The Presence of the Kingdom

Year 1948
Type Book
Genre social ethics
Tradition Reformed
Original language French

For For any reader new to Ellul: the short early book that frames all his later work on Christians in a technical society. Not for a reader wanting a full ethics or a sociology.

Should I read this?

For the general reader: 4 of 5 strongly recommended
For the researcher: 4 of 5 important
Difficulty: 2 of 5 moderate

The short early book that sets out his whole programme: a Christian presence in a world run by means and techniques. The best first book by him.

How it proceeds

Philosophic 3 of 5
Scriptural 3 of 5
Experiential 2 of 5
Sociological 4 of 5
Historical 2 of 5

Independent intensities, 0–5 — what the work is made of, not how good it is.

Ellul's first theological book, published in Geneva by Roulet in 1948 with the subtitle Problèmes de la civilisation post-chrétienne. Written in the years after the war and the Resistance, it asks what it means for a Christian to be present in the modern world: how the church can be in the world without being of it, and why Christians must refuse the idea that the means of modern society are neutral. It introduces themes Ellul developed for the rest of his life, among them the dominance of means over ends, the call to a revolutionary Christian presence, and the need for a new style of life. It was translated by Olive Wyon as The Presence of the Kingdom (1951), and again by Lisa Richmond as Presence in the Modern World (2016).

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Catalog IDW.M6KYJP.P

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