The dust jacket of Carl Anderson's "A Civilization of Love" strikes a seemingly familiar note: "The battle today is between the culture of death (where people are judged by their social or economic value) and the culture of life." The expectation might be yet another polemical broadside to weigh down shelves already overloaded with such wares: The world is going to hell in a hand basket; hang on for the ride.
Yet Anderson seems to be up to something more, and that something more is evident almost immediately in the first pages of "A Civilization of Love." The polarity is only a starting point, rather than an apocalyptic call to arms - or a trumpet to sound retreat to the hills. Anderson is the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, so it is unsurprising to see him choose his title from a phrase by Pope John Paul II. Is it a throwaway? Is it an empty phrase? Is it an opposition - such as many have tried to draw - against the smaller "mustard seed" idea of the Church and Christianity of John Paul's successor, Benedict XVI?
The answer only becomes fully clear when Anderson reveals his working paradigm in his conclusion. Anderson latches on to three possible approaches of the Christian to society identified by twentieth century Protestant theologian H. Richard Niebuhr: 1) "Christ against culture," with Christ's message understood as a call to revolt against, or at least separate from, society; 2) "Christ of culture," an Enlightenment idea of Christianity as fully compatible with society, and Christ reduced merely to a great moral teacher; or 3) "Christ above culture" - the Christian message as engaged with, yet distinct from, the world. It is this last approach that Anderson embraces, and provides his thesis. "The message and event of Jesus Christ," Anderson insists, "cannot be limited simply to an affirmation - or for that matter, a repudiation - of existing cultural norms." Human beings are called to love. And because they are called to love, it is only by (re)building a culture, a civilization, which loves that we can overcome the conflicts and threats we face today. And in this great task, the Catholic, the Christian, is indispensable: This is the great work we are called to.
All of may sound rather rarified. "Civilization of Love," however, is a very accessible work to the educated layman, and eminently practical, and remarkably succinct (only 173 pages). Every chapter ends with a short list of "Suggestions for Contemplation and Action." The survey for this engagement ranges from the very smallest unit of society, the family ("The Domestic Church") to the largest, the increasingly intertwined (and yet conflicted) global society ("Globalization and the Gospel of Work"). Anderson clearly hopes to do more than move books; he wants to move the world. And like Archimedes, he has found a lever, the only lever, capable of doing so: the salvific grace of Christ, the very embodiment of love.
In short, "A Civilization of Love" is a valuable contribution to the public discourse between the Christian and the secular - one at once both intellectual and eminently practical.
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A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World Books In Print, Audio Books.