A Short Introduction to Postmodernism and the Christian Response: Every Day's a Power Play!

Michel Foucault
His major idea: “Power is knowledge.”
His bumper sticker idea: “Every day’s a Power Play!”

The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, put forward the only thing common to every human being is the “will to power.”

Later, the French Postmodern philosopher, Michel Foucault, riffed on Nietzsche’s idea, taking it to a new and disturbing level. It’s disturbing because, in a world without God, it’s accurate.

Foucault’s work on this subject is first put forward in his book Discipline and Punish. He inverts the Francis Bacon phrase “knowledge is power” changing it to “power is knowledge.”  The inversion removes the emphasis from knowledge being the goal with the power being the result to power being primary and knowledge a consequence and a way for maintaining power. His case study for his theory was the history of modern prisons. Foucault’s central image is the panopticon, a circular prison with cells radiating from the center. In the center of the panopticon is a nondescript station called an inspection house, where all prisoners can be watched and observed. (Think, here, of Big Brother in Orwell’s 1984 or Nurse Ratched in Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.) The observation yields ways that prisoners can be controlled. Although reform of the prisoner is the stated goal, Foucault applies a hermeneutic of suspicion and maintains the goal is to, only, maintain power.

Foucault applied his theory to more than just prisons. Included were hospitals, schools, municipalities, housing projects, anywhere society deemed order was necessary and citizens needed to act in a preordained fashion for society to run smoothly. But, this struggle to maintain power would cascade downward.

I think here of Roger Waters in Pink Floyd’s The Wall as the voice of the abusive school master yelling at a wayward student, “You, yes, you behind the bike sheds, stand still, laddie!” But, as Waters tells us, it was well known that teachers who abused children, “when they got home at night, their fat and psychopathic wives would thrash them within inches of their lives.” Corrupted power becomes an unvirtuous circle.

How we should deal with this: “and overflowing with thankfulness”
Colossians 2:6c

Let’s face it: Foucault makes a point. We see the “will to power” in human history repeatedly. Not only that, correct behavior is important for functioning within society. I will not argue with that.

The Christian’s argument, however, is that we’re being watched (and observed and inspected) by a Creator who is ultimately good, and loving, and merciful. Not only that, when we fail, He’s provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him and set apart for good works. Because of this, we should be “overflowing with thankfulness.”

Gratitude has become a spiritual buzzword within the wider culture. Gratitude for the sake of gratitude is somewhat incoherent. For us to be truly grateful, we need to be grateful to someone for something. We begin our gratitude with being thankful to God for the sacrifice of His son Jesus for our sins. The proof that the sacrifice was accepted is contained within Jesus’s resurrection. Because of our belief in Him and that event, we have access to the Father for eternity. That frees us for gratitude to and for each other and emboldens us for meaningful service in our families, circle of friends, and churches.