide when to use "men" and when to use "people." They are reintroducing a classic term, "men," but without the classic meaning.

2 comments:

Brant said...

An interesting observation, though I would not consider the ESV post-modern at all. Perhaps pre-modern (in the same sense that pre-Raphaelite painters came after Raphael)?

Or maybe anti-modern?

Lydia said...

Wasn't there a time in literature we could read about the horrors of 'modernism'?

I attended a church a while back that had it's very own 'post modern' department. It was called pomo department. I thought that was very strange.