A Book for Our Time

Veith, Gene Edward, Jr. Post Christian: A Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture. Wheaton: Crossway, 2020. 320 Pages. Paper. $24.99. https://www.crossway.org/books/post-christian-tpb/

I had hoped to be spending this week in Casper, Wyoming hearing Dr. Veith expound upon this new book. Instead, concerns about COVID-19 led to the cancellation of that conference. 

We still get to rejoice in a book for our time, Post Christian: A Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, Dr. Gene Edward Veith's new book from Crossway. 

Undaunted Hope in a Post-Christian World

We live in a post-Christian world. Contemporary thought—claiming to be “progressive” and “liberating”—attempts to place human beings in God’s role as creator, lawgiver, and savior. But these post-Christian ways of thinking and living are running into dead ends and fatal contradictions.

This timely book demonstrates how the Christian worldview stands firm in a world dedicated to constructing its own knowledge, morality, and truth. Gene Edward Veith Jr. points out the problems with how today’s culture views humanity, God, and even reality itself. He offers hope-filled, practical ways believers can live out their faith in a secularist society as a way to recover reality, rebuild culture, and revive faith.

Read Chapter 1

There has been a need for an update to the author's Postmodern Times for some time. 

Post Christian is no mere update, but a rebuild from the ground up. 

Does this sound like recent years and months?

Universities have taken academic freedom so far that they now censor dissenting views, impose speech codes, and in other ways inhibit academic freedom. Humanism has advanced to the point of becoming antihuman. Progress has evolved to become neoprimitivism. But when the universal wolf has finished devouring himself, his predation will be at an end. Life might start to flourish again. The course of post-Christian culture, when it ends in self-contradiction and catastrophe, may herald cultural rebirth (21).

Our friend Dr. Veith has provided the right book at the right time.  

Watch for four parts that each address a major facet of contemporary thought and culture.

1. how we relate to reality (constructivism, science, technology)
2. how we relate to our bodies (sex, children)
3. how we relate to other people (culture, politics)
4. how we relate to God (religion, spirituality and those who claim not to be religious) 

Regarding the body, a handy glossary can be found on pages 133ff to help you decode the growing number of so-called "genders."

Dr. Veith (and Rod Dreher) are advocates for classical Christian education. Read more in the "Rebuilding Civilization" chapter, particularly page 227 and Veith's "Luther Option" (228ff).

Gene Edward Veith gives us encouragement and hope for our time. He proposes faithful ways forward. Perhaps the biggest thing to come out of this book will be the rediscovery of the philosophy and theology of J. G. Hamann (77ff, passim).

Christ builds his church. God acts. The succession of ages and movements are all in his hands-premodern, modern, postmodern, post-Christian, postsecular, and whatever will come next (307).

Highly Recommended!

Rev. Paul J Cain is Senior Pastor of Immanuel, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School and Immanuel Academy, a member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education, Secretary of the Wyoming District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and a member of its Board of Directors, Wyoming District Education Chairman/NLSA Commissioner, and Editor of Lutheran Book Review. He has served as an LCMS Circuit Visitor, District Worship Chairman and District Evangelism Chairman. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Rev. Cain is a contributor to Lutheran Service Book, Lutheranism 101, the Hymnal Companion hymn and liturgy volumes, and is the author of 5 Things You Can Do to Make Our Congregation a Caring Church. He is an occasional guest on KFUO radio. He has previously served Emmanuel, Green River, WY and Trinity, Morrill, NE. Rev. Cain is married to Ann and loves reading and listening to, composing, and making music.