Author’s Intent
Jon Harris wrote this book to Christians who, aware of the issues of modern life (especially in the West), may not fully know how to shake the programming we’ve all grown up with.
Much of the work is focused on challenging the standard mode of living many find themselves in today. Namely, that we are disconnected individuals looking for fellowship based upon many superficial things, often largely online rather than locally.
Throughout the book, he challenges assumptions many of us have been propagandized into for most of our lives. Ideas like the propositional nation and that all use of power is tyrannical are offset against more traditional understandings of nations and communities.
What to Expect
Despite the challenges in society which Harris is addressing, he maintains a fairly optimistic tone throughout the work. There are many references and he cites many sources, but the book reads more like an appeal to reconsider assumptions than a textbook. It isn’t a quick read but I believe anyone interested in the topics he’s discussing will find the style accessible.
While other books I’ve reviewed have focused on exposing corruption or promoting a sort of broad plan for Christians to take united action, this work is more focused on encouraging believers to think and live differently in more local ways. Rather than a nation plan of action, you should expect to find appeals for changes in personal living and interactions with those immediate to you.
Topics Discussed
The thing which surprised me most about this book is how varied the topics discussed became. It begins by discussing the dangers of utopianism and importance of a worldview grounded in an understanding that there is a natural order to creation. Then moves to how that understanding pertains to community and local relationships.
It then moves to challenge liberal narratives about community which stand opposed to this. This section is largely focused upon the errors made in modernity when it pertains to understanding what a nation is and how it ought to be defined.
From there, he spends a couple of chapters offering criticism of the efforts on the political right to paint others on the right as radical and extremist for their opposition to the older liberal convictions about nations being primarily ideological rather than based upon a specific culture and people.
In the final official chapters he addresses the issues of failed leadership within the church and how we have been conditioned to be adverse to any use of power, believing it cannot be rightly ordered. This flows into a discussion of what it would mean to see national revival and what that would mean.
However, there are a number of chapters present in the Appendices which should not be skipped out on (which I had missed at first, because of the way Kindle presented them). He discusses the rhetorical methods Jesus used to address the problems (both religious and political) of that time in a way that disarmed the traps laid for him and without being overly pugnacious, goes over additional examples of failed church leadership, and how current political events have changed the nature of the divide growing in the church.
Objections
My only objection to the content of this book may be a regional problem and comes from my personal experience. However, it seems like the assumption made throughout is that the bigger movements and national leaders are compromised but if we focus on local activity we will find that we have what we need to reclaim a sense of community we’ve lost.
However, many of the same lukewarm, anti-political messages that the Big Eva circuit pastors are spreading in order to dampen Christian involvement are parroted by the most conservative minded local pastors, at least in my area. All of them fear even remotely wading into anything that might be considered political.
I cannot tell you how often I’ve heard theologically sound pastors apologize for “getting political” when they cover verses discussing homosexuality and transgenderism. They’re not even going to address the Biblical judgement of transgenderism.
A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 22:5
Instead, we get statements like “I’m sorry to say, boys are boys and girls are girls” and it’s dropped like they think they’ve said the most fringe thing ever uttered.
In such regions, it will be significantly more difficult to apply the otherwise wise council that Harris gives in this book. The struggle for at least some (seems like many) of us is that we need new leadership locally, but there is no obvious path to that. Leadership acts not only as current shapers of the community but also gatekeepers for future leadership.
Therefore, some readers may find a barrier to entry on application based upon their local situation.
Praise
The book does an amazing job of challenging the liberal indoctrination the American public has been saturated in for generations. If Christians are going to teach their nations to obey the commands of Christ, we must first shake off the worldly wisdom of our age designed specifically to frighten Christians into submission.
Harris also rightly diagnoses the type of rhetoric employed by compromised and weak leaders within the church. This can be extremely helpful for those who are in the church but not yet mature enough to discern exactly what is missing, though they have feelings that something is off. It will also hopefully serve as an encouragement for those leaders who aren’t compromised but need to be strengthened for their calling.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone still struggling to diagnose the hurdles to Christian community that we all feel a deep need to recover.
