It was Autopsy Week at Christendom Reborn, in which I examined several popular accounts of the decline and fall of Christendom. We didn’t clearly solve the mystery, but perhaps some progress was made. In the end, I think all of these familiar narratives contain some measure of truth. They should all be “left on the table” as it were, as we think further about the rebuilding of Christendom. But they all have shortcomings too, and my final conclusion is that none gives us sufficient reason to sit wallowing in despair.
Next week I’ll finally get into the good stuff: Why think that Christendom has the capacity to rebound? I’ll explain in three essays released across the week. For now let’s recap Autopsy Week:
Knives Out!
On Monday, I set up the week by wondering: Why are people still so riveted by the question of when, how, and why Christendom crumbled? I suggest that many people feel a deep yearning for a more harmonious relationship between Christian faith and the state or society at large. That’s easily channeled into a fascination with “Christendom.”
Tuesday was dedicated to the sexual revolution. I call this the “blunt force trauma” explanation. The sexual revolution destabilized marriage, which destabilized family life, which destabilized Christianity, which destabilized the West. Mary Eberstadt and Louise Perry were the star witnesses for this day.
Wednesday offered a look at expressive individualism, drawing on testimony from Carl Trueman. This is “the cancer diagnosis.” I note that expressive individualism seems to be a kind of descendant of “moral relativism,” the hated foe of religious conservatives in the 80s and 90s, as though the same problem has been growing and metastasizing for decades. Both stem from the denial of objective realities such as truth, nature, tradition, and God. Though I find much of value in Trueman’s exposition of “the rise of the modern self,” I also ask: Doesn’t Christianity also celebrate the uniqueness of human persons?
Thursday broached the question: Did liberalism kill Christendom? I muse on the relationship of Church and state over the past few centuries and say a few words about Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed.
Friday eased into literary and spiritual questions, considering whether the world has become disenchanted and spiritually desiccated. I dub this the “starvation theory,” with Paul Kingsnorth as the key witness. I acknowledge that the modern world has deep spiritual deficiencies. Nevertheless, I think Kingsnorth’s despairing diagnosis is far too grim (and perhaps a bit self-indulgent as well). The world is still full of beauty and joy! On that note, I gave the final word for the week to Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Recapping the Conversation
Nathan Smith has been immensely valuable in helping me hone each of these threads, and we set the stage this week for what I hope will be further lively debates about liberalism, proto-liberalism, and whether John Locke’s influence on Western politics is something to celebrate or something to mourn. (Or maybe it’s some of each?)
Shawn Buell raised some interesting questions about what the past few decades have shown us of the revealed preferences of women in particular. In what ways has the post-sexual-revolution era fulfilled or thwarted their wishes? And how does that relate to their real good?
Kristin White wondered whether sexual morals feature too prominently in Christian culture today, and argued that “radical financial egalitarianism” is more central to Christianity in its earliest forms. That led to a further discussion of chastity and its significance and logic.
Duane McMullen remarked on Chinese parallels to the Paul Kingsnorth phenomenon, drawing on his memories from living in China.
And Dan Hugger reminded us, quoting Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, that, “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” To my mind, that’s essentially the core of modern conservatism, and certainly very relevant to the project here at Christendom Reborn.
Thanks to all for a fun week! I can’t wait to hear people’s thoughts on next week’s essays on Rebuilding Christendom!
Final Quote
Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.
–G.K. Chesterton