A First Things Partner Feature

released 2/13/2026

In this 2003 essay, David Bentley Hart explores what the consequence is for Western civilization “when Christianity, as a living historical force, recedes.” He argues that if it rejects Christ, the only remaining option for a post-Christian culture is conscious or “narcotic” nihilism, which takes the form of absolute, meaningless volition. This is the “god” of our age against which Christians must struggle in our adherence to the First Commandment. Because Christianity was victorious over the ancient world’s enchanting but ultimately tragic pagan gods and myths, there is no returning to them. That victory laid bare the nihilism behind those gods, bringing that dark power out into the open. But it also “baptized and redeemed” all the good treasures, wisdom, splendor of creation, and stirrings toward transcendence in the pagan religions, revealing them to be fulfilled in the God of Christianity. Hart concludes with a call for Christians to recover the wisdom of the ascetic tradition to keep the First Commandment and to counter the “bland solace, inane charms, brute viciousness, and dazed passivity of post-Christian culture.”

This essay is provided courtesy of First Things and is read by Ken Myers. It was first published in the October 2003 issue and may be found here.

A glossary of terms in the essay is provided below for your convenience and edification.

66 minutes

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Glossary

abyssal – referring to the abyss or the great deeps of the ocean

aqedah – (Hebrew) binding; refers to Abraham’s binding of his son Isaac on the altar

antinomian – relating to the view that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law 

apophthegms – short, pithy, and instructive sayings

apotropaic – having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck

Attic tragedy – tragedy drama of ancient Greece

chorismos – (Greek) separation between the true, unchanging reality (Forms) and the phenomenal world of appearance 

chthonian – concerning, belonging to, or inhabiting the underworld

dithyramb – a wild choral hymn of ancient Greece, especially one dedicated to Dionysus 

ecpyrosis (or ekpyrosis) – (Greek) conflagration, or fiery destruction 

eidetic – relating to or denoting mental images having unusual vividness and detail, as if actually visible 

emollient – something that softens or smoothes

encomia – glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise

étagère – (French) a piece of furniture consisting of a set of open shelves for displaying small objects

gratia non perfecit, sed destruit naturam – (Latin) “Grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it” 

inextirpable – something that is impossible to remove, destroy, or root out

qurban– (Arabic) a ritual sacrifice to draw near to God

manqué – (French) having failed to become what one might have been; unfulfilled

minatory – expressing or conveying a threat

peripety – a sudden and unexpected reversal of fortune or change in circumstances

précis – (French) a concise summary of essential points, statements, or facts

propria persona – (Latin) for one’s self, or in one’s own person 

pusillanimity – lack of courage or determination; timidity

sepulture – burial; internment

spolia Aegyptiorum– (Latin) the practice of taking the “spoils” from the defeated party in war and putting them to new use

sublunary – belonging to this world, as contrasted with a better or more spiritual one

subordinationist – Christian heresy claiming that the Son and Holy Spirit are ontologically inferior or subordinate to the God the Father

ululations – long, high-pitched vocal sounds to express intense emotions; often used in religious or cultural ceremonies 

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