What do you think?
Rate this book
Presence in the Modern World: A New Translation
Presence in the Modern World is Jacques Ellul's most foundational book, combining his social analysis with his theological orientation. Appearing first in French in 1948, it has reached the status of a classic that retains all of its relevance today in the face of the challenges that beset us. How should we respond toward such complex forces as technology or the state? How can we communicate with one another, despite the problems inherent in modern forms of media? Do we have hope for the future of our civilization? Ellul responds by describing how a Christian's unique presence in the world can make a difference. Instead of acting ""as sociological beings,"" we must commit ourselves to the kind of revolution that will occur only when we become radically aware of our present situation and undertake ""a ferocious and passionate destruction of myths, intellectual idols, unconscious rejections of reality, and outmoded and empty doctrines."" In this way, says Ellul, we become the medium for God's action in the modern world. This 2016 edition presents a fresh translation along with new footnotes, an introduction to Ellul's life, and a complete bibliography of his books in English and French. ""Today the moral question above all others is how to be truly awake and fully equal to the technologicalworld. Jacques Ellul as a young man saw the question and began to outline the answer in Presence inthe Modern World."" --Albert Borgmann, author of Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology ""Read Presence in the Modern World. Not only is it the introduction to Ellul's entire body of work, but its emphasis on Christians' revolutionary situation in the world has never been more relevant."" --Patrick Chastenet, University of Bordeaux; President, the Association Internationale Jacques Ellul ""This book is Ellul at his best--essential reading for anyone seeking a succinct expression of his prophetic Christian vision."" --Jeffrey P. Greenman, President, Regent College; coauthor of Understanding Jacques Ellul ""Lisa Richmond's new translation echoes Ellul's radicality and revolutionary fervor--a brilliant experience. Enjoy this powerful opportunity!"" --Marva Dawn, author; translator of Sources and Trajectories: Eight Early Articles by Jacques Ellul That Set the Stage ""[This] is Jacques Ellul's most astonishing book."" --William Stringfellow, lay theologian; social activist; from his 1967 Introduction to this book's first English edition Jacques Ellul (1912-94) was a French law professor, social theorist, and lay theologian. In addition to Presence in the Modern World, his best-known works include The Technological Society, Propaganda, The Humiliation of the Word, and Hope in Time of Abandonment."
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
93 people are currently reading
1187 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Ellul
119 books448 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
March 15, 2010
A central book to my understanding of the Christian life and one that I need to reread regularly because it so provocatively describes the Christian's place and purpose in the world. Ellul describes the world as a system of sin (hints of his technological system as he explains how our ends have been overcome by our means which now operate as ends in themselves) and explains the many tensions of Christian living in that world. The Christian is called to be a sign in the world, witness and stabilizing force, not by joining others causes and calling them Christian but by establishing a particular style of life. That style will be different from those we live among, even revolutionary, and it will take the spiritual world seriously in our world of materialism. He issues a particular challenge to Christian intellectuals for a prophetic awareness of the world's true state. I sometimes wish Ellul would hand me a checklist of things to do, but he never makes it that easy. Instead he challenges the Christian to a new life founded in prayer and community, an active intellectual life, and a rejection of the world to save the world. It remains prophetic and potentially life altering.
Just a few quotes:
"This dissociation of our life into two spheres - the one 'spiritual,' where we can be 'perfect,' and the other material and unimportant: where we behave like other people, is one of the reasons why the Churches have so little influence on the world."
"We have forgotten our collective ends, and we possess great means: we set huge machines in motion in order to arrive nowhere."
"In a civilization which has lost the meaning of life, the most useful thing a Christian can do is to live, and life, understood from the point of view of faith, has an extraordinary explosive force. We are not aware of it, because we only believe in 'efficiency,' and life is not efficient."
"There never was a time when people have talked so much about Man: there never was a time when so little has been said to Man."
"A doctrine only has power (apart from that which God gives it) to the extent in which it creates a style of life, to the extent to which it is adopted, believed, and accepted by men who have a style of life which is in harmony with it."
"This search may lead us into paths which are very disagreeable to our cherished habits."
Just a few quotes:
"This dissociation of our life into two spheres - the one 'spiritual,' where we can be 'perfect,' and the other material and unimportant: where we behave like other people, is one of the reasons why the Churches have so little influence on the world."
"We have forgotten our collective ends, and we possess great means: we set huge machines in motion in order to arrive nowhere."
"In a civilization which has lost the meaning of life, the most useful thing a Christian can do is to live, and life, understood from the point of view of faith, has an extraordinary explosive force. We are not aware of it, because we only believe in 'efficiency,' and life is not efficient."
"There never was a time when people have talked so much about Man: there never was a time when so little has been said to Man."
"A doctrine only has power (apart from that which God gives it) to the extent in which it creates a style of life, to the extent to which it is adopted, believed, and accepted by men who have a style of life which is in harmony with it."
"This search may lead us into paths which are very disagreeable to our cherished habits."
January 28, 2017
This book took by total surprise. What started out as a curiosity quickly became a deeply inspirational and prophetic read. I say prophetic because what he speaks about has incredible implications for our current situation in North American in 2017. I can say that I have finally found a theological framework that captures some of my deepest convictions regarding economics, politics, progress and simply loving your neighbour. You won't go through this book, it will go through you.
August 17, 2018
This was Ellul’s first book but the fourth or fifth I’ve read. I should have read this one first. Here Ellul lays out so many themes and ideas he will build on in later work. It’s a brilliant book to introduce you to his heavier and deeper works like The Technological Society and Propaganda. This book also made clearer his ideas in tension - on one hand we can do nothing to overcome the cultures we’re in, so it comes across kind of hopeless, but on the other hand we still need to live our faith. I suppose he’s kind of Barthian here - the world is hopeless but God speaks Hope into the world.
I’m also challenged by his political ideas and teaching on a Christian place in the world. He correctly, and prophetically, points out Christians often just follow the world and latch on to ideas out there (hello conservative Christians and progressive Christians!). He talks about how it’s pointless to try to reshape the world, as this is impossible. But he challenges Christians to live our the gospel in radical faithfulness to Jesus. It makes sense why Anabaptists like Ellul.
Overall, a great read!
I’m also challenged by his political ideas and teaching on a Christian place in the world. He correctly, and prophetically, points out Christians often just follow the world and latch on to ideas out there (hello conservative Christians and progressive Christians!). He talks about how it’s pointless to try to reshape the world, as this is impossible. But he challenges Christians to live our the gospel in radical faithfulness to Jesus. It makes sense why Anabaptists like Ellul.
Overall, a great read!
May 10, 2023
Thoughtful is Ellul. I’ll read more of him. He writes, "The presence of the kingdom in the world is given through the presence of the Christian."
“Living in the Kingdom of God means working towards the liberation and flourishing of others. It means striving for justice and equality, and seeking to meet the needs of the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed. This is the work of the Kingdom, and it is the work that we are called to as Christians.”
“Living in the Kingdom of God means working towards the liberation and flourishing of others. It means striving for justice and equality, and seeking to meet the needs of the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed. This is the work of the Kingdom, and it is the work that we are called to as Christians.”
June 24, 2025
This book is easily in my hall of fame. Ellul does an outstanding job of analyzing culture and the Christian's place within it. His ideas are challenging and leave no easy answers for how Christians are to live in modern society. Anyone who feels the tension of being a Christian in modernity should give this a read. My only regret is not finding this book sooner. Ellul is my new favorite philosopher/sociologist, hands down.
September 17, 2025
Ellul's Presence is essentially a philosophical, theological and intellectual expansion on Romans 12:2 and dwarfs pretty much every other modern writing on the christian life save maybe Lewis' Mere Christianity. He manages like no other to nail the familiar angst of living in a world the has progressed past real progress. Where means have replaced ends and communication has strayed so far from its origins. He rejects frameworks, positions, and ideologies leaving room for the duality of many of his observations. Much to my delight he does offer postures/orientations at the end that tie together many of his earlier points, which makes this book much more readable and digestible than Propaganda and The Technological Society.
December 14, 2025
Ik heb lang over dit boek gedaan terwijl het eigenlijk maar heel dun is. Ik ben er een keer of 6 in begonnen. De inhoud is het wat mij betreft meer dan waard. Met een profetische blik beschreef Ellul trends waar we vandaag midden in zitten. Hij heeft me opnieuw aan het denken gezet over wat het betekent om als kerk en christen een lichtend en een zoutend zout te zijn. Ellul schrijft zowel over de noodzaak van het werk van de Geest als de plicht van de christen met intellect om te pogen de tijdgeest te doorzien.
August 3, 2021
Jacques Ellul remains mindblowingly relevant, especially in an increasingly online context. "Presence in the Modern World" is short but challenging, which makes it particularly rewarding to grasp. I had the benefit of tackling it with a reading group (plus an editor with The New Atlantis). If you want to begin studying Ellul, it's an optimal book to begin with because it outlines so many aspects of his thought--from the predominance of technique to the downfall of communication as we are all flooded with facts to the way Christians exist in multiple 'kingdoms'.
Ellul thrives in contradiction and tension. Throughout this book especially, he outlines the paradoxes Christians face. We are called to be in the world but not of the world. Efforts to transform the broken world with earthly means often fall short, but we nonetheless cannot retreat. Communication is eroding but Christians must still preach. His answer to these complex problems is not a set of actions or political suggestions, but a call to truly live out the faith in preparation for the coming of Christ. The prescription seems to be being, forming connections, and living out the Gospel.
It might seem at first glance that Ellul is a tech-doomer, and indeed his diagnoses are dour. This probably reflects his dialectic approach, providing answers to a world gone astray by highlighting the problems we face. It's hard to deny that his grim forecasts have somewhat played out, but if you really scrutinize this work, you find a hopeful vision. For Ellul, true freedom presupposes an understanding of the entrenched problems of technique, among other issues. Ellul can only succeed if he calls attention to the need for a sort of revolution. This vision is not optimistic or deterministic or programmatic, but nonetheless provides the contours of a new way to live. Definitely a book I'll come back to.
Ellul thrives in contradiction and tension. Throughout this book especially, he outlines the paradoxes Christians face. We are called to be in the world but not of the world. Efforts to transform the broken world with earthly means often fall short, but we nonetheless cannot retreat. Communication is eroding but Christians must still preach. His answer to these complex problems is not a set of actions or political suggestions, but a call to truly live out the faith in preparation for the coming of Christ. The prescription seems to be being, forming connections, and living out the Gospel.
It might seem at first glance that Ellul is a tech-doomer, and indeed his diagnoses are dour. This probably reflects his dialectic approach, providing answers to a world gone astray by highlighting the problems we face. It's hard to deny that his grim forecasts have somewhat played out, but if you really scrutinize this work, you find a hopeful vision. For Ellul, true freedom presupposes an understanding of the entrenched problems of technique, among other issues. Ellul can only succeed if he calls attention to the need for a sort of revolution. This vision is not optimistic or deterministic or programmatic, but nonetheless provides the contours of a new way to live. Definitely a book I'll come back to.
February 18, 2019
Ellul offers few concrete applications but lots of interesting ideas, especially concerning the subjugation of our society to means and efficiency.
He argues we must find a decidedly Christian style of life rather than trying to Christianize secular movements. To do this we probably need to rediscover true Christian community and we certainly need the Holy Spirit.
He argues we must find a decidedly Christian style of life rather than trying to Christianize secular movements. To do this we probably need to rediscover true Christian community and we certainly need the Holy Spirit.
January 8, 2021
An excellent short book by Ellul. I read this first two years ago, and on the second reading my appreciation for Ellul's insight grew high than it's already lofty position. Calling Christians to take firm grip of their unique position as a spiritually aware people, Ellul presents Christianity as the true revolution amongst a plethora of psuedo-revolutions. The Christian's task is to stand where the world's 'will to death' is strongest and be a sign, a witness, to the living God's action in history in the person of Jesus Christ. The Parousia is essential to Ellul's understanding, and all actions must be taken in light of this. Ellul's understanding of Technique rears its head here also; Technique must remove man's spiritual awareness to ensure that it is served appropriately. Ultimately Christian's must find the truly Christian 'style of life', with which they can appropriately witness to Jesus Christ.
But there is not point repeating Ellul in this review, especially when he said it all so well the first time. A lucid, powerful analysis of the Christian's position in the world run by the 'powers and principalities' of the nation state and technique. Recommended reading.
But there is not point repeating Ellul in this review, especially when he said it all so well the first time. A lucid, powerful analysis of the Christian's position in the world run by the 'powers and principalities' of the nation state and technique. Recommended reading.
January 8, 2026
Christian ministry must take the modern world seriously to form an honest account of the Gospel! Anything else is fictitious and detached from the real human condition. So grateful for Ellul and want to read more from him!
December 28, 2025
doorbijter
maar heel kamp hoe deze man al in de jaren 40 inzag hoe techniek en nepnieuws de wereld zouden gaan beheersen
maar heel kamp hoe deze man al in de jaren 40 inzag hoe techniek en nepnieuws de wereld zouden gaan beheersen
June 26, 2017
Writing this book around the midpoint of the 20th century, Ellul would seem at first glance to be largely out of date. In his time he did not know the Internet (at all), cell phones, the proliferation of information and ease of access to news. Nor is he aware of the modern political movements, such as Black Lives Matter and even the modern Pro-Life movement. And yet his words flash forward through time and parse our modern geopolitical situation in a way which seems almost preternatural.
He likes to refer to "technics," which seems to be his shortened version of technology and it's technicians (or scientists). And he raises issues with the impact of technics upon means and ends. This theme threads throughout the book, and it is a charge which still stands today. It could even be argued that man is starting to see the fruits of the dangers Ellul warned about in this book.
Man's relationship with facts and means and a failure to rightly parse the end towards which man moves is one of the underlying themes of Ellul's book. His engagement with these is insightful and convicting. And yet he argues, throughout, for the perseverence of the Kingdom of God and the need for the preservation of the world through the realization of that Kingdom in the hearts and communities of men. This work seems to, more than anything else, point toward the need for greater work ("research" in his mind) towards this end by the people of God.
I highly recommend this book for those who want to try and dive deeper and think better about what it means to be a Christian in a world such as ours. It's a commentary on culture while it is also an exploration of the purpose and point of all that we do.
He likes to refer to "technics," which seems to be his shortened version of technology and it's technicians (or scientists). And he raises issues with the impact of technics upon means and ends. This theme threads throughout the book, and it is a charge which still stands today. It could even be argued that man is starting to see the fruits of the dangers Ellul warned about in this book.
Man's relationship with facts and means and a failure to rightly parse the end towards which man moves is one of the underlying themes of Ellul's book. His engagement with these is insightful and convicting. And yet he argues, throughout, for the perseverence of the Kingdom of God and the need for the preservation of the world through the realization of that Kingdom in the hearts and communities of men. This work seems to, more than anything else, point toward the need for greater work ("research" in his mind) towards this end by the people of God.
I highly recommend this book for those who want to try and dive deeper and think better about what it means to be a Christian in a world such as ours. It's a commentary on culture while it is also an exploration of the purpose and point of all that we do.
June 21, 2016
Ellul's very perceptive. That he could so effectively diagnose so many conditions that still hold, all the way back here in 1948, is impressive. This book is apparently a good overarching view of his approach to a lot of his thinking, and it's pretty thrillingly bold and sweeping. If you're a Christian still wrestling with what that might mean for how you should interact with the world (or "The World") there's plenty to chew on here.
The introduction is well worth a read, too. I found it very helpful to situate Ellul and his thought. The Afterword by Ellul himself, written in 1989, is much more a mixed bag. It seems Ellul's clear-eyed vision dimmed a bit later on in life, to the point where he had to cast stones in the direction of church's who were condemning "European involvement" in South Africa. (Again, keep in mind, this was 1989.) One hopes he lived long enough to recant that particular stance. (To be fair, much of his work in this book is arguing that Christians should never comfortably slot themselves into existing non-Christian movements because by doing so they will inevitably cease to be salt/light/leaven for the world. Still.)
There are plenty of worthy thinkers who stub their toes along the way. (Indeed, are there any who never did?) Don't let the shabby afterword deter you from reading this provocative work.
The introduction is well worth a read, too. I found it very helpful to situate Ellul and his thought. The Afterword by Ellul himself, written in 1989, is much more a mixed bag. It seems Ellul's clear-eyed vision dimmed a bit later on in life, to the point where he had to cast stones in the direction of church's who were condemning "European involvement" in South Africa. (Again, keep in mind, this was 1989.) One hopes he lived long enough to recant that particular stance. (To be fair, much of his work in this book is arguing that Christians should never comfortably slot themselves into existing non-Christian movements because by doing so they will inevitably cease to be salt/light/leaven for the world. Still.)
There are plenty of worthy thinkers who stub their toes along the way. (Indeed, are there any who never did?) Don't let the shabby afterword deter you from reading this provocative work.
December 10, 2011
The Technological Society lays out the quandary faced by the industrial world (which still exists in the post-industrial world through an inescapable inheritance) completely, academically and inescapably. This book provides the response to it, framed as a Christian response but really the only response anyone could possibly give. The response leans not at all on Christian theology and doesn't even lean on the existence elf God in any important way. Consequently, this is a response that can be implemented by anyone, no matter what their theistic sense, though they may have to give up some of their preoccupations as developed by industrial-influenced religious thought and manners.
Ellul has influenced my sense of the world and my place in it more than any single writer, though if one finds his books more dense than one is inclined to go for, try Philosophy in the Mass Age.
Ellul has influenced my sense of the world and my place in it more than any single writer, though if one finds his books more dense than one is inclined to go for, try Philosophy in the Mass Age.
March 14, 2014
The Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul is massively complex, & will take one's full concentration to get through, no easy reading here. The authors main concern here is in dealing with the following; How can a Christian be in the world but also distinct from the world. This is (as he sees it) the Christian's quandary & dilemma. Christ commands us to do just that which is difficult for the Christian to do lest one become assimilated and influenced by the ways and motives of a truly godless world.
Right from the beginning, page 11 of the preface, he states “Don’t be conformed to this age”—but there are two possible conformities. One is voluntary…& the second: unconscious & involuntary.”
In conjunction with this he also wants us to grasp what it is we are to be, page 77 he says "In a civilization which has lost the meaning of life, the most useful thing a Christian can do is to live."
I believe others have in the past 20 years written well in addressing this subject & surrounding issues. The author is very thought provoking & I liked how he wrote but I am not sure that one would really miss much if he never picked this up & read it.
Right from the beginning, page 11 of the preface, he states “Don’t be conformed to this age”—but there are two possible conformities. One is voluntary…& the second: unconscious & involuntary.”
In conjunction with this he also wants us to grasp what it is we are to be, page 77 he says "In a civilization which has lost the meaning of life, the most useful thing a Christian can do is to live."
I believe others have in the past 20 years written well in addressing this subject & surrounding issues. The author is very thought provoking & I liked how he wrote but I am not sure that one would really miss much if he never picked this up & read it.
January 15, 2020
I would not recommend Jacques Ellul for just anyone. He is sometimes difficult to read because he refuses to state most anything in simple terms, and his dialectical thinking sometimes just seems utterly contradictory. However, in spite of this, there are rich insights for those willing to patiently mine through his writings. This is a powerful little book. Ellul calls Christians, as salt, light, and sheep among wolves, to be used by God to change the world. But they must not do this by capitulating to any worldly system, party, or organization. Instead, they should live in a uniquely Christian, Spirit-led way. And they must love their flesh and blood neighbors in a truly concrete way, rather than having a merely theoretical belief system.
February 13, 2016
There's no question but that anyone wanting to delve into the deep and strange but wonderful world of Jacques Ellul, this is the book you MUST start with before reading any of his other seminal works. It was slow reading to say the least, but it was totally worth it. Mind blowing is how I would put its effect on me by the time I was done reading it.
August 9, 2023
Een boek dat je intellectueel uitdaagt, prikkelt. Ellul is een originele, tegendraadse en oorspronkelijk denker. Niet met alles eens wat hij schrijft, soms is hij m.i. te zwart-wit en bekijkt hij de wereld teveel door de bril van Marx.
August 10, 2023
Oorspronkelijk verschenen in 1948 maar nog steeds zeer treffende analyse van de huidige westerse cultuur en de mogelijke positie van christenen daarin.
July 17, 2015
Ellul takes his ideas about mechanized, technological mass society complete with modern propaganda and confronts it with a prescriptive question: what is the Christian to do in the contemporary situation? He complains that "Christians either let things happen as they would happen or confused the issues." (p viii) Ellul himself admits to being absorbed into Communism at a young age, and he held onto Communism's dialectic and many of its assumptions throughout his life, to include the historical inevitability of socialism. He cautions "Neither the Christian nor the church should become disinterested in the history of man, any more than the church should become assimilated into one of the political movements (which had too often been the case in its history)." (p ix)
So for the short answer to the basic question, Ellul quotes Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this present age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern the will of God, what is good, what is pleasing to him, and what is well done." (p xi) To be specific, "To love God with one's thought was to place one's thought at the service of God's work in the world, through the medium of the believer. And this work pertained to the political as well as to the psychological!" However, one had to consider both ends and means, "a revolution for justice resulting in millions of deaths could be neither pleasing to God nor 'well done.'" (p xiii)
Ellul notes the Christian must not support worldly movements he deems "good" but rather remember his unique godly mission, defined as:
(1) You are the salt of the earth.
(2) You are the light of the world.
(3) I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. (p 3)
Ellul states the Christian "can always immerse himself in good works, and pour out his energy in religious or social activities, but all this will have no meaning unless he is fulfilling the only mission with which he has been charged by Jesus Christ, which is first of all to be a sign." (p 5) Yet he notes the obstacles to be overcome by the typical layman, "More than ever, every person is involved in the life of the world, and the world is more penetrating, more crushing, more exacting, than it has ever been." (p 5) Ellul cautions against either trying to escape from the world for the spiritual situation alone, or trying to moralize or Christianize the actions of the world. (p 7) So the Christian has no choice but to live in the "very painful" and "very uncomfortable" tension of life in the world, between grace and sin, as the only way to help "the world, from the social, economic, and political point of view." (p 10)
Ellul criticizes those who only focus on words or abstract thoughts, going back to the need for action, for living Christian lives, as "the very behavior of the Christian destroys the work of Satan." (p 15) This becomes a point of frustration, however, as Ellul himself can be a bit vague and evasive as to what to do beyond these general prescriptions.
Ellul presages Pope St. John Paul II's concept of the "culture of death" by noting "The will of the world is always a will to death, a will to suicide" and Christians must "place ourselves at the very point where this suicidal desire is most active, in the actual form it adopts, and to see how God's will of preservation can act." (p 19)
Ellul analyzes modern culture as literally making a religion of facts and therefore leading to real blindness, "the established fact, is the final reason, the criterion of truth. All that is a fact is justified, because it is a fact. People think that they have no right to judge a fact--all they have to do is to accept it." (p 27)
Ellul does give a few more helpful prescriptions:
first, starting from the point at which God has revealed to him the truth about the human person, he must try to discover the social and political conditions in which this person can live and develop in accordance with God's order. Next, this person will develop with a certain framework which God has ordained for him...Thus the Christian must work, in order that the will of God may be incarnated in actual institutions and organisms. Finally, this order of preservation will have meaning only if it is directed toward the proclamation of salvation. Therefore, social and political institutions need to be "open"...they must be constituted in such a way that they do not prevent man from hearing the Word of God. (p 36)
Ellul returns over and over to the point that Christians must not become wedded to any ideologies, institutions, or causes on earth:
It is in the light of this Kingdom that the Christian is called to judge according to their moral content or their individual political outlook--nor according to their relation to a human doctrine, or to their attachment to the past--but simply according to their relation, which always exists, to the Parousia...we must take care that we do not make the Kingdom of God into an ethical system, by trying to outline the form in which it should be reproduced upon earth! The central point which we can already know, and which is already real, is the lordship of Jesus Christ. (p 42)
Ellul cautions Christians not to be distracted by non-Christian ideas, even when the behavior of non-Christians might be seen to be morally superior than some Christians, "Non-Christians are an example when they live differently from, and better than, Christians, on any particular point, but Christians have not to follow the intellectual or moral lessons or doctrines which the non-Christians may want to give them." (p 44) Ellul accuses Christians of a "lack of daring and fidelity" leading to the secularization of Christianity. (p 44)
Ellul incorporates his other work on technological mass society and notes that this modern society substitutes vague notions of "progress" as the ends and focuses only on efficient means, leading to euthanasia, for instance (the elimination of people "not useful"), and "to achieve illusory and hypothetical ends...to secure happiness for humanity in the future, the people of the present day are sacrificed." (p 53) He points out that dictatorships use action for action's sake as a slogan, and individuality is erased as mass society moves toward greater uniformity and by being constantly busy. (p 74)
So what is his rejoinder to action for action's sake? Rejecting the "sound mind in the sound body" philosophy, Ellul embraces life, being alive, especially the spiritual life, "the total situation of man as he is confronted by God." (p 76) Specifically, "Man created in the image of God; judged and condemned by divine justice; pardoned and saved by his love; a creature, unique and irreplaceable...called to be renewed in his mind, and to bear within himself the truth of God...called to judge all things...and to participate in the glorious coming of the Lord of lords." (p 77)
Ellul addresses the problem of injustice, inequality, conflicts between individuals and groups, and notes the only solution to the problem of man is God. For instance:
If we are horrified by the fact that we do not place the changing of institutions (property, distribution, administration, etc.) at the center, it can only mean two things: either we are conscious Marxists, and do not believe in the existence of human nature, but only in the existence of a human condition, which can be wholly and radically modified by changing institutions (but that is the negation of the Creation); or, on the other hand, we are hypocrites, and we are refusing to state the problem of man in its fullness. (p 68)
Ellul attacks the panem et circenses of the modern world, an entire civilization built on distracting people with games, sports, business, etc., "the effort to make men become unaware." (p 87) He points out that reality cannot be wholly transmitted through any one means of media, so a person's intake of "news" is limited by the particular media; therefore, people no longer experience reality but only models or facsimiles of it tailored for the format.
Ellul, as an intellectual, focuses a part of his work on advice to fellow intellectuals. He warns against using "technique" to invade the sphere of the Holy. (p 110) Further, he "who imagines that he can remain truly idealistic and humanist in outlook while employing the rational technique, his want of lucidity proves that he is not a true intellectual." (p 92) I would rather point out that there really is no conflict between science and religion generally, as science focuses on that which can be observed and measured by one means or another (the physical), while religion's proper focus is revealed truth and that which can neither be reliably observed or measured (the metaphysical).
Ellul completely rejects mere preaching as "hypocrisy, cowardice, and laziness," instead insisting Christians must struggle with all their effort to proclaim the Word, and only then, when he or she has failed in those efforts, can he or she look to God to make such work effective. (p 116)
Ellul notes that individual Christians cannot be effective alone, there is no relationship with God being a purely internal, personal affair, "It is impossible for an isolated Christian to follow this path." (p 123) Instead, community in the church is essential as "every Christian ought to feel and to know that he is supported by others, not only for spiritual and ideological reasons--because, for instance, of the difficulty of the problems that our world sets for man--but also for purely material reasons." (p 123) And this church "ought not to justify itself, or to justify the world's solution, but it ought to find its own way, given it by God, which it alone can follow. It is only on this condition that the church will cease to be a sociological movement, and be present in the world with the effectiveness given by the Holy Spirit." (p 126) In this way Ellul presages Pope Francis' comment about the Church not being just another NGO...
For the 1989 edition, Ellul added a small section analyzing revolutionary movements that competed with Christianity, especially the decolonization movement, the Cultural Revolution of Mao's China, and political Islam. Almost in prophecy, Ellul singled out Islam as the only successful of these in the long run:
the only power today that challenges world structures...Islam has again set upon its conquest of the world, and it is a true revolution because it denies the modern State...and because it globally rejects Technique...in order to return to traditional social structures...Technique does not dominate the society in Islam--the latter is always, and above all, religious. Religion has power over everything...If the Islamists win, the first global victory of a revolution will be realized, but at the price of total world enslavement. For Islam is the same as what communism was in its desire for absolute domination of the entire world (p 130-131)
Overall, a challenging but good read. Ellul provides an outline for the Christian's task and challenge in the world, and strong encouragement, but not a detailed "how to" manual, which can be frustrating given Ellul's own criticism of mere platitudes. The work is shorter and simpler than many of his others and makes for a good introduction into some of his secular works. Ellul's secular works lack a prescriptive element, so it is refreshing here. Not a beach read for sure, but worth reading.
So for the short answer to the basic question, Ellul quotes Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this present age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern the will of God, what is good, what is pleasing to him, and what is well done." (p xi) To be specific, "To love God with one's thought was to place one's thought at the service of God's work in the world, through the medium of the believer. And this work pertained to the political as well as to the psychological!" However, one had to consider both ends and means, "a revolution for justice resulting in millions of deaths could be neither pleasing to God nor 'well done.'" (p xiii)
Ellul notes the Christian must not support worldly movements he deems "good" but rather remember his unique godly mission, defined as:
(1) You are the salt of the earth.
(2) You are the light of the world.
(3) I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. (p 3)
Ellul states the Christian "can always immerse himself in good works, and pour out his energy in religious or social activities, but all this will have no meaning unless he is fulfilling the only mission with which he has been charged by Jesus Christ, which is first of all to be a sign." (p 5) Yet he notes the obstacles to be overcome by the typical layman, "More than ever, every person is involved in the life of the world, and the world is more penetrating, more crushing, more exacting, than it has ever been." (p 5) Ellul cautions against either trying to escape from the world for the spiritual situation alone, or trying to moralize or Christianize the actions of the world. (p 7) So the Christian has no choice but to live in the "very painful" and "very uncomfortable" tension of life in the world, between grace and sin, as the only way to help "the world, from the social, economic, and political point of view." (p 10)
Ellul criticizes those who only focus on words or abstract thoughts, going back to the need for action, for living Christian lives, as "the very behavior of the Christian destroys the work of Satan." (p 15) This becomes a point of frustration, however, as Ellul himself can be a bit vague and evasive as to what to do beyond these general prescriptions.
Ellul presages Pope St. John Paul II's concept of the "culture of death" by noting "The will of the world is always a will to death, a will to suicide" and Christians must "place ourselves at the very point where this suicidal desire is most active, in the actual form it adopts, and to see how God's will of preservation can act." (p 19)
Ellul analyzes modern culture as literally making a religion of facts and therefore leading to real blindness, "the established fact, is the final reason, the criterion of truth. All that is a fact is justified, because it is a fact. People think that they have no right to judge a fact--all they have to do is to accept it." (p 27)
Ellul does give a few more helpful prescriptions:
first, starting from the point at which God has revealed to him the truth about the human person, he must try to discover the social and political conditions in which this person can live and develop in accordance with God's order. Next, this person will develop with a certain framework which God has ordained for him...Thus the Christian must work, in order that the will of God may be incarnated in actual institutions and organisms. Finally, this order of preservation will have meaning only if it is directed toward the proclamation of salvation. Therefore, social and political institutions need to be "open"...they must be constituted in such a way that they do not prevent man from hearing the Word of God. (p 36)
Ellul returns over and over to the point that Christians must not become wedded to any ideologies, institutions, or causes on earth:
It is in the light of this Kingdom that the Christian is called to judge according to their moral content or their individual political outlook--nor according to their relation to a human doctrine, or to their attachment to the past--but simply according to their relation, which always exists, to the Parousia...we must take care that we do not make the Kingdom of God into an ethical system, by trying to outline the form in which it should be reproduced upon earth! The central point which we can already know, and which is already real, is the lordship of Jesus Christ. (p 42)
Ellul cautions Christians not to be distracted by non-Christian ideas, even when the behavior of non-Christians might be seen to be morally superior than some Christians, "Non-Christians are an example when they live differently from, and better than, Christians, on any particular point, but Christians have not to follow the intellectual or moral lessons or doctrines which the non-Christians may want to give them." (p 44) Ellul accuses Christians of a "lack of daring and fidelity" leading to the secularization of Christianity. (p 44)
Ellul incorporates his other work on technological mass society and notes that this modern society substitutes vague notions of "progress" as the ends and focuses only on efficient means, leading to euthanasia, for instance (the elimination of people "not useful"), and "to achieve illusory and hypothetical ends...to secure happiness for humanity in the future, the people of the present day are sacrificed." (p 53) He points out that dictatorships use action for action's sake as a slogan, and individuality is erased as mass society moves toward greater uniformity and by being constantly busy. (p 74)
So what is his rejoinder to action for action's sake? Rejecting the "sound mind in the sound body" philosophy, Ellul embraces life, being alive, especially the spiritual life, "the total situation of man as he is confronted by God." (p 76) Specifically, "Man created in the image of God; judged and condemned by divine justice; pardoned and saved by his love; a creature, unique and irreplaceable...called to be renewed in his mind, and to bear within himself the truth of God...called to judge all things...and to participate in the glorious coming of the Lord of lords." (p 77)
Ellul addresses the problem of injustice, inequality, conflicts between individuals and groups, and notes the only solution to the problem of man is God. For instance:
If we are horrified by the fact that we do not place the changing of institutions (property, distribution, administration, etc.) at the center, it can only mean two things: either we are conscious Marxists, and do not believe in the existence of human nature, but only in the existence of a human condition, which can be wholly and radically modified by changing institutions (but that is the negation of the Creation); or, on the other hand, we are hypocrites, and we are refusing to state the problem of man in its fullness. (p 68)
Ellul attacks the panem et circenses of the modern world, an entire civilization built on distracting people with games, sports, business, etc., "the effort to make men become unaware." (p 87) He points out that reality cannot be wholly transmitted through any one means of media, so a person's intake of "news" is limited by the particular media; therefore, people no longer experience reality but only models or facsimiles of it tailored for the format.
Ellul, as an intellectual, focuses a part of his work on advice to fellow intellectuals. He warns against using "technique" to invade the sphere of the Holy. (p 110) Further, he "who imagines that he can remain truly idealistic and humanist in outlook while employing the rational technique, his want of lucidity proves that he is not a true intellectual." (p 92) I would rather point out that there really is no conflict between science and religion generally, as science focuses on that which can be observed and measured by one means or another (the physical), while religion's proper focus is revealed truth and that which can neither be reliably observed or measured (the metaphysical).
Ellul completely rejects mere preaching as "hypocrisy, cowardice, and laziness," instead insisting Christians must struggle with all their effort to proclaim the Word, and only then, when he or she has failed in those efforts, can he or she look to God to make such work effective. (p 116)
Ellul notes that individual Christians cannot be effective alone, there is no relationship with God being a purely internal, personal affair, "It is impossible for an isolated Christian to follow this path." (p 123) Instead, community in the church is essential as "every Christian ought to feel and to know that he is supported by others, not only for spiritual and ideological reasons--because, for instance, of the difficulty of the problems that our world sets for man--but also for purely material reasons." (p 123) And this church "ought not to justify itself, or to justify the world's solution, but it ought to find its own way, given it by God, which it alone can follow. It is only on this condition that the church will cease to be a sociological movement, and be present in the world with the effectiveness given by the Holy Spirit." (p 126) In this way Ellul presages Pope Francis' comment about the Church not being just another NGO...
For the 1989 edition, Ellul added a small section analyzing revolutionary movements that competed with Christianity, especially the decolonization movement, the Cultural Revolution of Mao's China, and political Islam. Almost in prophecy, Ellul singled out Islam as the only successful of these in the long run:
the only power today that challenges world structures...Islam has again set upon its conquest of the world, and it is a true revolution because it denies the modern State...and because it globally rejects Technique...in order to return to traditional social structures...Technique does not dominate the society in Islam--the latter is always, and above all, religious. Religion has power over everything...If the Islamists win, the first global victory of a revolution will be realized, but at the price of total world enslavement. For Islam is the same as what communism was in its desire for absolute domination of the entire world (p 130-131)
Overall, a challenging but good read. Ellul provides an outline for the Christian's task and challenge in the world, and strong encouragement, but not a detailed "how to" manual, which can be frustrating given Ellul's own criticism of mere platitudes. The work is shorter and simpler than many of his others and makes for a good introduction into some of his secular works. Ellul's secular works lack a prescriptive element, so it is refreshing here. Not a beach read for sure, but worth reading.
September 7, 2024
"I refuse to believe that humanity is making progress, when from one year to the next, among men and women I know, whose lives I observe and among who I live, I see debased the meaning of responsibilities, the dignity of labor, the recognition of a true authority, and the concern to live honorably. When I see them weighed down by worry about what the "important people" are up to, by the fear the oozes from our world, and by the hatred of a formidable phantom that they never succeed in putting a name to, When I see them, driven by circumstances and in pain, becoming thieves, liars, embittered, miserly, selfish, faithless, and full of rejection and rancor. Or when I see them involved in a desperate struggle from the depths of their hearts against what they do not understand."
"What they have seen for themselves does not count unless it is officially communicated, and crowds have given it credence...a fact is false. It gets printed in a newspaper and a million copies. A thousand people know it is false. But nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand believe it is true."
"Our society absorbs all forms of intellect. Because our civilization is more than human, it becomes necessary to see that it is not constructed by "flesh and blood" but by powers, dominations, "spiritual princes." But nothing in our intellectual training prepares us to see and understand this. Our intellectual means are purely materialistic and completely inadequate for such deep realization. To be quite precise, there is only the intervention of the Holy Spirit, who can transform our intellect in such a way that it will no longer be encompassed within our systems and will be adequately penetrating. Today there is no longer any other possibility. Until now, the ordinary intelligence of human beings could suffice, but when faced with our civilization all it can offer is the "best of all possible words" of Huxley's sort."
"Christian intellectuals must understand the decisive nature of our era, and that if we give up this awareness that demands our total selves, we betray God and the vocation that He called us to."
-Ellul.
Incredible. A heavy yet inspiring work that shines with awareness, demanding that Christians be a sign unto others, a special way of being, a "Presence in the Modern World."
"The world typically presents false problems. People in their natural condition are incapable on their own of seeing the spiritual reality within which they struggle. They see only what appear to be social, political, or economic problems, and they try to work within this appearance using technical means and moral criteria...in such situations the Christian's role will be precisely not to formulate the problems as others do...but to succeed in discovering the actual spiritual difficulties that any political or economic situation involves. As for the solution, it cannot be in any way based on calculation. It can only be a way of life and the acceptance of a forgiveness, for these sins too, granted in Christ Jesus. In other words, it is by living and receiving the Gospel that political, economic, and other problems can be solved."
"What they have seen for themselves does not count unless it is officially communicated, and crowds have given it credence...a fact is false. It gets printed in a newspaper and a million copies. A thousand people know it is false. But nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand believe it is true."
"Our society absorbs all forms of intellect. Because our civilization is more than human, it becomes necessary to see that it is not constructed by "flesh and blood" but by powers, dominations, "spiritual princes." But nothing in our intellectual training prepares us to see and understand this. Our intellectual means are purely materialistic and completely inadequate for such deep realization. To be quite precise, there is only the intervention of the Holy Spirit, who can transform our intellect in such a way that it will no longer be encompassed within our systems and will be adequately penetrating. Today there is no longer any other possibility. Until now, the ordinary intelligence of human beings could suffice, but when faced with our civilization all it can offer is the "best of all possible words" of Huxley's sort."
"Christian intellectuals must understand the decisive nature of our era, and that if we give up this awareness that demands our total selves, we betray God and the vocation that He called us to."
-Ellul.
Incredible. A heavy yet inspiring work that shines with awareness, demanding that Christians be a sign unto others, a special way of being, a "Presence in the Modern World."
"The world typically presents false problems. People in their natural condition are incapable on their own of seeing the spiritual reality within which they struggle. They see only what appear to be social, political, or economic problems, and they try to work within this appearance using technical means and moral criteria...in such situations the Christian's role will be precisely not to formulate the problems as others do...but to succeed in discovering the actual spiritual difficulties that any political or economic situation involves. As for the solution, it cannot be in any way based on calculation. It can only be a way of life and the acceptance of a forgiveness, for these sins too, granted in Christ Jesus. In other words, it is by living and receiving the Gospel that political, economic, and other problems can be solved."
April 5, 2025
Let me begin by saying that philosophy is not my jam, and this book is definitely in that category. Ellul seeks to answer the question, "How can Christians today be salt and light in the world?" In each chapter (of which there are only 5) he starts by speaking about sweeping phenomenon and ideologies, but he always ends with what is practical for Christians today.
It should also be noted that Jacques Ellul is a French author who wrote this in the 1940s. He highly values that Christians ought to know the culture in which they live intimately to inform the way that the gospel interacts with it. Though some minor differences exist between his culture and America in 2025, for the most part his critique is also applicable to our situation.
Instead of summarizing the book in this review, I will instead highlight 3 points I found most helpful. Though if this interests you and you do want a full summary, I took copious notes in the book, and am well equipped for that conversation, so just let me know!
Ellul writes a lot on what he calls "technique"("technique" is his original word in French as well as the translation in English). He writes that our culture is a slave to technique, which is to say that our culture worships progress, business, and efficiency. The problem with this is that technique ought to be a means towards a higher end of human flourishing, but instead it is just worshipped as an end in and of itself. Ellul extrapolates on the deeper meaning and the consequences of this for a substantial portion of the book, and I found it to be extremely insightful, helpful, and true to modern American culture.
A smaller aspect of the book which made an impact on me was a simple note that Christians should not think of loving their neighbor abstractly, but rather we should emphasize the intrinsic worth of our individual neighbor. So instead of loving my neighbor, I am to love my neighbor Nick, or Naomi, or Juan. I believe just by attaching a name to it, it draws out a much more real, authentic, and powerful response from myself.
As I mentioned, he wraps up every chapter with practical advice which I thought to be helpful. This guidance always revolved around finding a Christian way of life, in which we value true relationships and meaningfully engage with the modern world, while also together avoid the pitfalls of our culture. Basically, he is saying that our path forward is the same as the path forward for all of the historical church; he just applies some specifics to our culture.
So given what I valued about this, why is it getting 3 stars instead of higher? Well the book is only 112 pages and it took me 6 months to finish. Given the intellectual stamina needed to read it (as well as other philosophical works), I just struggle to enjoy this type of read. If you like philosophical reading, you will probably enjoy this book much more than me, but simply because I generally thought of reading it more as a chore than a joy, I am leaving the 3 star rating.
It should also be noted that Jacques Ellul is a French author who wrote this in the 1940s. He highly values that Christians ought to know the culture in which they live intimately to inform the way that the gospel interacts with it. Though some minor differences exist between his culture and America in 2025, for the most part his critique is also applicable to our situation.
Instead of summarizing the book in this review, I will instead highlight 3 points I found most helpful. Though if this interests you and you do want a full summary, I took copious notes in the book, and am well equipped for that conversation, so just let me know!
Ellul writes a lot on what he calls "technique"("technique" is his original word in French as well as the translation in English). He writes that our culture is a slave to technique, which is to say that our culture worships progress, business, and efficiency. The problem with this is that technique ought to be a means towards a higher end of human flourishing, but instead it is just worshipped as an end in and of itself. Ellul extrapolates on the deeper meaning and the consequences of this for a substantial portion of the book, and I found it to be extremely insightful, helpful, and true to modern American culture.
A smaller aspect of the book which made an impact on me was a simple note that Christians should not think of loving their neighbor abstractly, but rather we should emphasize the intrinsic worth of our individual neighbor. So instead of loving my neighbor, I am to love my neighbor Nick, or Naomi, or Juan. I believe just by attaching a name to it, it draws out a much more real, authentic, and powerful response from myself.
As I mentioned, he wraps up every chapter with practical advice which I thought to be helpful. This guidance always revolved around finding a Christian way of life, in which we value true relationships and meaningfully engage with the modern world, while also together avoid the pitfalls of our culture. Basically, he is saying that our path forward is the same as the path forward for all of the historical church; he just applies some specifics to our culture.
So given what I valued about this, why is it getting 3 stars instead of higher? Well the book is only 112 pages and it took me 6 months to finish. Given the intellectual stamina needed to read it (as well as other philosophical works), I just struggle to enjoy this type of read. If you like philosophical reading, you will probably enjoy this book much more than me, but simply because I generally thought of reading it more as a chore than a joy, I am leaving the 3 star rating.
July 3, 2021
I just finished "The Presence of the Kingdom," by Jacques Ellul.
Three pages in and I already like how Ellul writes, and this is translated from French. He starts by saying that a Christian working by human might may be good but not mission. A Christian working as a Christian--his specific function is "being one who is Christ-like"--it will be decisive for human history. How?--be salt, light and sheep among wolves.
On being salt: I dont I have ever heard that this was a sign of a covenant (Lev. 2:13). But as salt we walk a covenantal life. A moving profession of what God has done for us all in Christ.
Ellul says that these three--salt, light and sheep among the wolves--can be summed up as "be a sign."
Ethically this means the layman should be a sign everywhere, everyday. The layman as opposed to the clergy, is the point of contact with/in the world. He is a sign and a taste of the Kingdom. The point of contact from God to man for this ethic is the Holy Spirit. Odd that he would mention this but talk about Gods economy in ethics is lacking today.
When dealing with the Kingdom question which is boiled down to roughly this: can any ole good deed be Kingdom work separate from God? Ellul would say no. Working from "let your light shine...that they may praise the Father..." he believes that we cant try to make our work split from our Master. Further, I believe he would suggest that the mentality that one would look to do good apart from the proclamation of God as Kingdom work is itself a problem.
"What matters is whether Christians will dare to risk everything in order to fulfill their function in the world," p 60.
His discussion on means and ends didnt go where I thought it would. His critique of technology seems to be thus: man has lost sight of having any "ends." Because of that all is seen as a "means" which will be built off of by another means and to another means but never the ends. Man has no purpose because man has no end. I think he is about to go eschatological.
He totally went where I didnt think he was, or how I didnt think he would: the means / end issue is from Greek ethics and is not from God. In the work of God the end and the means are identical. When Jesus is present the Kingdom is likewise. He is salvation of man for the Kingdom and He is salvation and Kingdom. The only problem with this is he could (he would) easily go determinist: you are not the means for salvation in Christ (there is no "coming Jesus"), He is the means and the end [insert Calvin]. I disagree.
This was a good book for the most part. I would have liked a bit more Kingdom talk and a bit less social-political. Regardless of my disagreements with Ellul--him a socialist and me a capitalist; him reformed and me totally not--I respect his work.
Three pages in and I already like how Ellul writes, and this is translated from French. He starts by saying that a Christian working by human might may be good but not mission. A Christian working as a Christian--his specific function is "being one who is Christ-like"--it will be decisive for human history. How?--be salt, light and sheep among wolves.
On being salt: I dont I have ever heard that this was a sign of a covenant (Lev. 2:13). But as salt we walk a covenantal life. A moving profession of what God has done for us all in Christ.
Ellul says that these three--salt, light and sheep among the wolves--can be summed up as "be a sign."
Ethically this means the layman should be a sign everywhere, everyday. The layman as opposed to the clergy, is the point of contact with/in the world. He is a sign and a taste of the Kingdom. The point of contact from God to man for this ethic is the Holy Spirit. Odd that he would mention this but talk about Gods economy in ethics is lacking today.
When dealing with the Kingdom question which is boiled down to roughly this: can any ole good deed be Kingdom work separate from God? Ellul would say no. Working from "let your light shine...that they may praise the Father..." he believes that we cant try to make our work split from our Master. Further, I believe he would suggest that the mentality that one would look to do good apart from the proclamation of God as Kingdom work is itself a problem.
"What matters is whether Christians will dare to risk everything in order to fulfill their function in the world," p 60.
His discussion on means and ends didnt go where I thought it would. His critique of technology seems to be thus: man has lost sight of having any "ends." Because of that all is seen as a "means" which will be built off of by another means and to another means but never the ends. Man has no purpose because man has no end. I think he is about to go eschatological.
He totally went where I didnt think he was, or how I didnt think he would: the means / end issue is from Greek ethics and is not from God. In the work of God the end and the means are identical. When Jesus is present the Kingdom is likewise. He is salvation of man for the Kingdom and He is salvation and Kingdom. The only problem with this is he could (he would) easily go determinist: you are not the means for salvation in Christ (there is no "coming Jesus"), He is the means and the end [insert Calvin]. I disagree.
This was a good book for the most part. I would have liked a bit more Kingdom talk and a bit less social-political. Regardless of my disagreements with Ellul--him a socialist and me a capitalist; him reformed and me totally not--I respect his work.
October 31, 2025
Jacques Ellul’s La Présence au monde moderne is a foundational work that bridges theology and sociology, offering a radical critique of modernity and a call for Christian engagement grounded in truth and resistance.
Published originally in 1948 and reissued multiple times—including in 2025 by La Table Ronde—La Présence au monde moderne remains strikingly relevant. Ellul, both a sociologist and a theologian, confronts the challenges posed by technological progress, state power, and media saturation, urging Christians to resist assimilation into the dominant culture. Rather than adapting to the world’s logic, Ellul calls for a “presence” that is lucid, uncompromising, and rooted in the Gospel.
Core Themes
Radical critique of modern society: Ellul denounces the myth of progress and the illusion of neutrality in technological and political systems. He argues that Christians must not conform to these forces but instead expose their ideological underpinnings.
Christian witness as resistance: The believer’s presence in the world is not passive. It involves active discernment, prophetic speech, and a refusal to serve idols—whether they be nationalism, consumerism, or institutional religion.
Theological depth: Ellul insists that the Christian message is not a moral supplement to society but a revelation that disrupts and reorients. The Kingdom of God is not a utopia to be built but a reality that judges and transforms the present.
Reception and Impact
The book has been hailed as a classic of Christian thought, especially within Protestant circles concerned with ethics, mission, and political theology. Its enduring relevance is reflected in recent reissues and renewed interest in Ellul’s critique of technocratic culture. As Regards protestants notes, the book challenges churches to clarify their motivations and limits when engaging in public discourse.
Why It Matters Today
In an age of algorithmic control, ecological crisis, and ideological polarization, La Présence au monde moderne offers a framework for faithful dissent. Ellul’s vision is not nostalgic but prophetic: he calls for a presence that is neither withdrawal nor compromise, but a radical fidelity to the truth of Christ.
Published originally in 1948 and reissued multiple times—including in 2025 by La Table Ronde—La Présence au monde moderne remains strikingly relevant. Ellul, both a sociologist and a theologian, confronts the challenges posed by technological progress, state power, and media saturation, urging Christians to resist assimilation into the dominant culture. Rather than adapting to the world’s logic, Ellul calls for a “presence” that is lucid, uncompromising, and rooted in the Gospel.
Core Themes
Radical critique of modern society: Ellul denounces the myth of progress and the illusion of neutrality in technological and political systems. He argues that Christians must not conform to these forces but instead expose their ideological underpinnings.
Christian witness as resistance: The believer’s presence in the world is not passive. It involves active discernment, prophetic speech, and a refusal to serve idols—whether they be nationalism, consumerism, or institutional religion.
Theological depth: Ellul insists that the Christian message is not a moral supplement to society but a revelation that disrupts and reorients. The Kingdom of God is not a utopia to be built but a reality that judges and transforms the present.
Reception and Impact
The book has been hailed as a classic of Christian thought, especially within Protestant circles concerned with ethics, mission, and political theology. Its enduring relevance is reflected in recent reissues and renewed interest in Ellul’s critique of technocratic culture. As Regards protestants notes, the book challenges churches to clarify their motivations and limits when engaging in public discourse.
Why It Matters Today
In an age of algorithmic control, ecological crisis, and ideological polarization, La Présence au monde moderne offers a framework for faithful dissent. Ellul’s vision is not nostalgic but prophetic: he calls for a presence that is neither withdrawal nor compromise, but a radical fidelity to the truth of Christ.
May 1, 2018
Sabbath book #15 for 2018.
There are two forces in tension in my readings on faith and politics. I'm caught between the desire to know what to do and my ambivalence about any prescribed course of action. This tension makes partisan arguments premature for me and makes it difficult to find helpful thoughts.
Thankfully, tension is familiar terrain to Ellul, whose name I first encountered in Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Like Bonhoeffer, he writes from a living tension point, and his political activity has given him an arena to challenge, test, and embody his views. He fought with the French Resistance, served as a mayor during reconstruction, worked with delinquent youth, served in the church throughout political upheavals, and out of these experiences, wrote some of the most compelling modern literature on faith and politics.
As a result, Ellul is alert to the dynamics of human power systems. His response is not to identify which party or movement Christians should join, but to frame Christian activity within its given tensions. In these tensions, he finds the identity of the church and offers powerful guidance for political activity.
Ellul's analysis of the cultural currents of his time is an informative one for our own. His analysis of the means obliterating the ends in our culture, his eschatology, and his vision for the role of the church in the world are all striking and rich.
The beauty of his thought is that he holds ideas in tension without attempting to flatten them. This trait, which I regard as an asset, might explain why he is not more widely read by today's Christians, who seem to have bought into many of the logical reductions of our age.
In his constant refusal to prescribe ethical direction and his unbroken focus on the coming of Christ, Ellul offers ways of thinking about how we think about politics that retain their power and clarity this many years later.
There are two forces in tension in my readings on faith and politics. I'm caught between the desire to know what to do and my ambivalence about any prescribed course of action. This tension makes partisan arguments premature for me and makes it difficult to find helpful thoughts.
Thankfully, tension is familiar terrain to Ellul, whose name I first encountered in Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Like Bonhoeffer, he writes from a living tension point, and his political activity has given him an arena to challenge, test, and embody his views. He fought with the French Resistance, served as a mayor during reconstruction, worked with delinquent youth, served in the church throughout political upheavals, and out of these experiences, wrote some of the most compelling modern literature on faith and politics.
As a result, Ellul is alert to the dynamics of human power systems. His response is not to identify which party or movement Christians should join, but to frame Christian activity within its given tensions. In these tensions, he finds the identity of the church and offers powerful guidance for political activity.
Ellul's analysis of the cultural currents of his time is an informative one for our own. His analysis of the means obliterating the ends in our culture, his eschatology, and his vision for the role of the church in the world are all striking and rich.
The beauty of his thought is that he holds ideas in tension without attempting to flatten them. This trait, which I regard as an asset, might explain why he is not more widely read by today's Christians, who seem to have bought into many of the logical reductions of our age.
In his constant refusal to prescribe ethical direction and his unbroken focus on the coming of Christ, Ellul offers ways of thinking about how we think about politics that retain their power and clarity this many years later.
October 15, 2021
Fantastic book. It basically asks what must it look like for a Christian to be in the world? The answer is difficult but he rejects a monasticism that separates from the world or a version that adopts the same motivations and structures of the world in favor of faithful presence.
He has some incredible insights, including how means have come to completely dominate society (over ends) such that ends don't even matter at all; everything is evaluated in terms of usefulness, how well they facilitate means, even if (and usually although) the ends aren't even defined. As he puts it, we're finding ways to move faster and faster towards nowhere. Interestingly, he doesn't advocate putting ends first either but rather flips it, arguing that salvation in Christ is the end that has already been done, and we need to live in light of that - the means follow the ends.
Also insightful is his (fairly prophetic) thoughts on how communication is dominated by the explanatory myth - how that explains the world frames our entire understanding of even what is fact. It's so obviously true in our fractured society today.
Only reason it's not 5 stars is because - and he acknowledges this in the conclusion - it's pretty densely intellectual and despite him continually arguing otherwise, comes across as fairly abstract. It's really difficult from this book alone to understand what his vision looks like in practice. And I think a lot of the intellectual language went over my head. But otherwise, great.
He has some incredible insights, including how means have come to completely dominate society (over ends) such that ends don't even matter at all; everything is evaluated in terms of usefulness, how well they facilitate means, even if (and usually although) the ends aren't even defined. As he puts it, we're finding ways to move faster and faster towards nowhere. Interestingly, he doesn't advocate putting ends first either but rather flips it, arguing that salvation in Christ is the end that has already been done, and we need to live in light of that - the means follow the ends.
Also insightful is his (fairly prophetic) thoughts on how communication is dominated by the explanatory myth - how that explains the world frames our entire understanding of even what is fact. It's so obviously true in our fractured society today.
Only reason it's not 5 stars is because - and he acknowledges this in the conclusion - it's pretty densely intellectual and despite him continually arguing otherwise, comes across as fairly abstract. It's really difficult from this book alone to understand what his vision looks like in practice. And I think a lot of the intellectual language went over my head. But otherwise, great.
October 10, 2025
This one isn’t as much for me, not being a Christian myself. I have a lot of respect for Ellul as a thinker after reading The Technological Society. I have even more respect for him now, after reading this one, knowing how much he was holding back these particular beliefs in the writing of TS.
For the longest of moments the nationalist narratives have been territorializing Christianity against Technology to politicize and fantasize any kind of meaningful movement. It will only get more bifurcated now that Palestine has hit the fan, and power is desperate to make it seem like it’s about anything but the export of military surveillance experimentation around the world.
The exploitation of human thought is objectively bad these days. The evolution of language is moving quickly when corporations race to colonize our neurological patterns. Don’t get duped into the deep end by the lower hanging propaganda fruits. If you’re interested in Ellul as an intellectual do yourself the service of reading the entire Technological Society before pigeoning yourself into a politicized definition of the sacred.
For the longest of moments the nationalist narratives have been territorializing Christianity against Technology to politicize and fantasize any kind of meaningful movement. It will only get more bifurcated now that Palestine has hit the fan, and power is desperate to make it seem like it’s about anything but the export of military surveillance experimentation around the world.
The exploitation of human thought is objectively bad these days. The evolution of language is moving quickly when corporations race to colonize our neurological patterns. Don’t get duped into the deep end by the lower hanging propaganda fruits. If you’re interested in Ellul as an intellectual do yourself the service of reading the entire Technological Society before pigeoning yourself into a politicized definition of the sacred.
January 10, 2021
Very impressed by this, Ellul was new to me, and his thoughts on Marx & Christianity infused with Hegel and Kierkegaard resonated deeply with me. I also found the two additions in the afterwords added in, I think it was 1985, that addressed both the movement of Islam as a revolution that could be more successful than all the variations of communism along with the failure of Christian churches in Africa & the AmerIndian parts of the world in rejecting those variations of communism to the detriment of their peoples fascinating.
Jacques Ellul believes that without spirituality, particularly Christian spirituality you have nothing count for your existence in the world. That meditation and reading is the foundation for making your spiritual and real life complete. That thought has always been part of my life.
I read this as an e-book and will be looking for a hard copy to reread and annotate as I felt that Jacques Ellul was fueling my thoughts with ideas that had not been fully expressed.
Jacques Ellul believes that without spirituality, particularly Christian spirituality you have nothing count for your existence in the world. That meditation and reading is the foundation for making your spiritual and real life complete. That thought has always been part of my life.
I read this as an e-book and will be looking for a hard copy to reread and annotate as I felt that Jacques Ellul was fueling my thoughts with ideas that had not been fully expressed.
May 25, 2024
This book has got many glowing reviews and I’ll add another. It is wonderful! Truly inspiring! Thought-full and provocative. He asks all the right questions.
I came to Ellul through his books on sociology (Propaganda, The Technical Society) and I thought he was very pessimistic. Then I read a book called Understanding Jacques Ellul that told me that one would get that impression if you only read his sociology books. You can’t really understand Ellul or his philosophy unless you also read some of his theological books and it recommended starting with this one because it contains a little of all the different themes that permeate his other works. It’s one of his earliest books written in 1948 and it’s got an early description of technique (technic) which he will develop at length in the 1950s as well as an early version of his thoughts on propaganda. It seems a good introduction to a remarkable man who was a prolific writer and thinker with much to say to those of us living in the 21st century.
Highly recommended.
I came to Ellul through his books on sociology (Propaganda, The Technical Society) and I thought he was very pessimistic. Then I read a book called Understanding Jacques Ellul that told me that one would get that impression if you only read his sociology books. You can’t really understand Ellul or his philosophy unless you also read some of his theological books and it recommended starting with this one because it contains a little of all the different themes that permeate his other works. It’s one of his earliest books written in 1948 and it’s got an early description of technique (technic) which he will develop at length in the 1950s as well as an early version of his thoughts on propaganda. It seems a good introduction to a remarkable man who was a prolific writer and thinker with much to say to those of us living in the 21st century.
Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews