European Brain Snakes: Postmodernism as a Species

Onslaught #1

by Douglas Wilson

"Seeping postmodernism" is Doug's topic in this book, in which "we surmise that the brain is Ireland and we call for St. Patrick." Once you read it, you will have no reason to be intimidated by Foucault or Derrida. These and other issues are addressed in this short series of punchy pamphlets. These bite-size guides--digestible in a sitting or two--are great introductions to cultural hot topics.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian, Cultural, Theology

86 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

I write in order to make the little voices in my head go away. Thus far it hasn't worked.

Reviews

[Wade Stotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in Sept 2016, May 2018, and in April 2022 for the audiobook.

[Josh Sieders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Wilson's completely unique voice, often chuckling and frequently underlining. His take on post-modernism pulls no punches and I appreciate his candor and his warning to evangelicals about craving relevance and acceptance and the trade-off this often requires. I gave the book 3 stars because it was a bit disjointed. More a collection of essays or blogposts. Thematically they fit together, but the flow was a bit choppy. A small book, I still recommend...

[Donald Owens II · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not just another missile lobbed at the foundations of postmodernism, but a flashing neon arrow pointing at the feet of the postmodernist, which reads, "Look Ma; no foundation!"

I wish everyone would read it, especially preachers who need this reminder from page 27: "The Bible demands that preachers speak the very oracles of God. The pulpit is required to be the place where we hear “thus says the Lord,” and not, “it seems to me, at least for now.”"

[Jason Garwood]

A witty little slap in the postmodern face. Yes, that was my absolute propositional meta-narrative.

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and punchy.

[John Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only is the topic covered well, but covered in the kind of way that makes it hard to forget. The author's metaphors have the effect of an everlasting gobstopper.

[Sean Kewley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In European Brain Snakes, Wilson takes his oiled AR-15 whit and mag-dumps the cold, dying, oozing body of postmodernism. Also, he explains why so many Christians like the goopy chunks of postmodernism, and encourages the most simple thing of all: taking a position. A spicy read, and worth the read-again.

[Leandro Dutra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looses a star for an all too-facile tone overall and for a groundless attack on Christians espousing the framework interpretation of Genesis (Meredith Kline, John H Walton, poor me). Other than that, a very interesting send-up of ‘Christian’ post-modernism.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining look at postmodernism, a little dated discussing Emergents (are they even still around?) but the content is right on. I loved the healthy dose of Presuppositional apologetic thought in this, I am going to reread this again soon. Highly recommended

[Kyle Grindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent treatment of postmodernism.

[Mwansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Postmodernism is here! Christians should be aware of what it is and why it is a problem. Doug Wilson uses this small book to show that postmodernism fails by its own name because it isn't actually Post Modern (that is built from the ashes of modernism). But he goes further to show that postmodernism is antithetical to the gospel at its very core.

He begins to show this from an epistemological point of view, which is basically an understanding of knowledge. He then shows this in different other aspects but always brings it back to the root that the God has communicated to us a right way to know him, know everything else and the right way to live. Postmodernism attacks all these three head on and we must stand for the truth of God.

He ends by looking at the effect of postmodernism on the education sector and that chapter alone is worth the whole book.

[Bryan Kuranaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate Wilson's humor, in general, and throughout this book, in particular. He does a fantastic job of illustrating the absurdity of both modernism and postmodernism in a comical fashion. There simply is no truth without God and the (post)modernist has no foundation or basis for what they are saying. A telling argument that Wilson makes is when one of his family members performs an exercise where he mixes various words together (noun, pronoun, adverb, verb, adjective) and writes an essay with random words. He then submits it to his colleague who reads it and responds with how "deep" the essay is. That's postmodernism in a nutshell. It sounds fancy and appears deep, but it really lacks any sense and is without lasting value.

[Tim Suffield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doug Wilson is as rambunctious and engaging to read as ever, but this one missed for me a bit. I think that this was mostly because I wasn't particularly familiar with the writers/figures he was railing at. I can get my head around the idea of 'postmodernism in the church' but struggle to tether that to specific ideas, practices or directions of thought since I wasn't aware of the ones he touched on.

As a result, for me at least, it felt a bit like hearing one side of an argument.

The bits I could follow seemed an amusing, and occasionally devastating, critique of the (post)modernism.

[Jared Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this little book to not really have any new information for me. I already knew that postmodernity did not have a foundation on which to build. If you have not really done any previous reading about postmodernism, or "pomo" as the author familiarizes it, this may be a nice way to jump in.

I also found this author's style was hard to follow. The vocabulary is an odd mix of academic language and familiar, colloquial language. Other reviewers have found this style "refreshing", and no doubt it can be, but I had difficulty with it.

[Phil Cotnoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just really enjoy and appreciate Wilson's writing. A refreshing voice and often clarifying for my own thinking.

[Logan Thune · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't call it a paradigm shifter for me because it wasn't. Nonetheless, it's a good challenge to our cultural malaise.

[Jonathan Millar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to follow at times, but makes some great points. Doug's wit and humour is always entertaining.

[Dan Berkholder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug is on a perpetual roll in this one. The punches just keep coming. Truly one of the most funny books I have ever read. Great short read.

[Tyler Busha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little heady / wordy at times, but overall a good read.

[Dr. Jon Pirtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilson't book, Angels in the Architecture, remains my favorite. But this is a close second. Read Wilson's books. In a world of anemic posers, Wilson is a stalwart warrior.

[Jesus Salgado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Punchy, witty, helpful, and thought-provoking. Does that sound like a Doug Wilson book? :)

[William Schrecengost · Rating 4 out of 5]

An attack on the seeping postmodernism in the church. Probably should’ve started with this one. The whole series appears to build off of this one and his Serrated Edge.

[Matthew French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and accessible book that highlights some of the main points of European philosophy that led to the postmodern movement.

[Will Dole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and clear-headed, if not always clearly written. A bit of "too cute by half," as Charles C.W. Cooke likes to say.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Wilson vs the Postmodernists is always entertaining.

[Tyler Jarboe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious rebuke of postmodernism.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a critique of Postmodernism as a whole, but specifically in its expression in Evangelicalism. Since postmodernism is a hollow, intellectually vapid position, the book is written in a highly sarcastic tone, perfect for the job. There are some very timely warnings here about guarding ourselves from being infected with the postmodern (or as he calls it, "pomo"), presuppositions. The Emergent church movement is the primary target here, but many of the heretical foundations of the movement are increasingly acceptable to other, more supposedly conservative Evangelicals. Wilson make no bones about calling the Emergent position a lie from hell. He writes, "This lie (for that is what it is) cloaks itself in 'epistemic humility' and postures for the cameras, all the while telling us that this demeanor of theirs is the foundation of authentic evangelism. In other words, living in community 'with authenticity' is apparently to be built on the philosophical foundation of denying that there is any such a thing as authenticity."

[Ben Smitthimedhin · Rating 3 out of 5]

European Brain Snakes is written to expose the absurdity of postmodern Christianity. Some strong truths, sarcasm, and analogies are given to criticize the Emergent Church movement (specifically in its anti-doctrinal circles). The only problem I have with this little book is that it fails to give a coherent outline of Doug's main ideas. This book reads like a shotgun; it's a collection of blog posts rather than a chapter by chapter analysis of postmodernism. Once I got to the end (an awkward and abrupt end, if I may add), I felt like the overall message was lost.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was much I enjoyed in this short ebook, but I have to say I often find sections of these Onslaught series of ebooks confusing. I think because the books are short, quite often Douglas Wilson just refers to the phenomenon / person / movement he's attacking, before swiftly demolishing it, and if you're not familiar with the specific example in question, it can get very confusing. Perhaps being British doesn't help here.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff.