Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be

Written during the height of academic and popular discussions about postmodernism in the 1990s, this work emerged from J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh's recognition that many Christians were either uncritically embracing or reflexively rejecting postmodern thought without careful theological reflection. The authors, both philosophers working within the Reformed tradition, wrote this book to help Christians navigate the complex terrain between modernist certainty and postmodern skepticism.

Middleton and Walsh argue that postmodernism's critique of modernist claims to objective, universal truth actually opens space for authentic biblical faith rather than threatening it. They contend that the Bible itself is fundamentally postmodern in its rejection of totalizing worldviews and its embrace of narrative, particularity, and the priority of story over system. The book demonstrates how postmodern insights about the social construction of knowledge, the importance of community interpretation, and suspicion of power claims align with biblical themes of covenant community, prophetic critique of established authority, and God's preferential concern for the marginalized. Rather than defending a modernist apologetic strategy, they propose that Christians should embrace a chastened epistemology that acknowledges the limits of human knowing while maintaining confidence in God's self-revelation through Scripture and the incarnation.

The work has remained influential among Christians seeking to engage postmodern culture without abandoning orthodox theological commitments. It helped establish a middle path between fundamentalist reactions against postmodernism and liberal accommodations to it, showing how biblical faith could be both historically rooted and culturally engaged. Who should read this: Christians in academic settings, pastors seeking to understand postmodern challenges to traditional apologetics, and anyone wanting to move beyond simplistic dismissals of postmodern thought. This book is not for those seeking easy answers or purely devotional material.