Jacques Ellul Knihy

The book delves into the essence of Christian faith, distinguishing between superficial religion and authentic faith rooted in divine revelation. Jacques Ellul emphasizes that true Christianity involves a courageous engagement with the Wholly Other God, challenging believers to transcend conventional understanding and embrace a transformative perspective. By examining faith's dynamics, he invites readers to confront their beliefs and seek deeper truths beyond personal circumstances and societal norms.

Exploring the complexities of Good and Evil, this work delves into contemporary Western morality and presents a thought-provoking vision of Christian ethics. The first volume examines the origins of ethical dilemmas, while the second expands on the characteristics of Christian ethics and its connections to biblical law and dogmatic theology. Engaging with notable theologians like Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this significant contribution offers a fresh perspective on ethical discourse and scriptural interpretation, enriched by a recently discovered manuscript.

Exploring the perspectives of a prominent twentieth-century thinker, this work delves into the complexities of wealth and poverty, addressing pressing contemporary issues. It offers a unique analysis of socio-economic divides and the philosophical implications surrounding them, providing insights that resonate with modern readers. Through thought-provoking discussions, the author invites reflection on the nature of richness and the societal structures that influence our understanding of wealth.

This is not a commentary in the traditional sense. One might call it an existential commentary. An important aim of the author is to bring out the relevance of the story, of the person, mission, and situation of Jonah, to Christians in our own time. Above all, this is a theological, or --more specifically -- a christological commentary. The author's chief aim is to relate the book, not to Christians, but to Christ. Ellul thinks Christ is the center of all Scripture, and he also takes seriously the specific reference which Christ makes to the sign of Jonah. If this reading is correct, and the Bible is indeed a unity, the exposition of Ellul, though not developed in detail, has a distinctive theological contribution to make. Those who want acute theological insight, and are not afraid of plain, hard-hitting application, will read this vivid study with relish and profit. -- From the Preface by G. W. Bromiley

Pointing to the many contradictions between the Bible and the practice of the church, Jacques Ellul asserts in this provocative and stimulating book that what we today call Christianity is actually far removed from the revelation of God. Successive generations have reinterpreted Scripture and modeled it after their own cultures, thus moving society further from the truth of the original gospel. The church also perverted the gospel message, for instead of simply doing away with pagan practice and belief, it reconstituted the sacred, set up its own religious forms, and thus resacralized the world. Ellul develops several areas in which this perversion is most obvious, including the church's emphasis on moralism and its teaching in the political sphere. The heart of the problem, he says, is that we have not accepted the fact that Christianity is a scandal; we attempt to make it acceptable and easy--and thus pervert its true message. Ultimately, however, Ellul remains hopeful. For, in spite of all that has been done to subvert the message of God, the Holy Spirit continues to move in the world. Christianity, writes Ellul, never carries the day decisively against Christ.

Some 20 years after writing The Technological Society, Jacques Ellul realized how the totalistic dimensions of our modern technological milieu required an additional treatment of the topic. Writing amidst the rise of books in the 1970s on pollution, over-population, and environmental degradation, Ellul found it necessary, once again, to write about the global presence of technology and its far-reaching effects. The Technological System represents a new stage in Ellul’s research. Previously he studied technological society as such; in this book he approaches the topic from a systems perspective wherein he identifies the characteristics of technological phenomena and technological progress in light of system theory. This leads to an entirely new approach to what constitutes the most important event of our society which has decisive bearing on the future of our world. Ellul’s analysis touches on all aspects of modern life, not just those of a scientific or technological order. In the end, readers are compelled to formulate their own opinions and make their own decisions regarding the way a technique-based value system affects every level of human life.

Monograph on historical and contemporary social implications of technology in civilization - discusses economic implications of technology and its relationship to the institutional framework, political doctrines, education, leisure activities and quality of life, etc., as well as its philosophical and sociological aspects, and makes future predictions. Bibliography pp. 437 to 449

Jacques Ellul's landmark theological work, now available in English for the first time, offers a profound exploration of Christian ethics. This publication includes a fresh translation of Volume One and the first-ever English translation of Volume Two, enhanced by recent insights and a newly discovered manuscript. Together, these volumes lay the foundation for Ellul's ambitious four-part examination of ethics, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of his thought and its relevance to contemporary issues.