I immigrated to Canada from China about ten years ago. It was, well, a strange new world. New land, new language, new customs, and most importantly: new values that I had to adapt to. I soon became a practicing Christian after I came to Canada, and life went on. However, just in these ten years (and especially in the past 2 years), the western world began to change rapidly. traditional values that to me seemed to be common sense are now challenged and even ridiculed. Issues like sexuality, the sanctity of human life, and even human identity are now tipping heavily towards one side. The world, I'm guessing, will soon be turned upside-down. This has been a long time coming...
Overview
Strange New World is a condensed and more accessible version of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self both authored by Carl Trueman. In Strange New World, Trueman traces back history in search of the causes that lead to the sexual revolution and its aftermath. Trueman surveys many relevant thinkers of the past from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Karl Marx and explores how their ideologies regarding human identity lead to where we are today.
Trueman focuses on the idea of "expressive individualism" (how human identity is found within and must be expressed outwards) and walks the reader back in history to see how various thinkers influenced the west to reach the state of the world that we are in now. Trueman also explores how traditional, biblical values have lost their influence and legitimacy due to these social changes.
At times, Trueman would offer critiques of these aspects of expressive individualism, however, the aim of this book is more of a survey rather than a critique. At the end of the book, Trueman offers his insights on how Christians should live and conduct their lives in this strange new world.
Why Read This?
I have always found history to be a daunting subject because it's just so...broad. This is why I enjoyed this book so much. Trueman offers a short and concise history of prominent thinkers that fueled the path to the sexual revolution. This book is very accessible to the average reader.
I think it's important we learn about history. We are in spiritual warfare after all, so I think it's beneficial to know the plans of the enemy as much as possible. I learned a whole lot by reading this book, and now I have better insight into why the western world is like this today, and hopefully, this will lead to better and more effective conversations with people of the world. This will also help me not to fall into the same unbiblical cultural traps as many Christians have fallen into.
This book is a great starting place for anyone who is interested in cultural apologetics.
Potential Pitfalls
The reader who wants to more effectively utilize and understand the information in this book should read its longer counterpart, as mentioned in the overview section of this blog. Additionally, this type of subject is always up to really big debates, so be sure to be well-read before you blindly swing this information around.
Trueman mentions this in the book: Expressive individualism is not all bad. The sexual revolution was not all bad. As with anything in history, they are multi-faceted events. One will do well by taking to time to carefully consider all the factors before making a conclusion. God can certainly use evil for good, so don't neglect the possible good!
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