The Mission of the Church in Post-Modernity

A close reading of seminal works, all by Christian authors, that are often cited, and widely influential, on the post-modern setting. For each author, there will be an introductory lecture, and there will be a student(s)’ precis of the content and argument, after which we will have a seminar-style discussion of the import for the Church’s life. Together they will offer distinct but mutually reinforcing tangents on our present situation. We will also consider related authors (Borgmann, Jenkins, Dreher, J. Smith). The following are the key texts to be engaged with: Alisdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (moral philosophy); Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (history of philosophy); Mary Douglas, Natural Symbols, (anthropology); Jacques Ellul, Technological Society (philosophy of technology); David Martin, Tongues of Fire (global sociology); and Jehu Hanciles, Beyond Christendom (demographics).