Critiquing the world by loving it

The Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is hard to qualify. It's a work of social criticism, but from a theological angle. The premise is that the Church has lost her savor because she has adopted the elements and ideologies of the world, or been lured into joining them. The answer is to develop an alternate way of life based on the Incarnation and eschaton that both critiques and embraces the world through loving our neighbors (via our daily work, service, prayer etc.) in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It has some of the best insights to the modern situation I've ever read, although it was written over 70 years ago. It is the introductory work of Jacques Ellul and I was left wanting to read more, although it is quite dense. If you read this, do not fail to read the conclusion; it brings together many of the strands that were left dangling in earlier chapters.