Paradise and Utopia is my name for the history of the rise and fall of what the West one was.

It is the story of Christendom, a civilization with a supporting culture that directs its members toward the transformation of the world. Proclaiming the goodness of creation and the possibility of its union with paradise, Christendom became the cradle, the tutor, and even the guardian of Western civilization. Even in modern times, when the West has largely been torn from its Christian roots, the legacy of its paradisiacal culture lives on in the ideal of a secular utopia.

The history of Christendom is a long story, and it requires four distinct volumes to tell it. The first volume is entitled The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millennium (2019). It tells the history of the West when it was still joined closely to the East–that is, to the culture of the early Church and Byzantium. The second book, The Age of Division: Christendom from the Great Schism to to the Protestant Reformation, continues the story beyond the fateful separation of West from East. It has now been written and is scheduled for release at the end of 2020. Two more volumes, The Age of Utopia: Christendom from the Renaissance to the Russian Revolution and The Age of Nihilism: Christendom from Total Wars to Culture Wars, have yet to be written.

Each of these books stands alone and can be read without the others, though the effect of reading them in sequence will be greater. Each is a distinct work of research and contains material not found in this blog or my accompanying podcast. Together, they tell a story of Western culture that has long been neglected and is frequently forgotten. They tell our story, and it begins with a world transformed by Christianity. If you would like to purchase a copy of The Age of Paradise, you can do so here.