In the course of reading reviews and listening to comments over the past couple of months regarding Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option, it has occurred to me that some kind of Preface needs to precede any kind of thoughtful and focused discussion of the book. In particular, there are three basic questions that should to be addressed in order to clearly understand Dreher’s thesis and his seminal arguments. Unless there is a consensus agreement on these issues, any discussion and debate on the relative merits of the book are probably futile.
Jefrey D. Breshears, Ph.D., is a former university history professor and the president of The Areopagus, a Christian education ministry that sponsors forums and semester-length seminars on issues related to Bibliology, history, Christian apologetics, literature and the arts, and contemporary cultural issues. He is the author of several books including: "Introduction to Bibliology: What Every Christian Should Know About the Origins, Composition, Inspiration, Interpretation, Canonization, and Transmission of the Bible", "Why Study Christian History? The Value of Understanding the Past", "Natural Law. The Moral Foundation for Social and Political Civility", "The Case for Christian Apologetics", "American Crisis: Cultural Marxism and the Culture War - A Christian Response", and "C. S. Lewis on Politics, Government, and the Good Society".