Christianity Within Civilization

An engagement with Paul Kingsnorth and Peter Leithart

Photo by ben o'bro on Unsplash

In his October 2024 Erasmus Lecture, provocatively titled “Against Christian Civilization,” author and critic Paul Kingsnorth makes the case that Christianity is inimical to modernity and civilization building enterprises. For example, he poses the rhetorical question:

What, actually, is spiritually beneficial about this “Western civilization”—or any civilization? After all, Babylon and Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, were as civilized as the ancient world got.

He then proceeds to consider the seven deadly sins in relation to civilization and concludes that, “Our entire civilization, then, not only fails to resist these deadly sins, but actively encourages them. They are the very basis of its existence.” In contrast, Kingsnorth argues, we are called to follow an “uncivilized” Jesus, whose teachings are “impractical,” “transformational,” and fundamentally about love of God and neighbor, not power or redeeming Western Civilization. There is much right and persuasive about Kingsnorth’s lecture. I highly recommend it.

In response, however, Peter Leithart challenged Kingsnorth’s interpretation of Scripture, specifically his understanding of the Old and New Testaments. Where Kingsnorth seems to imply that uses of political power are inappropriate for Christians, Leithart finds biblical justification for them. He concludes that

Kingsnorth is right about how the world is transformed. It doesn’t happen when Christians claw for power but when we preach the gospel, serve, heal, raise up the poor, love enemies. But those actions are transformative, by divine intention. Through her witness and service, the church shapes civilizations that more resemble Jerusalem than Babel.

I hesitate to wade into this discussion between two men who are much more intelligent and insightful than I am, but it strikes me that Jacques Ellul’s work The Meaning of the City is helpful here, at least if we read it with a critical eye (Ellul tends to be a bit more pessimistic than is justified). I tried to outline a way of living in the City while acknowledging its corruption in You Are Not Your Own. Our calling is to live faithfully in Babylon, working for the welfare of the city while knowing that the spirit of the city is Autonomy from God and therefore wicked.