Magazine that i edit also thinks to peter who is the editor for contributing so much to making this evening have been really it was his idea to have a big event like this to mark the publication of this important book and also i would like to think the people at the american conservative who is a tireless blocker as we all know. [laughter] actually right now he is posting. [laughter] and i would like to think that we are trying to think about how to move forward in Tumultuous Times of change not just in the political culture but also there is a spiritual earthquake abroad in the west and in our society and we try to do about what that really means so the plow magazine is on everybodys chair and so is the american conservative there are subscription cards in the magazines ready for you to fill out because were cheap thats not true we did the provide everybody a copy because we assumed an audience like this you were all subscribers already. But if yours was lost in the mail we would be happy to provide you with a copy as well as an opportunity to subscribe. So now it is my honor to produce our speaker as an accomplished author including how dante can save your life including this book the benedict option. But more than an author he is merely a teacher. Not with thousands but tens of thousands people people, regularly with the end it is our developed it is a genuine conversation though you can think about or read about Charles Taylor or serious ideas are serious people or where else can you go to have somebody mentioned all the names in the same posting so really in his ongoing for many people throughout the United States because they try to think about how it should be lived in the present age. Oh by to introduce ride in his role as teacher and how they think how they live as christians in the 21st century plays welcome rod dreher. [applause] as your teacher tonight anybody who bought a copy it is so great to be bad kinnear. Thank you very much to all the and then to come together to talk about what we do in this moment in the time that we have things to the american conservative for sponsoring this event and you may have seen recently some of criticism to be an alarmist the critics are right i am alarmist about the state of our culture and civilization with a condition of the church if you were a faithful christian and not alarmed i think youre feeling to read the signs of the times and not paying attention. I do not claim the world is coming to an end after although man knows the day or the our. But i am claiming that a world is coming to an end and christians dont take radical actions of her own lives in congress and perish in concord asian right now what made western civilization will not survive for long in the post christian phase. Akio years ago and noted public intellectual said it is obligatory to compare todays situation with the decline of the roman empire in the final days it functioned as a great historical framework but in practice its energy was depleted. It went on to lament the collapse of the forces that sustain us win the air of the global thrown the was an existence nearly 2,000 years facing the greatest spiritual crisis then tension must be paid. What are the signs of the times . After all of leftist separate peace and prosperity but with that mounting political crisis so i just came in this afternoon from a couple of days in washington if he were on the left or the right people are pretty anxious about the future plans sounds of the spiritual depletion are impossible to deny if we are spiritually depleted or morally exhausted our prosperity will not last a lot cite a litany of statistics but i will focus on a few that are of particular interest to christians i think most of us realize that christian base of secular europe United States is thought of as a counterexample and that is no longer tenable american journal of sociology stated then data shows the u. S. Is on the same downward path power lung negative pioneered by our cousins. One out of three americans of their religion aside. Windows to do remain affiliated in some capacity they have been formed by a pseudo religion that resembles christianity in name only. They called this moralistic and therapeutic here is the language and conceptual vocabulary of christianity but in fact, it is the field of philosophy perfectly suited to the individualistic post Christian Society that worships itself smith and his Research Colleagues found it is the defector religion of most Young Americans today and smith found among 18 and 23 yearold christian surveyed only 40 said their personal moral beliefs are grounded in the bible or another religious sensibility. And an astonishing 61 said they have a moral problem at all with materialism or consumerism and added 30 expressed those but said it is now worth worrying about saying all that society is is a collection of autonomous individuals out to enjoy life. America is necessitated by the cold war as a was told in the interview for the benedictus option that is stripped away by the combination of capitalism in liberal individualism. The sociologists call in defrays the perfectly captures the revolutionary spirit of the time and place of liquid modernity that is characterized by a conscious break with the authority of the past and the institutions but solid modernity describes the pace of change quickened from the past but still slow enough for most people to which justin things still seem more or less solid than now we have moved into liquid modernity a change so rapid that nothing new habits or customs has time to solidify. With liquid modernity the person who has no allegiance beyond themselves or their selfinterest and will suit their own preference in there is no solid ground anymore. From a christian perspective i like bin liquid modernity to the great flood of the bible all the familiar landmarks of our faiths are submerged and swept away when i go to the evangelical colleges to talk about t11 the benedict option i am shocked of professors that say so very few of their students that come out of Christian Homes and churches know very little about the basic facts in narrative of the Christian Faith this cannot be turned back. The best we can do is ride that out in by gods grace make it to a future when we do find dry land again so what is the benedict option and what does it have to do with this dire scenario . The term comes from the paragraph from the book after virtue the philosopher explained how modernity overthrew the old source of moral order rooted in christianity but the amendment could not produce the authoritative replacement for its it has been unraveling for some time and it is reaching a point of reckoning liberalism is not sufficient to do that necessary work to give the members purpose. In his books conclusion mcintyre also combined compared present time to romans collapse and those which obscures from our eyes and how fragile you are on the inside. The first imperial roman times quit trying to show hour of that social order to focus on building new forms of community to live out there moral traditions with a very uncertain future. So today we have a new st. Benedict as he is known today as the founder as the patron saint of europe for years after the last roman empire abdicated was sent to the city of rome is a pious young man to complete his education but what benedict saw with the barbarians disgusted him. And two found 12 monasteries governed by the arkansas constitution of the rule of Saint Benedict the rule itself is of a monastery it is not a book of spiritual secrets but sets out an order from living if you read negative out rule as i have you may be shocked out plane that was i thought it would be of book of a mystical saying but it isnt and you would never guess for reading it the key role this little book plays to save western civilization. After benedict dies the months spread out all over barbarian europe. They taught them how to pray but how to grow things and make things with skills that our lost so the rituals and the liturgy to keep alive and cultural memory of christian rome because they check of negative zero of stability where they took their vows to the end of their lives peasants would gather around of a monastery with a dark band chaotic time. Benedictus and monasteries to that cultural story water that was obliterated and it all happened not because benedict of mercy sent out to make rome great again but how to best serve the zero board during a terrible crisis. Every good thing that followed from that decision for girl sore right about my visits i interview them how their core values can be applied to every day Christian Life of stability and community and the benedictine daily life. With the sense of life giving order with the divine presence all around us. And told me the of monastery is a sign of contradiction in the modern world. And a guard rail has disappeared from the year so captured that we dont recognize the danger the forces of Popular Culture when it is too great for them to resist on their own to have those families of faith this is for her every day christians for those that are called to live and though world. Contrary to what he may have read not at all. We have to evangelize and serve the neighbors are we fail to serve the lord put all thoughts of total withdrawal of of your mind but it does call for a strategic separation from the everyday world. What do i mean by that . Between ourselves and the World Business hedonistic post Christian Society and cannot expect to go into the world to keep that lit any more than a church with a Gale Force Wind to expect to keep fat with. I had dinner a couple of nights ago to was an inspiration for the benedict option to talk about the loss of cultural memory of christianity and how vitally important it is so i ask them and he read the benedict option and a copy of it so what you think we should do . It is in the book. And to get that endorsement and here is the paradox of the benedict option and the church will be a blessing for the world than the church will have to spend more time away from the world deepening its commitment to god and scripture with a christian history and tradition. We cannot give to the world what they do not have yes we should engage with the world but not the extent of our stability but the use of a couple of examples to illustrate what i mean jeremiad chapter 29 to tell his people and the babylonian exile to integrate into the life and he planned to deliver them one day but do not let the profits among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams they will encourage them to have. I have not sent them declares the zero board. In the Exile Community there would be profits telling people exactly what they want to hear a comforting popular live but jeremiah was a true profit of the lord. Because you live outside the Exile Community he could hear the lords voice more clearly the somehow and to be assimilated. In the book of daniel left the jews to worse state officials under the king when he ordered them to go down before the false idol they refused even on the pain of death so the king threw them into the fiery inferno but it did not consume them how did the state officials at the same time develop such a strong faith that they were willing to lose everything, even their own lives for retracing their god not to go down to that title . That is what is facing christians today with their own babylonian exile post christian america. We have to walk a middle path between christian fundamentalist reject everything about the world and those who love the world so much for the sake of the privileges but must never become an excuse let it must never the that cowardice from ourselves there must the ben something about the daily lives from the three jews that train them spiritually so when theyre put to the altman test they passed the past to be that way with us also were feeling at this badly so with christian infidelity if we dont change our way of living we will not survive as the church we will be assimilated there is another way so i talk about the various ways we can and should do this education and the workplace the way we use technology and the way we think and approach sex and such ruddy. But to say one thing that is on the minds of a lot of people this policy. As i was writing the book i expected Hillary Clinton to win the presidency so the future of religious liberty would have been bleak and that would have happened. But it did not have been some conservative christians are breathing a sigh of relief as the donald Trump Victory sounded the all clear. Do not believe that for one second. But know that we have not seen yet from this executive order nor did we see much enthusiasm from the Republican Congress migrate fear from conservative christians may have been played for fools by this administration and i hope i am wrong. But get serious. Even if donald trump were a st. He could not hold back the liquid modernity tsunami because this is far beyond the power of politics. If america and had a cross between pericles and Billy Grahams we would still need the benedict option. [laughter] and i should point out of was writing about the benedict option one decade before the decision that has shocked christiansen to realization of where we stand in this culture. If samesex marriage did not exist we would still need the benedict option isnt liberal democrats but the core problem that has turned its back on christian orthodoxy the problem is us with a dantes Divine Comedy so win the pilgrim dante tells marco ideas come from tuscany and the world is of less there is violence and chaos with the social breakdown what can we do . Have we turned that around . He says the world as blind and goes on to tell the pilgrim dante if you want to know how to turn things around start with yourself and look inside your own heart so the problem is with you that is good device for us recovery and rebuilding the world i believe the christian stay active in policies working as were able for the common good and especially fighting to protect religious liberty but we cannot afford to make this a mistake as the prior generation of conservatives personal religious right the problem with American Culture was fundamentally immoral to capture that political and judicial offices to restore the public to the moral footing but they were wrong republicans kept winning that obscured the laws of the culture. I believe those politics it is more important to build up the local community in it is to shore up the imperial. A want america to prosper but it is far more important to be a faithful christian benefit american. The two should not conflict but when they do we have got to know whose side the year on to worry about persecution . To an extent, yes you cannot fault the law professors educators or others on the front lines of the debate to remain sanguine about the future those who do not prepare under their authority are failing in their duty but that is in the future and as i see it the greater problem right now is the steady erosion by the restlessness of individualism and hedonism and consumerism and to face the fact we see the rise of the sun god the racism have to repudiate. If we stay true to our faith that have to listen to voices from outside their right here right now from the christian past especially the up the modern era of an era of the fathers. How else can we tell the difference between those who speak this comforting lies the all want to hear like jeremiah to preach the prophetic word of god . Test test test the 1990s and 2000s and resilience of local community and local religious life and denominational competition to bought up social order. They are fragmenting and falling apart. In that landscape, it is a situation where trying to build resilience communities, resilient christian communities, resilient communities period if you are part of the society for secular is an argument we can have later. Building resilient communities nature be the answer but it is an important answer to the challenges of our time. I talked about this in the column i wrote this week. I think about the usefulness of the benedict option i think the extremism who should hit home. There are people who should read, mildly break New York Times rules and talk about one of my fellow columns david brooks wrote a column about rods book and said something to the effect it seems like there are lot of monks in this cack. One response i have is the one i wrote in my column and the message is not that everyone should become a monk but it is everyone where they are should take one more in a store monk direction. That is an important way to read the benedict option. Dont assume you need to revolutionize and pull your kids out of whatever school they are in and build an organic form. Suppose you take one step toward a benedictian life. We dont have a surplus of monks in the United States. It wouldnt be the worst thing if people read rods book and says maybe there is something for me to think about. But my wife forbids me from becoming a monk so that is for someone else. Thank you. [applause] it has been special to be a part of your book launch this. In 2010, in the midst of on going debate in the county about islamic extremism chancellor murk law told ther party quote we dont have too much islam. We have too little christianity. We have too few discussions about mankind. Germany should view this to allow having a conversation about the values that guide us and we have to stress this with confidence. The rock in american christianity has been discussed for decades. I have a book that heavily influenced be and in the introduction of the book, williard writes, more than any other quote, the practical irrelevance accounts for the tendency to emphasize pol politically and the overall personal sanity and wellbeing end. Rods baseline analysis that americans who identify as christians do not have their lives rightly disorder and this disorder will not protect ethem in times of testing. One of the gifts of the book is it it possible to support jesus today. His conviction shared so boldly and a great encouragement. For those who reduce ideas to a disengagement strategy are not dealing with the book honestly. It is incorrect to disassociate from the political contest. He includes a chapter in the benedict option. As rod ment