Yes, that’s right — “defence,” with a ‘c.’
That’s because my guest on this episode is an Anglican priest and Substacker Father Thomas Plant (
).Father Plant recently responded to Paul Kingsnorth’s lecture “Against Christian Civilization” with his well-titled reply, “Kingsnorth’s Radical Protestantism: In Defence of Christian Civilisation.”
Fr. Plant writes:
“Do we want civilization,” he asks, “or do we want Christ? What if we can have only the one or the other?” The question is rhetorical, the presumed answer clear. Christ and civilisation are antitheses. To follow one is to reject the other. They are rival masters, and woe on him who tries to serve the two.
This dualistic principle governs Kingsnorth’s recent diatribe for First Things, Against Christian Civilisation. It is an ascetic principle of sorts, grounding Kingsnorth’s quietist distaste for politics and technology. But despite his newfound profession of Orthodoxy, it is a principle closer to the Puritans and Levellers than to the Hesychasts and Stilites he admires.
Given my own take on Kingsnorth’s talk, I had to have Fr. Plant on the podcast. Here is our conversation.
For the video version, watch our interview on YouTube. (And be sure to subscribe to The Natural Theologian YouTube channel.)
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:57 Kingsnorth's Mistake
07:03 The Puritan Error?
11:00 Contemporary Radical Protestantism
16:50 Kingsnorth's Critique of Jordan Peterson
26:42 Good without God?
33:01 Pastoral Implications
37:00 How to be a Christian in abundance?
44:35 Christian culture v. civilization?
Fr. Plant’s Article: “Kingsnorth’s Radical Protestantism.”
Paul Kingsnorth’s Address and Article: “Against Christian Civilization.”
More from Father Plant
Substack:
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