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2nd out of 11 books
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5 voters
Anarchy and Christianity
Jacques Ellul blends politics, theology, history, and exposition in this analysis of the relationship between political anarchy and biblical faith. On the one hand, suggests Ellul, anarchists need to understand that much of their criticism of Christianity applies only to the form of religion that developed, not to biblical faith. Christians, on the other hand, need to look...more
Paperback, 116 pages
Published
January 1st 1988
by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, they were higher than Ellul could realistically meet. He states both in the introduction and conclusion that his aim is neither to Christianize Anarchism nor to Anarchize Christianity. Rather, he seeks throughout this slim volume to point to the early Christian hostility to authority and to the notion that Christians and Anarchists face the same enemies and nemeses.
His hostility to Islam is disconcerting, as he presents himself as someone learned in...more
His hostility to Islam is disconcerting, as he presents himself as someone learned in...more
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Jacques Ellul started the book by saying in its introduction that Anarchy is an impossibility. My reaction was a variation of shipwrecked emotions, however, upon finalizing the book, Ellul marinated my mentality back into an inevitable conclusion of anarchistic devotion to the god that makes Law natural to humanity, including those who do not believe in Him.
I was always under the impression that only Christians could live in Anarchist societies (as do the Amish, Quakers and many Mennonites, as a...more
I was always under the impression that only Christians could live in Anarchist societies (as do the Amish, Quakers and many Mennonites, as a...more
I was surprised at how readable this book was, and it was very interesting to hear someone expand on a lot of things I've thought about myself. Ellul doesn't go too deep, and some of his exegesis seems a bit questionable, but for the most part it was interesting reading and gave me plenty of things to think about. He discusses nonviolence and nonvoting and devotes quite a bit of time toward demonstrating that Jesus and the early Christians did not support political powers and hierarchies. His in...more
Jan 26, 2008
Beth
marked it as to-read
I'm dying to read this book!
A demoralizing disappointment, even though my expectations had been lowered ahead of time by Brad Belschner. Offers very little in terms of a sketch of what anarchy really means and looks like in practice, and his walk through the Bible is so oversimplistic and selective that I was embarrassed for him. Of course, I recognize he's trying to write a brief summary, and so he has to simplify, but there are two different kinds of simplicity. In one, the author is drawing on such a wealth of understan...more
I liked this book, not because it said good things, but because it talked about something important. Jacques Ellul's opinions are ridiculous, but at least they're different from the normal interpretations you've been exposed to. Ellul makes you reconsider...what does 1 Peter 2:13-25 really mean? What does obedience to Romans 13:1-7 look like? How did Jesus act towards the civil magistrates? What does "render unto Caesar" mean?
Initially I rated this book 2 stars because Ellul's interpretations a...more
Initially I rated this book 2 stars because Ellul's interpretations a...more
Ellul is always challenging and insightful. In this book he tries to demonstrate the commonalities between Christian belief and philosophical anarchy. I think he succeeds in demonstrating some of the Bible's ambivalence toward human institutions, rulers and government. I don't buy his whole argument and would say that while he nuances some of the biblical witness he can also be reductionist.
There are some great things here in terms of how Christians relate to power and government. There is also...more
There are some great things here in terms of how Christians relate to power and government. There is also...more
Kind of interesting. Not exactly light reading and certainly from a Protestant perspective. One erratum: He lists the date of Herod the Great's death as AD 4. It was 4 BC. His interpretation of the Paul's letter to the Romans passage about obeying our governmental overlords is unlikely to be correct. This is the problem of trying to harmonize the Bible. Really once you do the minimum of Christ's rendering unto Caesar, Paul's subservient position is historically interesting, but probably not pres...more
I thought this book really failed to convince me, which is a shame because I'm respectively open to and practicing the two subjects of the book. Foremost, I think I disliked his attempt to reconcile anarchy and Christianity from almost legalist interpretations of Biblical passages. It's the same technique definitively-archist Christians use to justify capitalism, authority and the like. What five or ten or thirty passages *imply* seems irrelevant to me if it doesn't match the overall philosophy...more
like other Goodreads reviewers, i didn't find what i'd expected in this book (though tbh i'm not sure what i expected). it was brief, engaging (most of the time), and for me charted unexplored interpretations of some of the most apparently State-validating verses of the Bible. at some points it seemed rushed, xenophobic, Islamophobic, Eurocentric, and oddly unconcerned with non-Christians and/or non-anarchists suffering exploitation and violence from existing nation-states. in addition, i found...more
Ellul was maddeningly talented, so why he didn't develop the thoughts crammed in here a bit more is a mystery to me. He was certainly capable of going into more detail here, and I wish he had.
Like most Christian anarchists, this book was a key help for me early on. It meanders a bit too much, but its basic walk through Scripture in the center of the book is a good start.
Ellul sets out to reconcile anarchy and Christianity, a noble task for a society that has largely allied the "archists" (governmental empire) with it's form of Christianity, and for the communities of anarchists that have been rejecting Jesus. I appreciate Ellul for his philosophical and theological insight on the matter. What I believe he lacks is a description of what a Christian/ anarchist reconciled community looks like/ acts like in todays world. Perhaps this is where Christian communities...more
I thought a lot of the ideas in this book were good and I agreed with most of what he said, but I really hate the term "Anarchy." I'm not sure where my aversion stems from but that word is really a turn off to me. I don't like government at all but don't call me an anarchist. Thanks.
May 29, 2009
Joel Mitchell
is currently reading it
another Ellul book - actually was able to find this one in french!
I had high hopes for Ellul's work, but I was not terribly impressed with this essay. It is, perhaps, a good primer to the subject matter but the discussion lacks significant nuance and depth. Moreover, the structure of Ellul's argument seemed a bit disorganized and the exegesis was inexhaustive. I appreciate the book, but I don't know that I will go back to it anytime soon.
Awesome
Very, Very Interesting. In many ways a way of speaking of the politics of Jesus from a slightly different angle. Mostly, this will be a good resource for interpretation of Christian's relationship to power.
[No matter what God's power may be, the first aspect of God is never that of the absolute Master, the Almighty. It is that of the God who puts himself on our human level and limits himself] Jacques Ellul
Not as detailed as I would have liked. But it's good introduction for those that might never have considered that anarchist political philosophy and Christian theology might go hand-in-hand.
A bit straightforward, but I learned the important concept of every generation produces Christians that intuitively follow Jesus and live out the Kingdom here on earth.
Great analysis of Jesus' message and pre-Constantinian christianity. Shows how truly following Jesus looks a lot like anarchism.
Short but solid apologetic for christian anarchism.
This is almost persuasive of the Christian anarchist position.
Jun 17, 2013
Whoof
marked it as to-read
Jun 17, 2013
Dave Menace
marked it as to-read
Jun 04, 2013
Dale
marked it as to-read
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Baptised Catholic, Ellul became an atheist and Marxist at 19, and a Christian of the Reformed Church at 22. During his Marxist days, he was a member of the French Communist Party. During World War II, he fought with the French Underground against the Nazi occupation of France.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strau...more
More about Jacques Ellul...
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strau...more
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“No matter what God's power may be, the first aspect of God is never that of the absolute Master, the Almighty. It is that of the God who puts himself on our human level and limits himself.”
—
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