Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License
Christians in the modern West hear a lot about--and talk a lot about--"freedom." The word has taken on so many meanings that Christians often fail to realize how much our contemporary ideals of freedom stray from what freedom has meant in Scripture and the Christian tradition.
Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License by Bradford Littlejohn seeks to define and disentangle theological, moral, and political concepts of freedom and provide a deeper understanding of what true Christian freedom is--liberation from the bondage of fear and sin.Littlejohn builds his argument from the Protestant doctrine of Christian liberty anchored in Martin Luther's Reformation classic The Freedom of a Christian. He then looks at conflicts over technology, the market, and religious liberty as case studies of how a full-orbed Christian idea of freedom helps us respond faithfully to these challenges in our spiritual lives, our churches, and our civic engagement.
Littlejohn argues that a great source on contemporary social problems and trends towards illiberalism derive from a faulty understanding of human freedom which places individuality and authenticity as the highest good for society. Littlejohn argues that the Christian tradition presents a much more compelling vision, namely that freedom cannot lead to flourishing for everyone unless it is rightly ordered to God's moral commands and divinely ordained sources of authority in our lives. As such, he presents a case against modern secularism and charts a vision for what Christian faith actually has to say to our political and social lives.
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Brad Littlejohn (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is founder and president of the Davenant Institute and serves as a fellow for the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
--Justin Whitmel Earley, lawyer, speaker, and author
"Called to Freedom is a breath of fresh air. Rooted in biblical wisdom, it accessibly retrieves central Reformation insights for some of the most pressing issues of our day. Littlejohn is a thoughtful Protestant voice on the nature of both spiritual and political liberty."
--Eric Gregory, professor of religion, Princeton University
--Mark David Hall, professor of government, Regent University and senior fellow, Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy "Christians are called to freedom. What might this mean, in light of our understanding that economic, political and, more recently, technological freedom cannot, by themselves, deliver us from bondage? Brad Littlejohn reminds us that we have been here before, and that the Christian Reformers can again be our guides. Here is a book that understands that freedom can only find its true support in the purified human heart."
--Joshua T. Mitchell, professor of political theory, Georgetown University and chairman, Common Sense Society "Called to Freedom is a tour de force and a much-needed consideration of freedom as defined by Christianity. Brad Littlejohn's book represents one of the most important books on freedom to emerge in recent decades. This work is informed by Christianity's classical intellectual tradition, and it engages some of the most contemporary challenges to freedom in our own times. This volume is thoughtful, timely, eloquent, engaging, and urgently needed. So, exercise your freedom, and read it."
--R. Albert Mohler Jr, president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "If, as Brad Littlejohn thinks, we inhabit 'two parallel worlds of discourse' about freedom, how can the call of freedom be recovered from the wreckage of contemporary rhetoric? Can the heirs of the Protestant Reformation lay hold on the resources to guide them in doing so? This is a book to make you more hopeful about that possibility, and yet more aware of the discrimination and thoughtfulness it requires. As you get into each chapter, allow yourself enough time for the complexities that freedom throws in your path. It will be an education you cannot regret."
--Oliver O'Donovan, professor emeritus of Christian ethics and practical theology, University of Edinburgh "The most pressing battles of our day involve anthropology--our understanding of what it means to be human. From psychology to religion, from sexuality to social order, we are awash in a sea of confusion, and running through all these battles are confused and conflicting notions of freedom. Thankfully, Brad Littlejohn has written a book to untangle the Gordian Knot of Liberty. In this clear and accessible book, Littlejohn shows himself to be a true scribe of the kingdom, bringing out of the storehouse of Christendom treasures old and new, and weaving together spiritual freedom, moral freedom, and political freedom with scholarly and pastoral care. Highly recommended."
--Joseph Rigney, fellow of theology, New Saint Andrews College "My friend Brad Littlejohn is a 'mind awake.' Whatever he writes, he always gives you pause for consideration. Called to Freedom is a marvelous volume looking at freedom's true meaning set against its counterfeits. Using his gifts and training in both history and moral theology, Littlejohn helps us see that liberty is not autonomy for autonomy's sake. True freedom is the freedom to conform ourselves to God. Littlejohn is a trusted guide in helping Christians understand the connection between spiritual freedom and true political freedom."
--Andrew T. Walker, associate professor of Christian ethics, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
