'25 SUMMER READING LIST, #2 - "THE BENEDICT OPTION" BY ROD DREHER

I was about to write that there are few books that really inspire me, and the fact that I had no problem coming up with 25 books for this summer reading list probably means I'm easier to impress than I think (or that there are more really inspirational books than I think). Either way, "The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation" by Rod Dreher is on that list.

Allow me to confess that Dreher is more Catholic/Orthodox than I am, and several of the ideas fit that line of thinking. However, I agree with his main thought that Christians need to strengthen community with fellow believers, both by forming communities and by encouraging others.

There are not as many community-building books in this summer reading list as there are apologetics (like yesterday's book). However, I remember being in a Facebook group discussing this book and Dreher's follow-up "Live Not By Lies" and reading a question about if we're reading any other books on community. At that time, I was finishing Leah Libresco's "Building the Benedict Option..." Check. I also started reading Rosaria Butterfield's "The Gospel Comes With a House Key..." Check. Then, in fiction, I was reading "Amish Werewolves of Space..." well, at first I thought "Two out of three aren't bad" until I reread the cover and read the first chapter and realized it was three of three. (Kerry Nietz' Terror in Plain Space trilogy all have strong themes on community, on our responsibilities to community, and that our community might be bigger than we think. 

You know, maybe I ought to reread this one.
 

DOES LOOKING BACK AT '22 AND FORWARD TO '23 CONVINCE US WE NEED A SACRED ASSEMBLY? (PART 6 OF 6)

Courtesy of Abolish Human Abortion, Ames, Iowa, 2016

"Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly." Joel 2:15

In 2018, I read The Benedict Option, where Rod Dreher was warning of a coming flood and that we needed to build our Christian community.

In 2021, I read Live Not By Lies, where Rod Dreher interviewed several Christians who survived the Soviet Regime, in which all said the current climate in the U.S. was identical to when the Communists took over.

Now, in late 2022, I'm in the middle of Letter to the American Church, where Eric Metaxas is saying that the American Church is at the same place the German Church was in the early 1930's when Hitler rose to power. He stated some, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, say the danger, while most did nothing.

A good friend of mine for 30 years unfriended me on Facebook in early 2021 because I committed the unpardonable sin: I voted for Trump in 2020. He considered Trump a threat to our democracy. He didn't want to hear that I was concerned by voting out Trump we could open the door for someone worse. And now, I'm pretty certain that we opened the door and that someone worse - or an ally of those worse than Trump in Congress - entered.

In other words, I do not trust our government. I do not trust our media to tell us the truth. And does it help my mood that I had recently finished another book pointing out that Christ is calling us to repent and to return to the five solas? That is, Scripture alone, Faith alone, Grace alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone?

Becky heard a pastor say that persecution of Christians can happen quickly, both in suddenness and in it being soon. Metaxas wrote that Hitler changed things in Germany quickly. I hope they're wrong, but I'm not expecting them to be.

What is the answer? Should Christians be developing strong communities/churches not unlike a monastic brotherhood? Should we be doing what we can to stop evil from rising to power? Should we be most concerned with turning from any idols in our heart or from complacency (which Zephaniah 1:12 describes as believing God will neither do evil or good) or from trusting in men and the word of men than in God and in the Word of God (the Bible)?

I am writing this on December 23rd, and setting it to be posted on December 31st at 6am EST (though the website might post it 3 hours earlier). Today at 12noon, Northside Baptist Church is praying in the New Year for two hours. I'm planning on being there.

No, not a cheerful blog to end 2022. But do we need to be encouraged 2023 will be better? Or do we need to be awakened that 2023 could be worse, and we either need to do something or be prepared for dark times? 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW - LIVE NOT BY LIES BY ROD DREHER

 

Those who know me know I've been raving about Rod Dreher's previous book, The Benedict Option. In some ways, you could consider this an update, reflecting some of the changes in the past three years. This book came out the end of September of 2020, after COVID took over and prior to the election and its aftermath. There are some shared anecdotes as well as the emphasis on Christian community and to be prepared to live in a society becoming more hostile to the Christian faith.

While the message is similar, there's differences. In Benedict, Dreher's focus was on the Benedict Rule and how we can prepare for rough times by learning from the monks. This book's focus is more on the Bolshevik Revolution and the spread of communism in Eastern Europe and how Christians dealt with that oppression.

Dreher has a Catholic and Orthodox background, and there are things I as a Fundamentalist/Evangelical might debate him on. However, he paints a realistic picture of how our society is changing and not for the better, and he definitely gives food for thought. 

 

Are you prepared for Christians to become outcasts in our society? How important is community in your life, especially the faith community?

 

BOOK REVIEW: THE BENEDICT OPTION BY ROD DREHER

 

I first read this book the better part of two years ago. Immediately I re-read it so I could write a review on it. Why? because I thought this was a book that needed to be read. And I've just read it a third time.

This is one of the rare books that I want to recommend others to read so I can sit down and discuss it with them. I don't agree with everything author Rod Dreher proposes. But this is an important book that I want to learn how to work it into my life. Some who disagreed with this book point out it's more Orthodox/Catholic than Evangelical, but I don't consider that a problem. Rather, it is a call to stand against the real and common enemy. 

Dreher sees five historic events from the past seven centuries as being not causes but influences to the current time, culminating with the sexual revolution. He sees the solution as one more influenced by Benedict's monasticism than the typical political activism we see today. It is not that Dreher recommends withdrawing from society, but it is more on Christians unifying into strong communities in a society that marginalizes us. He deals with important issues like politics - he feels the emphasis should be local, but the major national emphasis should be on religious liberty - education, church life, community, sexuality, and not being dependent on technology.

I showed this book and another with a similar theme to one of my best friends. That friend said by looking at the back cover he could tell the other author was mad at the church and that he didn't need to read that. Not true about this one - my friend said that he thought it was worthy of reading.  

Allow me to look at this book from an apologetics persepective. I believe this strongly recommends defending the faith through orthopraxy. You are probably more familiar with the word "orthodoxy" which means "right thinking;" "orthopraxy" refers to "right living." A lot of times our priorities and worldview as Christians is too much like the world. Dreher's approach is encouraging the church to be the church, to be the alternative to society's mess.