Remaking the World
This summer I finished the draft of a book I've been working on for nearly four years. It will be published this time next year, with the likely title being Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West. Regular readers will know how excited I am about this, but may have little idea of why I've written it. (The short answer is: to explain why the modern world is the way it is, so the church can understand, serve and love it better.) So over the next few months I'll publish some excerpts, make some wider comments, and try to explain why someone who is interested in contemporary culture should consider reading it.
Today, though, I will start as simply as possible: with the table of contents. Everybody knows that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (though we do), let alone by its endorsements (though we might). But if you must assess a book by looking at just one page, I reckon the contents page is the best way to do it. Here goes:
- Part One: Changes
1. Roots: The Presence of the Past
2. Quirks: The WEIRDER World
- Part Two: Origins
3. Maps: Becoming Western
4. Patriots: Becoming Democratic
5. Lights: Becoming Educated
6. Sceptics: Becoming Ex-Christian
7. Machines: Becoming Industrialised
8. Lovers: Becoming Romantic
9. Profits: Becoming Rich
- Part Three: Responses
10. Christians: Grace, Freedom and Truth
11. Opportunities: Hamilton, Hunger Games and Human Rights