James K. Smith counters Ronald Nash's berating of postmodernism. Smith believes the postmodern critique of "reason" opens the way for a dialogue with postmodernists. As Smith puts it, "Previously, such a distinctly 'Christian philosophy' [that is, one with an emphasis on faith] would have been exiled from the the 'pure' arena of philosophy because of its 'infection' with bias and prejudice. Lyotard's critique, however, demonstrates that no philosophy - indeed, no knowledge is untainted by prejudice or faith-commitments. In this way the playing field is leveled, and new opportunities to voice a Christian philosophy are created.1"
We all have a "faith-commitment" to some metanarrative, to some over-arching story that we tacitly live by - even those who claim to hold to a metanarrative of reason.
[1] James K. Smith, "A Little Story about Metanarratives: Lyotard, Religion, and Postmodernism Revisited," M. Penner, ed., Christianity and the Postmodern Turn: Six Views (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005) 123-140.
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