Understanding Jacques Ellul

Even the authors of this work admit that Jacques Ellul did not know everything, that he did not interpret everything accurately, but, they argue, he was one of the world's last great polymaths and one of the most salient Christian thinkers of his era. With the goal of offering a comprehensive appraisal of the modern world, and of the place of Christian faith in it, Ellul wrote over fifty books and a thousand articles. He addressed almost every major facet and institution of modern society and many more from previous ages and engaged his material with simplicity, sincerity, courage, and a passion that few have matched. In spite of this there has never before been a single volume introduction to his ideas and their significance. Jeffrey P. Greenman, Read M. Schuchardt and Noah J. Toly address this lack with Understanding Jacques Ellul, an interdisciplinary exploration of the different branches of Ellul's work. This essential new study illuminates is a fuller, more robust and more realistic Ellul, a man whose voice is well worth listening to, and whose mind well worth examining.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Ellul's Life and Thought Chapter 2 Technology and Technique Chapter 3 Communication: Media, Propaganda and the Word Chapter 4 The City and Urbanism Chapter 5 Politics and Economics Chapter 6 Scripture Chapter 7 Ethics Chapter 8 Ellul as Christian Scholar Key Events in the Life of Jacques Ellul Bibliography Index of names Index of subjects

About the Author :
Jeffrey P. Greenman is Associate Dean of Biblical and Theological Studies and Professor of Christian Ethics at Wheaton College, Illinois. Read Mercer Schuchardt is Associate Professor of Communication at Wheaton College, Illinois. Noah J. Toly is Director of Urban Studies and Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Wheaton College, Illinois.

Review :
"Understanding Jacques Ellul is a useful introduction to the prolific author, who was a sociologist, historian, and a Christian. This book is the first to give equal weight to his secular and Christian views. Given Ellul's voluminous writings, the authors had to be selective, and their choice of topics is excellent." Richard Stivers, Professor of Sociology, Illinois State University "This revealing overview of Ellul's life and work enables us to grasp the underlying unity of his principal interests: communication and Christianity. ... This balanced study will be of prime service to anyone who [wishes to] understand Ellul's thought and insights." Eric McLuhan, author of Know Thyself: Action and Perception "This book provides an introduction to Ellul's life and work, analyzing and assessing his thought across the most important themes of his scholarship. Readers will see that his remarkably broad field of vision, clarity of focus, and boldly prophetic voice make his work worth reading and considering, rereading and discussing." Theological Book Review , Vol 25, No 2 "[ - ] Written primarily for Anglophone students, this book will also assist scholars engaging Ellul for the first time. To help students the book helpfully provides a list of key events in the life of Ellul, an index, and a select bibliography of Ellul's English works and secondary sources." Richard A. Davis, "The Expository Times", vol. 126, issue 4, January 2015