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The New Demons
Book by Jacques Ellul
228 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
6 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Ellul
125 books453 followersBaptised Catholic, Ellul became an atheist and Marxist at 19, and a Christian of the Reformed Church at 22. During his Marxist days, he was a member of the French Communist Party. During World War II, he fought with the French Underground against the Nazi occupation of France.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 7, 2018
I don’t know how I got this far in life without having read or been exposed to Jacques Ellul. But as the cliche goes, it’s better late. And, in fact, I’m not sure that a younger, less mature me would’ve appreciated or fully understood Ellul.
Having read “The New Demons” right on the heels of René Girard makes for an interesting synthesis of ideas.
Girard asserts that all human culture, religions, and politics originate in acts of violence. Ultimately he concluded that the only exception to that fact was the story told in the Bible.
Ellul asserts that all human culture, religion, and politics are false gods that enslave man and leads to destruction. The only antidote — the only effective critique — is an honest, biblical Christianity that separates itself from the predominant systems.
I’ve got a lot more reading to do!
Having read “The New Demons” right on the heels of René Girard makes for an interesting synthesis of ideas.
Girard asserts that all human culture, religions, and politics originate in acts of violence. Ultimately he concluded that the only exception to that fact was the story told in the Bible.
Ellul asserts that all human culture, religion, and politics are false gods that enslave man and leads to destruction. The only antidote — the only effective critique — is an honest, biblical Christianity that separates itself from the predominant systems.
I’ve got a lot more reading to do!
February 21, 2011
It came out in 1975 so it's a bit dated--before the collapse of Communism, which he predicts. He argues there really is no such thing as secularization and that once traditional religion is rejected, another religion, often of a political variety, take their place. People cannot live without religion, But Christianity is not a religion and if Christians adhere to orthodoxy, they actually undermine all religion. Ellul was no fan of Harvey Cox and he vents his frustration in this book. Not light reading.
October 14, 2017
Ellul nous démontre que l’irréligion est profondément superstitieuse, & que seulement Dieu, en la Bible, déßacralise.
Read
December 1, 2024“That which desacralizes becomes the new sacred.”
This is an obscure book of Ellul’s, currently out of print and with little information available about it online other than the fact that it exists. In essence this book could be considered Ellul’s Sociology of Religion.
I believe that the above excerpt describes perfectly how, in spite of what we’d like to believe, there is no escaping our fundamentally Religious and sacralizing nature. The objects and forms of our inner desires we express may have changed, but the daemonic chthonic powers that dominate our psyche remain.
Science is sacred. So is history…even Politics (;
Ellul argues that Jesus is a being that desacralized Religion, that broke through these forces somehow, but our human nature and institutional powers have largely destroyed our ability to recognize this Truth. It’s a strange conclusion, and I’d have to think more on whether or not I’d agree with it. I personally feel comfortable considering myself a follower of Christ, but I don’t think of this meaning it isn’t in some way still akin to what could be called “religion.” Ultimately though, I currently understand my belief in Christ as a way of being, a kind of presence, focus, and faith on the words of Christ whom I think truly was the Son of God.
Speaking of Religion, it’s fascinating that “Religion” like so many other words is a concept we often invoke in speech, and yet rarely do we ever properly define precisely what it means! What actually is and isn’t religion exactly? Is the fact that it is easy to have a sense of “Religion” conceptually but not a specific definition further proof of our irrationality and utter need to commit ourselves to something beyond our thoughts?
Unlike the perspective of many Protestants, Ellul avoids a wholly negative view of Christendom. He argues that the fact that we even have the historical knowledge to know of church corruption proves that there were faithful followers of Christ within the church the entire period. Ellul does however, use the example of Christendom to illustrate his belief in it being futile to ultimately search for lasting solutions in a globalized and powerful State, when he understands all possible ways of influencing the world through this governmental method as already having been attempted throughout Christian history.
It is a myth that we are somehow becoming less religious. There are scenes of revival against the world and religious fervor all around us, it is simply no longer expressed in the forms of sacred pagan rites or church feasts.
To Ellul, what is perhaps most sacred is what he sees as the biggest enemy of the current age. Technique.
Ah yes, the concept that Ellul is most known for throughout his writings. And I am inclined to believe that he might be right.
Never have I encountered a politician who claims to fight against “Technique” or what Ellul defines as maximum efficiency or means without an imagined or transcendent end. In a sense it could be compared to Technology, although Ellul uses the term “Technique” to reference his view in it being something broader with spiritual meaning than the material ways in which it is sometimes expressed or visibly seen as “technological progress.”
I know not when this world will end but the fact that we are now in a technological system that almost no one questions, that is expected to advance without question, and that seems to have wholly captured nearly all people inclines me to think that Ellul is foreseeing an ever more dangerous future, a dark world in which everyone is disturbed against issues they do not understand all while being totally unaware of the New Demon, the New Sacred that controls them all.
For a real-life example of this, visit the Hell Hole of Twitter, and see the accounts of the anguished users regardless of perceived opinions expressed. Notice how they all, how we all claim to be angry at varying aspects of modern media empires, all while sharing videos on platforms created and owned by these same empires. Notice how we obsess over whatever news a person decides to film, even though there are so many other things happening in the world which we are unaware of. Notice how even those who claim to fight against progress often immerse themselves into modern political issues and culture wars formed by the very consequences of progress. Without realizing it we are all enslaved by technique.
Technique’s spiritual hold on us is a new Demon.
This is an obscure book of Ellul’s, currently out of print and with little information available about it online other than the fact that it exists. In essence this book could be considered Ellul’s Sociology of Religion.
I believe that the above excerpt describes perfectly how, in spite of what we’d like to believe, there is no escaping our fundamentally Religious and sacralizing nature. The objects and forms of our inner desires we express may have changed, but the daemonic chthonic powers that dominate our psyche remain.
Science is sacred. So is history…even Politics (;
Ellul argues that Jesus is a being that desacralized Religion, that broke through these forces somehow, but our human nature and institutional powers have largely destroyed our ability to recognize this Truth. It’s a strange conclusion, and I’d have to think more on whether or not I’d agree with it. I personally feel comfortable considering myself a follower of Christ, but I don’t think of this meaning it isn’t in some way still akin to what could be called “religion.” Ultimately though, I currently understand my belief in Christ as a way of being, a kind of presence, focus, and faith on the words of Christ whom I think truly was the Son of God.
Speaking of Religion, it’s fascinating that “Religion” like so many other words is a concept we often invoke in speech, and yet rarely do we ever properly define precisely what it means! What actually is and isn’t religion exactly? Is the fact that it is easy to have a sense of “Religion” conceptually but not a specific definition further proof of our irrationality and utter need to commit ourselves to something beyond our thoughts?
Unlike the perspective of many Protestants, Ellul avoids a wholly negative view of Christendom. He argues that the fact that we even have the historical knowledge to know of church corruption proves that there were faithful followers of Christ within the church the entire period. Ellul does however, use the example of Christendom to illustrate his belief in it being futile to ultimately search for lasting solutions in a globalized and powerful State, when he understands all possible ways of influencing the world through this governmental method as already having been attempted throughout Christian history.
It is a myth that we are somehow becoming less religious. There are scenes of revival against the world and religious fervor all around us, it is simply no longer expressed in the forms of sacred pagan rites or church feasts.
To Ellul, what is perhaps most sacred is what he sees as the biggest enemy of the current age. Technique.
Ah yes, the concept that Ellul is most known for throughout his writings. And I am inclined to believe that he might be right.
Never have I encountered a politician who claims to fight against “Technique” or what Ellul defines as maximum efficiency or means without an imagined or transcendent end. In a sense it could be compared to Technology, although Ellul uses the term “Technique” to reference his view in it being something broader with spiritual meaning than the material ways in which it is sometimes expressed or visibly seen as “technological progress.”
I know not when this world will end but the fact that we are now in a technological system that almost no one questions, that is expected to advance without question, and that seems to have wholly captured nearly all people inclines me to think that Ellul is foreseeing an ever more dangerous future, a dark world in which everyone is disturbed against issues they do not understand all while being totally unaware of the New Demon, the New Sacred that controls them all.
For a real-life example of this, visit the Hell Hole of Twitter, and see the accounts of the anguished users regardless of perceived opinions expressed. Notice how they all, how we all claim to be angry at varying aspects of modern media empires, all while sharing videos on platforms created and owned by these same empires. Notice how we obsess over whatever news a person decides to film, even though there are so many other things happening in the world which we are unaware of. Notice how even those who claim to fight against progress often immerse themselves into modern political issues and culture wars formed by the very consequences of progress. Without realizing it we are all enslaved by technique.
Technique’s spiritual hold on us is a new Demon.
February 1, 2019
Guaranteed to rub pretty much every "average Christian" the wrong way (no matter the denomination). I've become increasingly aware through reading more of Ellul's work that, as a corpus, you can't really take any of it in isolation and have it make any sense. This book is no different, and in it he offers as clear an indictment of modernity as he did elsewhere, this time focusing on the essentially religious character of modern society and politics. However, the key to the whole thing is contained in his "Coda to Christians." It is a challenge that more people should be aware of and, hopefully, act on.
September 9, 2022
The book "new demons" is a great read. It is about the people who are suffering from mental issues and how they can get help. The author is a doctor, who has been dealing with patients with mental issues for years. I like this book because it shows how much we need to care about each other and how we should help each other instead of just sitting back and watching. The story also shows how even though you may not know someone's story, you can still be there for them in a way that will make a difference in their life. Visit https://www.ultraupdates.com/2020/05/how-to-study-digital-marketing-online-for-free/ to learn digital marketing. The book "new demons" is great for anyone who likes to read about the struggles of others and what they have gone through.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews