The Fullness of Time in a Flat World: Globalization and the Liturgical Year

by Scott Waalkes

Best-selling author Thomas Friedman says that globalization has made the world flat and that we cannot stop the process. But while it is right to say that globalization tends to flatten our world, it is wrong to say that there are no alternatives to current patterns of economic, ecological, political, and cultural integration. This book argues that the Christian liturgical calendar provides a constructive alternative to the globalization of economics, ecologies, politics, and cultures. It does so by incorporating the church into the fullness of time in the gospel narrative, thereby helping us escape from the dead end of Friedman's flat world so that we can improvise healthier ways of being globally integrated.

384 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

Reviews

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic book which claims that the solution to countering the lies of modernity and globalism lies in the worship practices of the Church, particularly of the Church's participation in the narrative of the liturgical year. Waalkes supports his claims with a stunning amount of data, and his bibliography runneth over. A wealth of insight and helpful commentary on how celebration of the Church year can reorient the Church toward the "fullness of time" instead of flattening the world, and how the narrative of the Church when embodied in her corporate life presents a direct challenge to the narratives of this world.

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waalkes offers a critique of Friedman's, The World is Flat along with other experts who have offered their theories of globalization. Waalkes, a political science professor at a Christian college in northeastern Ohio, describes how he generally agreed with proponents of globalization until he begin hearing stories of how his students and their families were affected in negative ways. As factories moved from Ohio to Mexico, China, or elsewhere in the world, goods could be produced more cheaply, but the question becomes, at what cost?
Waalkes uses the church calender to offer a different way of looking at globalization. I found myself learning a bit about globalization and a lot about the church calendar.
If I understood Waalkes correctly, there is likely little we can do to slow or stop globalization. But, we can make choices based on our understanding of the universal church and the idea that we should want what is best for Christian brothers and sisters and their non Christian neighbors in all parts of the world. Using the church calendar as a way to offer regular fasts, or to lend support to the decisions we make, can perhaps make it easier to sacrifice if it feels like it is for a larger purpose.
Waalkes encourages his readers to become aware of where our products come from. For example, the pants I purchased last night came from Haiti, Bangledesh and Vietnam, while the shoes were made in China. What do I know about the conditions in which they were made? What do I know about the people who sewed them? Is there a way we can make a connection?
The book took me awhile to get through but it is thought provoking and I would recommend it to people who have read Friedman's books and other works on globalization.