The Benedict Option & A Creative Minority -- a Book Review

The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation: Rod Dreher; Random House, New York, New York: 2017. 262 pages, including indices. $14.98

A Creative Minority: Influencing the Culture Through Creative Participation: Jon Tyson & Heather Grizzle: San Bernadino, CA: 2016. 59 pages. $4.99

In early 2017, the Christian blogosphere -- along with other Christian media outlets -- lit up with discussion surrounding Rod Dreher's book, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. A cursory search on the Christianity Today website, for example, reveals the varied responses to Dreher's proposal, and it's clear that Dreher has, at the very least, touched a nerve. What is the Benedict Option, and is it in fact an option for Christians to consider as they weigh various approaches to engaging culture?

It's tough to argue with Dreher's analysis of contemporary culture, and many Christians, especially those of a more traditional leaning, will nod in agreement as Dreher cites examples of increasing secularism in Western Culture. "American Christians are going to have to come to terms with the brute fact that we live in a culture," he writes, "one which our beliefs make increasingly little sense." In chapters 1 & 2, he is thorough in defining the contemporary crisis -- citing and describing Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, and "Liquid Modernity" as the ethos of our culture, and then tracing the historical threads that have led us here -- from Medievalism through Humanism, to Post-modernism. Consequently, we are, he argues, "Living under barbarism, though we do not recognize it. Our scientists, our judges, our princes, our scholars and our scribes -- they are at work demolishing the faith, the family, gender, even what it means to be human."  If we take for granted that Dreher's assessment is accurate -- and for the sake of this review, I'm willing to do so -- the reader begins to sense the urgency of action. Against that backdrop then, Dreher states his goal: "to wake up the church and to encourage it to act to strengthen itself, while there is still time. If we want to survive, we have to return to the roots of our faith, both in thought and in practice."

That, then, becomes the goal of the rest of the book -- outlining the Benedict Option as a strategy that will allow the church to "survive." Named for the practices of the Benedictine Monks of Nursia, Italy, the Benedict Option is a way of life rooted in historical tradition that works toward "the restoration of Christian belief and Christian culture." Dreher identifies 7 practices that define the way of life for a Benedictine Community (at Nursa, Italy, or in contemporary America): Order, Prayer, Work, Asceticism, Community, Stability, and Hospitality. How important are these practices? Dreher pulls no punches. "Those who don't do some form of what you're talking about," he argues, quoting a colleague, "aren't going to make it through what's coming."

Dreher then shifts his focus, suggesting ways that a contemporary Benedictine way of life might play out in various aspects of culture -- including politics, church, schools, media, and sexuality.  And again, in each of these areas, Dreher doesn't hold back, either in his assessment of how dire contemporary culture (as he sees it) is, or in how radical Christian must be in constructing an alternative culture. As for politics, Dreher maintains that we are living through "a political earthquake [that is] shaking the foundations of the post-war order." Christians must instead establish what he terms a "parallel polis" that will enable Christians to flourish without fear of government intervention. When it comes to education, Dreher is even less optimistic. "I'ts time to pull them out," he says, referring to children not just in public schools, but in Christian schools as well! Instead, he promotes (in what, in my opinion, reads like an extended commercial) establishing Classical Christian schools as alternative educational institutes. How these Classical Christian schools would be immune to the shortcoming he describes in Christian schools is not immediately clear, however.

Near the end of his book, he summarizes his concerns. I have attempted to "sound the alarm," he explains. "The Benedict option is a call to undertaking the long and patient work of reclaiming the real world from the artifice, alienation and atomization of modern life." And sound the alarm he does -- and, at least in part, to good effect. Dreher is likely correct in both his analysis of our contemporary culture, and in warning the church of the urgency of the present hour. Christians have always had to think carefully about how they will engage in the broader culture, and the increase of secularism today makes that harder and harder. Sadly, the church has often been much more ready to accommodate  herself to the "great flood" (as Dreher terms it) than to stand against the current of the age. Dreher's analysis to that end, is valuable.

But the greatest strength of the book is also it's greatest weakness. Dreher indeed sounds the alarm, but in doing so, he is also alarmist. He repeatedly emphasizes the moral and spiritual crisis, and this fear, this anxiety, then, becomes the impetus to act.  Dreher leaves the impression that Christians must do something, or the church itself will implode. Indeed, this is more than just implied -- it is explicitly stated by Dreher himself. Follow his path, or the church will cease to be.

The subtitle of The Benedict Option is "A Strategy For Christians in a Post-Christian Nation." This subtitle offers an insight -- unintended, perhaps -- that is useful. A strategy is a tactical plan to accomplish a desired outcome. Of course, this begs the question here: What is the desired outcome? Reading Dreher's book,it would appear that the desired outcome is the preservation of the past, the protection of Christians from the evils of secularism. As I've stated, this actually isn't an entirely unworthy objective; Christians do need to be alert to the influence of the culture around us. We do need to guard our hearts and our minds. But is that the singular goal of Christianity? How does this objective square with the biblical "desired outcome"?

And this leads into what is an even more troubling problem with this volume, namely the lack of engagement with scriptural ideas. To be sure, there are scripture references throughout that are used to support specific practices (and these references are well-used), but there is scant attention paid to the bigger biblical picture. There is little wrestling with biblical patterns for how Christians of old had to live in the shadow of the Roman Empire, or as exiles in Babylon. This matters because reading Dreher, you might come to the conclusion that in no time ever in the history of the Church have Christians had to face a culture as morally and spiritually bankrupt as our own. But of course, that is not the truth -- the church has existed in a culture every bit as decadent and depraved as our present culture, and by God's sovereign grace, He has preserved her; not only has He preserved her, but He sent her into this world to be salt, to be light, to be ambassadors, to be witnesses.

And here is where Jon Tyson & Heather Grizzle are much more helpful. Together, they have written a (too) short piece that suggests an alternative approach for Christians. In A Creative Minority: Influencing Culture Through Redemptive Participation, they argue well for an approach to culture that does not -- as Dreher seems to suggest -- retreat from culture, but rather both challenges, and participates in it. They remind us well that the culture of Jesus' day was every bit as broken and fallen as today, and that there were at least four varied responses (the Essenes, who withdrew, the Pharisees, who acted as cultural police, the Sadducees who accommodated to the culture, and the Zealots who worked for violent overthrow of the culture). However, Jesus didn't adopt or promote any singular response, but rather, he "entered into that societal melee, and frustrated, offended, and confounded every one of these strategies. He came with a different approach and message," they suggest, and this different approach is what they define as being "A Creative Minority."

Contrary to the Benedictine Option, Tyson & Grizzle do not aim to "propose ways to regain cultural dominance, take back our world for God, or revisit an unrealistic and nostalgic past." Rather,  "if we take on the posture and identity of a Creative Minority, we may rekindle the light in the bushel, and in so doing, cast a hopeful glimmer on the world."  The remainder of the book details the six defining marks of being a  Creative Minority: Authentic community over loose networks; Narrative: telling a compelling alternative story; Ethics; Practicing Counter-formative actions; Authority (Allegiance to Jesus first); Exerting redemptive influence; and being a faithful and fruitful presence. Careful readers will notice overlap in these two approaches -- but the fundamental difference can be summed up in posture. Dreher advocates for a posture that comes across as retreat, while Tyson & Grizzle promote a stance that is missional in nature. ""Wherever you live, whatever your work is, I invite you to consider becoming a Creative Minority so you can redemptively influence the world that Jesus so dearly loves."  Both Dreher and Tyson & Grizzle agree on the nature of the world we live in -- but Dreher advocates an approach that, to be blunt, seems antithetical to what Jesus practiced. Tyson & Grizzle, on the other hand, seem to promote a posture that fits just so with the call of the gospel. If there is a weakness in this work, it is that it is far too short; 59 pages is hardly enough to introduce an idea as intriguing as this, and in these pages, they manage to introduce their concept, but they do little more than that. Their idea deserves further development, and perhaps that will come -- but the development is only found in seed form here.

So what is our option, as Christians? How should we react to the cacophony of our culture? Dreher and Tyson & Grizzle agree on the problem -- and many (though of course not all) Christians will agree with their analysis. But retreating isn't an option; there is too much at stake. Throughout history, God has repeatedly sent his people into the darrkest corners of culture to participate as a redemptive light. That is a far better option.