---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity…"
description: "\"“Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity toward metanarratives” is ultimately a claim to be affirmed by the church, pushing us to rec..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png"
---

#  Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity…

![“Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity toward metanarratives” is ultimately a claim to be affirmed by the church, pushing us to recover (a) the narrative character of Christian faith, rather than understanding it as a collection of ideas, and (b) the confessional nature of our…” quote by James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png)

> ““Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity toward metanarratives” is ultimately a claim to be affirmed by the church, pushing us to recover (a) the narrative character of Christian faith, rather than understanding it as a collection of ideas, and (b) the confessional nature of our narrative and the way in which we find ourselves in a world of competing narratives.””

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Lyotard’s claim about postmodern skepticism invites a Christian reinterpretation that sees faith as a lived story, not just doctrine, emphasizing confession and narrative identity amid competing worldviews.

**In simple terms:** Postmodern doubt pushes Christians to view faith as a personal story.

Key Takeaway

Embrace faith as a narrative confession.

Themes

faith postmodernism storytelling identity theology

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

theological philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal prayer
- church teaching
- interfaith dialogue
- cultural analysis

Key Concepts

narrative identity confession metanarratives

Questions to Reflect On

- How does seeing faith as a story change daily practice?
- Can narrative confession coexist with doctrinal truth?

A Different Perspective

The claim may overlook the value of critical distance from grand narratives.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Assertion Postmodernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion-postmodernity-5116999/) [Christian faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-faith/) [Incredulity Metanarratives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredulity-metanarratives-4107249/) [Lyotard Assertion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyotard-assertion-5117000/) [Metanarratives Ultimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metanarratives-ultimately-5117001/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Postmodernity Incredulity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodernity-incredulity-5116998/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [“jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/)

[J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/)

> [“Lyotard has described the postmodern condition succinctly as "incredulity towards metanarratives":' an attitude commendable in itself, no doubt, but also one that can easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/lyotard-has-described-the-postmodern-condition-succinctly-as/)

[David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/)

> [Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/simplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/)

[Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/)

> [“The question of the relation between modernity and postmodernity revolves around the issue of 'legitimation.' Modernity, then, appeals to science to legitimate its claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/the-question-of-the-relation-between-modernity-and-postmodernity/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“the postmodern critique is not aimed at metanarratives because they are really grounded in narratives; on the contrary, the problem with metanarratives is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/the-postmodern-critique-is-not-aimed-at-metanarratives-because-they/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Being postmodern, however, is about being complicit rather than virtuous, it is about approaching categories like Good and Evil with a certain ironic skepticism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-hollinger/being-postmodern-however-is-about-being-complicit-rather-than/)

[Veronica Hollinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-hollinger/)

> [“One of the many innovations of modernism was the new demands it placed on the audience. Music, painting, literature, even architecture, would never again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watson/one-of-the-many-innovations-of-modernism-was-the-new-demands-it/)

[Peter Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watson/)

> [“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/)

[Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/)

> [Altermodern is an in-progress redefinition of modernity in the era of globalisation, stressing the experience of wandering in time, space and mediums. The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-bourriaud/altermodern-is-an-in-progress-redefinition-of-modernity-in-the-era-of/)

[Nicolas Bourriaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-bourriaud/)

> [As for critical writing about modernism, its moments of lucidity are but fulgurations illuminating the dark and incomprehensible landscape of its subject's unabashed difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-for-critical-writing-about-modernism-its-moments-of-lucidity-are/)

[Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/)

> [A lot of '20s musicals were a hodgepodge of melodrama, mixed with operetta and romance, and then some sense of modernism and some sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/a-lot-of-20s-musicals-were-a-hodgepodge-of-melodrama-mixed-with/)

[George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/)

> [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/)

[Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/)

> [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/)

[Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/)

> [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/)

[Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/)

## More by James K.A. Smith

> [“Jesus is a teacher who doesn’t just inform our intellect but forms our very loves. He isn’t content to simply deposit new ideas into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/jesus-is-a-teacher-who-doesn-t-just-inform-our-intellect-but-forms/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“So it is precisely our allergy to repetition in worship that has undercut the counterformative power of Christian worship—because all kinds of secular liturgies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/so-it-is-precisely-our-allergy-to-repetition-in-worship-that-has/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“too often we look for the Spirit in the extraordinary when God has promised to be present in the ordinary.5”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/too-often-we-look-for-the-spirit-in-the-extraordinary-when-god-has/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Formative Christian worship paints a picture of the beauty of the Lord--and a vision of the shalom he desires for creation--in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/formative-christian-worship-paints-a-picture-of-the-beauty-of-the/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Too much of our cultural analysis is rooted in thinking-thingism: we scan culture, listening for “messages,” bent on rooting out “false” teachings. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/too-much-of-our-cultural-analysis-is-rooted-in-thinking-thingism-we/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“We confess knowledge without certainty, truth without objectivity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/we-confess-knowledge-without-certainty-truth-without-objectivity/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Worship, then, needs to be characterized by hospitality; it needs to be inviting. But at the same time, it should be inviting seekers into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/worship-then-needs-to-be-characterized-by-hospitality-it-needs-to-be/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Discipleship, we might say, is a way to curate your heart, to be attentive to and intentional about what you love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/discipleship-we-might-say-is-a-way-to-curate-your-heart-to-be/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Your deepest desire,” he observes, “is the one manifested by your daily life and habits.”6 This is because our action—our doing—bubbles up from our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/your-deepest-desire-he-observes-is-the-one-manifested-by-your-daily/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Foucault. The seemingly disturbing, even Nietzschean claim that “power is knowledge” should push us to realize what MTV learned long ago: (a) the cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/foucault-the-seemingly-disturbing-even-nietzschean-claim-that-power/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“The doubter’s doubt is faith; his temptation is belief, and it is a temptation that has not been entirely quelled, even in a secular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/the-doubter-s-doubt-is-faith-his-temptation-is-belief-and-it-is-a/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Worship works from the top down, you might say. In worship we don’t just come to show God our devotion and give him our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/worship-works-from-the-top-down-you-might-say-in-worship-we-don-t/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“While formally or structurally speaking, there are mechanisms of discipline operative in both the convent and the prison, in both the factory and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/while-formally-or-structurally-speaking-there-are-mechanisms-of/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Antoine de Saint-Exupéry captures this well: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-captures-this-well-if-you-want-to-build-a/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

> [“Because of this Christian materialism, a catholic postmodernism (or postmodern catholicity) affirms sacramentality on two levels. On the one hand, it affirms a general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/because-of-this-christian-materialism-a-catholic-postmodernism-or/)

[James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

[Explore all 60 James K.A. Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/)

## More Christian faith quotes

> [All of my children are ideologically and politically in sync with me, they all have authentic Christian faith. It's something I'm very grateful for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/all-of-my-children-are-ideologically-and-politically-in-sync-with-me/)

[Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/)

> [What until recently seemed to be only the apocalyptic fantasies of the Christian faith has today entered the sphere of the soberest scientific calculations;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-brunner/what-until-recently-seemed-to-be-only-the-apocalyptic-fantasies-of/)

[Emil Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-brunner/)

> [It's essential that we learn how to defend the Bible and the Christian faith for our sake and our children's. If we don't, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/it-s-essential-that-we-learn-how-to-defend-the-bible-and-the/)

[Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/)

> [It's time for us to rise up, get out of the rut and routine, and begin to take our Christian faith seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-s-time-for-us-to-rise-up-get-out-of-the-rut-and-routine-and-begin/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/)

[Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/)

> [The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-morris/the-bodily-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-from-the-dead-is-the-crowning/)

[Henry M. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-morris/)

> [And your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes, devoted to the holy Christian faith and the propagation thereof - and enemies of the sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/and-your-highnesses-as-catholic-christians-and-princes-devoted-to-the/)

[Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/)

> [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/)

[Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/)

> [My Christian faith is my backbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/my-christian-faith-is-my-backbone/)

[Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/)

> [All Gaza's temples are torn down and burned and the city is cleansed of every belief but the Christian faith. The most stubborn opponents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macmullen/all-gaza-s-temples-are-torn-down-and-burned-and-the-city-is-cleansed/)

[Ramsay MacMullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macmullen/)

> [“I find it strangely comforting that walking the path of Christian faith means being confronted moment by moment with what is counterintuitive and ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-enns/i-find-it-strangely-comforting-that-walking-the-path-of-christian/)

[Peter Enns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-enns/)

> [“Once we understand that the activity in the spirit realm is more real than what we experience in this world, wonders like this will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-duval/once-we-understand-that-the-activity-in-the-spirit-realm-is-more-real/)

[Daniel Duval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-duval/)

> [“LEAD PEOPLE TO COMMITMENT We have seen that nonbelievers in worship actually “close with Christ” in two basic ways: some may come to Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/lead-people-to-commitment-we-have-seen-that-nonbelievers-in-worship/)

[Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/)

> [I was born into a Christian household, in a parsonage in fact, so I grew up in sort of a missionary atmosphere but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-was-born-into-a-christian-household-in-a-parsonage-in-fact-so-i/)

[Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/)

> [Our society is illuminated by the spiritual insights of the Hebrew prophets. America and Israel have a common love of human freedom and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/our-society-is-illuminated-by-the-spiritual-insights-of-the-hebrew/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

[Browse all 422 Christian faith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-faith/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity toward metanarratives” is ultimately a claim to be affirmed by the church, pushing us to recover (a) the narrative character of Christian faith, rather than understanding it as a collection of ideas, and (b) the confessional nature of our narrative and the way in which we find ourselves in a world of competing narratives.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "James K.A. Smith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity-is-incredulity-toward/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Christian faith"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity-is-incredulity-toward/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/james-k-a-smith-11405_christian-faith_lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity_1434804.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity toward metanarratives” is ultimately a claim to be…” — James K.A. Smith",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "James K.A. Smith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity-is-incredulity-toward/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity-is-incredulity-toward/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
