Rod Dreher Book order

Exploring the intersection of faith and contemporary society, this book delves into the challenges of maintaining a Christian spirituality amidst rising atheistic materialism. It presents thought-provoking concepts aimed at rejuvenating spiritual practices and beliefs, encouraging readers to engage deeply with their faith while navigating a secular world. The author offers insights and practical guidance for fostering a meaningful spiritual life that resonates in today's context.

Drawing on the experiences of Christian survivors from Soviet oppression, the author highlights the potential threats facing American Christians today. By sharing these powerful testimonies, the book serves as a cautionary tale, urging readers to remain vigilant and aware of the challenges to their faith and freedom. Through this lens, it aims to inspire resilience and preparedness in the face of adversity.

Identity politics are beginning to encroach on every aspect of life. Civil liberties are increasingly seen as a threat to "safety". Progressives marginalize conservative, traditional Christians, and other dissenters. Technology and consumerism hastens the possibility of a corporate surveillance state. And the pandemic, having put millions out of work, leaves our country especially vulnerable to demagogic manipulation. Dreher draws on the wisdom of Christian survivors of Soviet persecution to warn American Christians of approaching dangers. He explains how the totalitarianism facing us today is based less on overt violence and more on psychological manipulation. -- adapted from jacket

In a radical vision for the future of Christianity, American Conservative columnist Rod Dreher calls on American Christians to prepare for the coming Dark Age by embracing an ancient Christian way of life. From the inside, American churches are hollowed out by the departure of young people and by an insipid pseudo-Christianity. From the outside, they are beset by challenges to religious liberty in a rapidly secularizing culture. Keeping Hillary Clinton out of the White House might have bought a brief reprieve from the state's assault, but it will not stop the West's slide into decadence and dissolution. Rod Dreher argues that the way forward is actually the way back, all the way to St. Benedict of Nursia. This sixth-century monk, horrified by the moral chaos following Rome's fall, retreated to the forest and created a new way of life for Christians. He built enduring Christian communities based on principles of order, hospitality, stability, and prayer. His spiritual centers of hope were strongholds of light throughout the Dark Ages, and saved not just Christianity but Western civilization. Today, a new, post-Christian barbarism reigns. Many believers are blind to it, and their churches are too weak to resist. Politics offers little help in this spiritual crisis. What is needed is the Benedict Option, a strategy that draws on the authority of Scripture and the wisdom of the ancient church. The goal: to embrace exile from mainstream culture and construct a resilient counterculture. This book is both manifesto and rallying cry for Christians who, if they are not to be conquered, must learn how to fight on culture war battlefields like none the West has seen for fifteen hundred years. The Benedict option is for all mere Christians-Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox-who can read the signs of the times. Neither false optimism nor fatalistic despair will do. Only faith, hope, and love, embodied in a renewed church and resilient culture, can sustain believers in the dark age that has overtaken us. These are the days for building strong arks for the long journey across a sea of night