Secular Nations under New Gods

Christianity’s Subversion by Technology and Politics

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book Secular Nations under New Gods by Willem H. Vanderburg, University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Willem H. Vanderburg ISBN: 9781487519193
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division Publication: December 21, 2018
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Willem H. Vanderburg
ISBN: 9781487519193
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Publication: December 21, 2018
Imprint:
Language: English

The ongoing political muscle-flexing of diverse Christian communities in North America raises some deeply troubling questions regarding their roles among us. Earlier analyses including Herberg’s Protestant, Catholic, Jew showed that these three branches of the Judaeo-Christian tradition correspond to three forms of the American way of life; while Kruse’s One Nation Under God showed how Christian America was shaped by corporate America. Willem H. Vanderburg’s Secular Nations under New Gods proceeds based on a dialogue between Jacques Ellul’s interpretation of the task of Christians in the world and Ellul’s interpretation of the roles of technique and the nation-state in individual and collective human life. He then adds new insight into our being a symbolic species dealing with our finitude by living through the myths of our society and building new secular forms of moralities and religions. If everything is political and if everything is amenable to discipline-based scientific and technical approaches, we are perhaps treating these human creations the way earlier societies did their gods, as being omnipotent, without limits. Vanderburg argues that until organized Christianity becomes critically aware of sharing these commitments with their societies, it will remain entrapped in the service of false gods and thereby will continue to turn a message of freedom and love into one of morality and religion.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The ongoing political muscle-flexing of diverse Christian communities in North America raises some deeply troubling questions regarding their roles among us. Earlier analyses including Herberg’s Protestant, Catholic, Jew showed that these three branches of the Judaeo-Christian tradition correspond to three forms of the American way of life; while Kruse’s One Nation Under God showed how Christian America was shaped by corporate America. Willem H. Vanderburg’s Secular Nations under New Gods proceeds based on a dialogue between Jacques Ellul’s interpretation of the task of Christians in the world and Ellul’s interpretation of the roles of technique and the nation-state in individual and collective human life. He then adds new insight into our being a symbolic species dealing with our finitude by living through the myths of our society and building new secular forms of moralities and religions. If everything is political and if everything is amenable to discipline-based scientific and technical approaches, we are perhaps treating these human creations the way earlier societies did their gods, as being omnipotent, without limits. Vanderburg argues that until organized Christianity becomes critically aware of sharing these commitments with their societies, it will remain entrapped in the service of false gods and thereby will continue to turn a message of freedom and love into one of morality and religion.

More books from University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

Cover of the book Stalin's Empire of Memory by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Doctors beyond Borders by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book The Atlantic Region to Confederation by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Stickhandling through the Margins by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Creative Margins by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Rewriting the Journey in Contemporary Italian Literature by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book A Second Collection by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Schedule Effects by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Sir Guy Carleton by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Italian Literature since 1900 in English Translation by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Women and the Limits of Citizenship in the French Revolution by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book A Guide for the Statistically Perplexed by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Human Expeditions by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Rotman on Design by Willem H. Vanderburg
Cover of the book Le province de Quebec by Willem H. Vanderburg
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy