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Just a few short decades ago, traditional biblical understandings of marriage and gender were considered normal and mainstream throughout Western societies. Most people espoused the view that marriage was a contract between a man and a woman, and that gender was inseparable from biologically determined sex.

In The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Trueman, a professor of biblical studies and ecclesiastical history, contends that not only has mainstream opinion shifted toward the acceptance of gay marriage and transgender identities, but that traditional Christian views have become stigmatized as immoral, irrational, and bigoted. He considers these developments a disaster, as they undermine the traditional Christian morality that formed the foundations of Western culture.

Many consider this to be a sudden shift. However, Trueman asserts that this change wasn't sudden at all. Instead, it was the culmination of a...

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The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self Summary Part 1: What Is the “Modern” Self?

Before tracing the history of this cultural transformation, let's establish a foundational understanding of Trueman's definition of modern selfhood and how it differs from traditional Christian understandings of selfhood. Trueman outlines six characteristics of contemporary selfhood.

1. The modern self is internal. When someone wants to "find themselves," modern culture encourages them to look inward. Someone finds their "true self" in their deepest feelings and intuitions. This means that selfhood is primarily psychological.

(Shortform note: Popular psychology frequently confirms Trueman's characterization of how modern people understand selfhood. For example, some experts advise that finding your "true" self requires getting away from other people and going into nature. This view suggests that people are unable to find themselves because of peer pressure and groupthink, confirming the view that your “self” is something deeply internal.)

**2. The modern self is expressive....

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The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self Summary Part 2: The Transformation of Selfhood

Trueman states that this modern conception of the self didn't appear overnight. Rather, it's the result of three major developments stretching from the 18th to the 20th centuries: promoting the interior self, undermining the traditional view of human nature, and sexualizing selfhood.

Transformation #1: Promoting the Interior Self (18th and Early-19th Centuries)

The transformation into the modern self began with a turn toward focusing on internal experiences rather than external circumstances. Trueman traces two important developments in this history: the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the poetry of the Romantic movement.

1) Rousseau’s Interior Morality

Trueman’s analysis begins with the 18th-century Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who elevated the moral status of the inner self. According to Christian traditions, humans are born sinful but become virtuous by following divine morals that are passed on through institutions. In other words, people must learn to be good.

Rousseau argued the opposite: People's natural moral intuitions are good, but they behave badly because they suppress these intuitions to conform to a corrupt society. For...

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The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self Summary Part 3: The Modern Self Undermines Christian Morality

Now that we have defined the modern self and traced its development over history, we can explore how this transformation has reshaped culture. Trueman asserts that by changing people's understanding of "selves," this transformation has impacted society in destructive ways. In this section, we'll explore two major impacts on modern society: the prioritization of feelings and the rise of the LGBTQ+ movement.

Prioritizing Feelings

Trueman explains that modern selfhood encourages people to place a much greater emphasis on feelings over objective truths, morals, or reasoned arguments. He states that this change in priorities has reshaped society in three distinct ways.

1) Oppression Is a Feeling

Trueman contends that because modern people prioritize feelings, many young people equate feeling discomfort with being oppressed. Recall that Freudian Marxists redefined oppression as psychological domination. Therefore, feeling bad when hearing speech one disagrees with can be framed as a form of oppression. Trueman explains that this tendency is most prevalent in leftist activism on college campuses, where simply expressing traditional points of view is seen as a...

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The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self Summary Part 4: Guidelines for Christians Today

Trueman states that his goal is primarily to provide a history of the gradual transformation into modern selfhood rather than a set of guidelines for the present. However, he still offers four recommendations for modern Christians seeking to preserve traditional values.

1. Find inspiration in the second-century Christian church. At this time, Christians were a religious minority living in a powerful empire where Roman authorities viewed Christians with moral suspicion. Nonetheless, Christians thrived as a small community of firm believers who adhered to their religious laws.

(Shortform note: Drawing inspiration from this period provides a challenge in that historical records are scarce. However, one surviving document, the Epistle to Diognetus, paints an instructive picture of early Christian life. It explains that Christians were not recognized by typical markings of a cultural group (such as common dress), but assimilated to the laws and customs of their local cultures. However, they quietly followed their own...

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Shortform Exercise: Reflect on the Ideas of The Rise and Triumph of The Modern Self

This exercise will give you a chance to reflect on the arguments, analysis, and ideas that Trueman presents in The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.


Trueman identifies three major developments in The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: promoting the interior self, undermining the traditional view of human nature, and sexualizing selfhood. Of these three, which do you think played the greatest role in shaping contemporary culture and why?

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