Worship or Suicide

There is a growing unease about the perceived decay of Western civilization. Intellectuals ruminate about a post-liberal future and an atmosphere of dread permeates the public sphere. One senses that the old is fading while the emerging order is not in sight. Worship or Suicide offers both an account of how Western civilization came to flourish and an explanation as to why its decay was already present in its success. Every civilization is rooted in foundational myths and rituals. The removal of the Western roots from the Judeo-Christian soil leads toward the withering of the social order. Other gods move into the vacuum and transform the West into soft totalitarianism. Thus, the church both is responsible for social decay through its idolatry and also contains the potential for renewal. Yet the solution does not lie in the instrumental use of religion. Instead, the church gives birth to a flourishing society paradoxically: By excluding the immanent order and solely focusing upon the worship of the triune God, the church unintentionally redeems society from its suicidal drive.

Author Biography

Oleg Dik is Professor for Urban Theology and Sociology at Evangelische Hochschule Tabor and occasional lecturer at Humboldt University in Berlin. Dik grew up in Russia and lived in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. These experiences shape his academic research in which Dik addresses various relations between religion and society.