We all know a guy who’s been “reconstructed.” He’s likely wearing a pink t-shirt and sandals, has a government job and is the only one at the party laughing at lame, politically correct jokes. None of us want to be that guy, but standing up for our heritage as Christian white men is difficult without a proper foundation (lest we face, unarmed, the full might of the Google scholars: they who have left-wing talking points memorized and myriads of stats and studies at their fingertips.)
After years of repression, the intellectual material that would support our interests has become disjointed. We have to dig through tome after tome to find a paragraph with valuable nuggets, and once found, we have to figure out how to place those nuggets into our overall conceptual scheme so that we can use them in debate.
This is frustrating for the young buck, just waking up from his all-American humanism. Where are white, Christian men supposed to turn? What body of ideals are we supposed to draw from in order to make our stand? (Because, let’s face it, we’d rather take on the full-force of Liberaldom than wear pink shirts with sandals!)
Fortunately, I’ve taken the liberty of drawing up a reading list for you. Here are twenty-five books which, if read and understood (and intelligently applied to the problems of life), will give a man the intellectual foundation he needs to assertively and self-confidently attack Liberaldom — be it in the ivory halls of intelligentsia or in the bar-room on Saturday night!
They are listed so that they form a conceptual ladder. All of our positions and opinions, from abortion to alien abduction, must be based on an underlying Christian conceptual scheme (or, worldview), else we’re betraying our God and Father. So, the books at the starting of the list lay out a philosophical foundation on which all other disciplines (like economics, farming, politics, foreign policy and race relations) can proudly stand.
- 1. Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin
John Calvin has long been considered the central theologian of the Protestant Reformation. His book changed the course of the western world. Most importantly for our purposes, Calvin’s theology makes it possible to strongly oppose the forces of modernism (i.e. Liberaldom). If you’re still suckling at the tit of your Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, latte-drinking pastor…it’s time to grow up. This is theology for the big boys, and you’ll need a thorough understanding of it to intellectually defend yourself.
- 2. Lex Rex – Samuel Rutherford
Building on Calvin’s theology, Samuel Rutherford’s work is a model anti-statist polemic which helped lay the intellectual groundwork for the American Republic.
- 3. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism – Max Weber
Weber lays out an elementary economic theory based on consistent Christian theology that transfers today into the blue-collar work-ethic of rural Americans.
- 4. The Defense of the Faith – Cornelius Van Til
Van Til boils Calvinism down into an assertive Christian philosophy that destroys the intellectual foundations of our enemies. Learning Van Til’s transcendental method is vital for defending all of our views as racially self-conscious Christians. It is because of Van Til that we can “reconstruct” all areas of academia (indeed: all of life!). Our debt to him is very great.
- 5. The Foundations of Christian Scholarship – edited by Gary North
This is an important book of essays in the Van Tillian tradition, showing how various academic disciplines can and must be reconstructed along consistently Christian lines. There are articles from Gary North, Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen, and others.
- 6. The Institutes of Biblical Law – R.J. Rushdoony
Rushdoony was a brilliant disciple of Van Til who attempts to reconstruct ideas of law, government, and society along consistently Christian lines. His insights are far-reaching and very important for highlighting the differences between a Christian society and a satanic one.
- 7. Van Til’s Apologetic – Greg Bahnsen
As mentioned earlier, a proper understanding of Cornelius Van Til’s apologetic methodology is vital for the Christian man who wants to intellectually defend himself. No one is better at explaining Van Til than his greatest student, Dr. Greg Bahnsen. In light of Van Til, all academic disciplines are reconstructed along consistently Christian lines. Bahnsen’s book focuses on how this applies to Christian apologetics.
- 8. An Introduction to Christian Economics – Gary North
A very influential book that lays the foundations of a consistently Christian economic theory.
- 9. A Humane Economy – Wilhelm Ropke
In an age when most secular economists treat men as mere numbers, Ropke approaches the topic from a consistently Christian perspective. Though not a Van Tillian, his writings should be very interesting to any Christian who is interested in living the rural life, free from a meddling state.
- 10. The Outline of Sanity – G.K. Chesterton
Chesterton presents a polemic for a “distributist” economic system, where small towns and farming are promoted and mass ownership of capital goods is dissuaded.
- 11. Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community – Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry is the leading agrarian writer in America. A true living legend. His works are very important for launching an intellectual defense of small-town life and farming.
- 12. Third Ways – Alan Carlson
Throughout history, many attempts have been made to form governments based on agrarian and distributist mind-sets. Carlson is a wonderful (and passionate) defender of these systems.
- 13. I’ll Take My Stand – Twelve Southerners
One of the greatest polemics for Southern culture and agrarian life that has ever been written, this is a book of twelve essays written by Southern intellectuals. If you don’t own a copy, please get one and keep it on the nightstand next to your Bible.
- 14. In Defense of Tradition – Richard Weaver
The title of the book says it all. Weaver was a disciple of the Twelve Southerners and is a modern proponent of agrarian and southern traditions. In an age when everything we hold dear is under attack, this book has become all the more important.
- 15. Our Enemy, the State – Albert Jay Nock
A wonderful and articulate defender of freedom, Nock is a classic in libertarian polemics.
- 16. A Foreign Policy of Freedom – Ron Paul
This is a collection of essays and speeches given to the House of Representatives by Ron Paul which highlight a sound foreign policy. Paul’s views (which are based on classic conservatism and libertarianism) fit very nicely with a Christian conception of war.
- 17. Quest for Community – Robert Nisbet
A powerhouse conservative thinker, Nisbet’s book had a wide influence and promotes the community-based agrarian social order that best serves the interests of our people.
- 18. The Conservative Mind from Burke to Eliot – Russell Kirk
A conservative’s Bible, this book provides a well-written overview of the history of conservative thought, highlighting the fundamental elements in common between each of the men discussed. Kirk’s conclusions about the underlying concerns of the greatest conservatives help shed light on the fundamental antithesis between our thinking and the thinking of Liberaldom.
- 19. Democracy: The God that Failed – Hans-Hermann Hoppe
We can’t argue with a clear conscience in favor of a consistently biblical social order until we give up the underlying love for democracy that has been instilled in all of us. Hoppe helps!
- 20. Soil and Health – Sir Albert Howard
Sir Howard is the founder of the organic agriculture movement. His material acts as an ideological foundation for the rural American who wants an ideology of farming that is more Christian and respects nature as a gift (instead of something to be raped).
- 21. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America – David Hackett Fischer
Fischer’s work provides an overview of our people’s history. How can we argue in defense of those we have never been introduced to? (You’ll not hear Fischer’s story in any government school.) Our people are a socially recognizable group, with identifiable interests and a history!
- 22. A Defense of Virginia and the South – Robert L. Dabney
A classic work in defense of the Confederate States and the underlying beliefs that led to her actions.
- 23. White Man, Think Again – Anthony Jacob
Jacob surveys the world political scene from the point of view of a white South African man and manages to refute egalitarianism along the way. A must-read for the racially self-conscious white American.
- 24. Defending Dixie – Clyde N. Wilson
A contemporary defense of the culture and actions of the Confederate States of America, taking into account modern debates on the subject.
- 25. Judaism Discovered – Michael Hoffman
There is a lot of confusion, misinformation and propaganda out there about Jews, including a good bit of knee-jerk emotional reactions on the part of Christians. But, by all accounts, Jews, as a recognizable social group have an enmity for white (European) Christians. Hoffman’s book serves as a great point from which to begin investigating this complex and controversial topic.
So, there’s the list. Anyone who reads these books and takes them seriously will be a big threat to the powers that be, and will have the ability to send Liberaldom’s army of Google scholars running back to their keyboards with dejected looks on their faces.
Editor’s Note:
In addition to the books Scott recommends above, I would add the following:
- 26. The Dispossessed Majority – Wilmot Robertson
An absolute must-read for all white Americans, this book systematically discusses the origins and history of the white American majority and how it has lost America.
- 27. Orthodoxy – G.K. Chesterton
An excellent discussion of the necessity of Christianity and holding a Christian worldview. This is told as more of a story than a dry lecture.
- 28. Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse – James Wesley, Rawles
An introduction to the survivalist mindset in the form of a novel. Ideal for those wanting to get a grasp on how to survive a civilizational collapse without getting too much into the nitty-gritty.
- 29. The Politics of Guilt and Pity – R.J. Rushdoony
Rushdoony discusses how guilt and pietism are being used to further the heretical social gospel and the proper Christian response.
- 30. The Creature from Jekyll Island – G. Edward Griffin
Covers the origins and workings of the Federal Reserve. A must-read if you want to understand why our monetary system is so fundamentally rotten.
- 31. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
An epic European myth with Christian undertones.
- 32. The Westminister Standards
This includes the Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms. An excellent condensed systematic theology of the Christian faith.
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