Kerby Anderson

Should Christians engage in a “strategic withdrawal” from society? That is the question Rod Dreher asks in his new book, The Benedict Option. He was on my radio program last month to talk about his vision for Christians. I have waited a few weeks to think about his book and to consider whether to write a commentary about it. You may not have heard about the book, but you likely have heard the conversations that Christians have been having about how to live in a society that in many ways is much more hostile to Christian ideas. Many Christians are losing their jobs because of their Christian values. Our children have to confront a culture more hostile to their faith than most of us experienced. The name “Benedict Option” comes from a paragraph in Alasdair MacIntyre’s book, After Virtue. He says that Christians are not waiting for Godot but rather for St. Benedict. Benedict was an educated young Christian who left Rome out of disgust with its decadence and began the monastic movement. Rod Dreher isn’t saying we should join a monastery, but does believe we have arrived at a time when “full participation in mainstream society” isn’t compatible with living according to Christian values. He is also concerned that the current worldview of most millennials simply will not withstand the onslaught of secular confrontation. In our interview we talked about the “moralistic therapeutic deism” that has been adopted by so many young Christians. The term comes from the work of Christian Smith, a sociologist at Notre Dame, who has been tracking youth views in his National Study of Youth and Religion. This shallow worldview will certainly be crushed by the secular trends of multiculturalism, postmodernism, and political correctness. While I believe Christians should engage society, I also agree that Christians in America and the West need to consider how to encourage and strengthen Christian faith in the lives of young Christians.