The Threat of Postmodern Relativism to the Church in Nairobi, Kenya: A Postmodern Public Theology Approach

Abstract

The church is one of the social institutions of the society with the primary purpose of the religious and spiritual upbringing of men and women, young and old into conformity with the life of Christ for better society. Historically, the church received its heritage of beliefs, doctrine and practices that has been passed down from the apostolic age to present postmodern time. However, the universality of the church as the custodian of truth is now being challenged through its doctrine and practices within some churches in Nairobi city of Kenya. Several young people feel the church is no longer attractive based on the traditional theologies and liturgies within the various denominations. This has posed a challenge to the postmodern church and raises the main question this paper addressed: how can the church re-conceptualize its theology to effectively engage with the postmodern Nairobi youths? This paper employed a postmodern public theology in addressing the need for the church to re-conceptualize her theology to resonate with the reality of several young people. Several churches within Nairobi should understand that the gospel message needs to be contextualized to address issues young people are facing and also be dynamic in the liturgies that accommodate contemporary life. Understanding that the way of life and ministry during the apostolic time is quite different from the postmodern time. The use of postmodern public theology in this work aims at bringing into dialogue the traditional theology of the church with contemporary so that it will accommodate every member of the church so that they will feel at home within the church and during services.