In the Beginning...

In which I explain the goals of this Substack, and promise not to torture or conquer anyone.

What to say at the birth of Christendom Reborn?

It’s a project long contemplated, but as this is its first public outing, I should probably begin by explaining what I intend to do. Will it involve torture devices? Crossbows? A holy war against the Muslim world?

It will not. I’ve got some hang-ups about torture and conquest. My goal here is to persuade readers that Christianity, far from fading and failing, is poised for a phase of revitalization and growth. After many fragmented years, the pieces are starting to come back together. This isn’t going to be a quick process, but nevertheless, it’s happening. I fully expect Christianity to have as deep an impact on the third millennium as it has on the previous two.

These aims are not modest. There’s definitely a risk of overpromising and underdelivering. Nevertheless, here I go, with an approach that can be outlined in three key points.

First, I wish to explore the question of why Christianity has been such a remarkably successful faith. Because it has been astonishingly successful, not only surviving two millennia but spreading across the entire earth, making billions of converts, transforming cultures, and directing the course of world history. No other faith in history has had equivalent impact; only a few come anywhere close. Christianity has demonstrated an unparalleled capacity to translate its core truths across every historical, linguistic, or cultural barrier. Given the anxieties of the present moment, I think it’s worth asking: Why can it do that? How does Christianity work?

Next, I want to consider how Christianity’s time-tested, historic strengths may be used to address contemporary challenges. It seems to me that Christians are living today with an oppressive sense of being trapped between two unhappy alternatives: we can double down on traditional but increasingly archaic patterns of life, or “adapt” our way into cultural irrelevance. But even though I understand why it feels that way, I see this as a false choice. Historically, Christianity has been extremely good at adapting to new cultural and political circumstances, and it’s managed to do this without losing hold of that vital core of orthodoxy. I think we can do it again. In fact, we need to, and not just for our own sakes. The world desperately needs the resources that Christianity possesses.

Finally, I think the growth and adaptation we need are already well underway, and I’d like to showcase examples. To my eyes, fruitful growth can be seen all over the place, in many forms. I see it on the intellectual front, as Christian thinkers translate Christian wisdom into modern language, and apply it to new problems. I see it in institutional breakthroughs, as Christians experiment with new schools, organizations, grassroots associations of all kinds. Perhaps most inspiring to me are the developments I see within people’s families or personal lives, as Christians figure out new ways to keep the faith and thrive. As a practicing Catholic with many connections to different churches and religious communities, I see innumerable signs of budding life, and to me, the contrast between that ground-level dynamism, and the rushing torrent of rage and despair that is our political discourse, is a constant source of fascination.

Of course, political brokenness is a feature of the world generally, not just the Christian world. And I’m not suggesting that it’s mainly Christians’ fault. We do seem pretty immersed in it though, which in my estimation has often deterred healthy forms of growth and adaptation. Politicians have strong incentives for stoking rage and despair, presenting their rivals as the problem and themselves as the solution. That doesn’t encourage resilience, adaptation, or imaginative problem-solving. It encourages frustration, despair, countless hours wasted marinating in rage-bait.

I’m not promising to fix our broken politics. There will be quite a lot of “political” content on this site, but mostly on the level of theory. I’ll be thinking out loud about liberalism, nationalism, God and Caesar, religious freedom, civil and political rights, the public square. I have a lot less to say about particular politicians, parties, or campaigns. Though I definitely think we should care about the health of our political order, I also think we’re living through a kind of “fulcrum moment” in which many problems feel insoluble simply because adequate solutions haven’t yet been devised. This can happen. The human race has passed through many such historical choke-points. Over time a new equilibrium is found, insoluble problems turn out to be soluble, and the world keeps turning. In the meanwhile though, we should keep working the problems without allowing our fractured politics to define us, or deter us from helping to revitalize our culture on other levels. Sustainable political reform may well be downstream from other forms of growth (social, intellectual, spiritual) that we can absolutely advance from wherever we presently stand.

A few final notes before wrapping up for today. First, Christendom Reborn was conceived as a companion to a book project that I’ll say more about in time. To start though, it’s enough to say that these initial weeks will be dedicated to framing out the space to be explored in the book, setting up a dialectic. After that I’ll make forays into all sorts of related subjects, while using the site to capture stray thoughts, lateral insights, and worthy quotations that I run across in the course of my research. These will generally be short posts, not lengthy essays. I’ll post links to my longer published works. But I’ve been a freelance writer for 13 years (keeping the lights on and the tuition paid through commissions) so I have pragmatic instincts here: if I’m lavishing hours or days on a 2500-word missive, I want a check.

A quick preview of coming attractions:

Tomorrow I will address a major elephant in the room: Christendom. Why would I be looking to rebuild Christendom as opposed to just Christian faith? Given the shape of our recent politics, some readers will understandably see a dark, authoritarian shadow hanging over a project with this title. We should talk about that.

On Wednesday I’ll discuss the flood of “despair literature” that has inundated the Christian world of late. And explain how I plan to flip the script on the doomers.

Thursday will address the core question: What are the key features of Christianity that explain its incredible longevity and dynamism?

Finally, on Friday I will give a brief, reckless, wildly oversimplified overview of Christian history, which should at least have the benefit of clarifying why I see this as a “fulcrum moment.” This should help address the question: In what sense exactly is Christendom being reborn?

Next week will be Book Week. (I’ll probably repeat this exercise periodically.) Each day I will discuss a fairly-recent book, and locate my project in relationship to it.

We’ll go from there.

This first post is a bit of an occasion for me, so it feels fitting to end it with a prayer. Here’s the one I pray every time I sit down to write:

Concede mihi, misericors Deus, quae tibi sunt placita, ardenter concupiscere, prudenter investigare, veraciter agnoscere, et perfecte adimplere ad laudem et gloriam Nominis tui. Amen.

(Grant, O Merciful Father, that I may ardently desire, prudently examine, truthfully consider, and perfectly accomplish what is pleasing to Thee for the praise and glory of Thy name. Amen.)

It’s St. Thomas Aquinas’ prayer for students and scholars. I always try, as far as possible, to keep the Angelic Doctor on my side.