375 - Paul Kingsnorth - Western Civilization Is Already Dead

Paul Kingsnorth gave a provocative talk for First Things' Erasmus Lecture of 2024, titled "Against Christian Civilization". In this episode, we discuss the essence of his argument, delving into the fundamental tensions between Christianity and civilization. How does faith interact with culture? What is the Biblical narrative around cities and governance? Are we misusing Christianity as a tool for cultural preservation over pursuing true spiritual transformation? Is Western Civilization as we know it even salvable at this point?<br /><br />-Paul Kingsnorth’s First Things talk: "Against Christian Civilization" | 2024 Erasmus Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/live/Y3hMSZqatHI?si=bmT1rqPyEF-LvR0_ <br />-Written article version of his talk: Against Christian Civilization, January 2025: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2025/01/against-christian-civilization <br /><br />==========NEW SYMBOLIC WORLD COURSE==========<br />Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford<br /><br />==========TIMESTAMPS==========<br />00:00 - Coming up<br />01:31 - Intro music<br />01:56 - Introduction<br />03:02 - The essence of Paul's talk<br />07:13 - Civilization and Revelation<br />12:02 - A Christian's challenge<br />16:45 - The Biblical vision<br />31:13 - What about the rulers?<br />37:01 - Buildings<br />42:10 - Brands and idols<br />47:27 - The seed and the fruit<br />49:24 - Celebrating stories<br /><br />💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com<br />🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau <br />🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe <br />🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe<br /> <br />📱 SOCIAL MEDIA  <br />Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld <br />Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan <br />Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau<br /><br />Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ <br />My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/<br />