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A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World

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Is it possible for our Catholic faith to transform our increasingly secular culture? Carl Anderson answers that question with a resounding "Yes!" in his new book "A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World." Anderson is the leader of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal group. He has worked closely with both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and has served on several Vatican committees. In "A Civilization of Love," he relies heavily on the teachings of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, especially the theology of the body and Pope Benedict's recent encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love).

Anderson begins with St. Paul's visit to Athens between 50 - 58 AD to illustrate how one person could begin to change a culture. The Greeks believed in many gods, but they had a shrine to an "unknown god." While this was primarily to make sure that they were not angering any gods that they might have forgotten, St. Paul used this as a jumping off point to begin to introduce them to the Judeo-Christian God. Anderson argues that "the responsibility of Christians in our own time remains as it was in Paul's - to radically transform culture, not by imposing values from above, but through a subtler yet more powerful process - living a vocation of love in the day-to-day reality of our lives."

Our world has become increasingly secular. A faith in God has been replaced by a faith in progress. The belief in a creator who has endowed us all with certain unalienable rights is falling by the wayside. "Human life is reduced to a meaning and purpose only in reference to this world, which is asking of this world something that it does not have the power to give." In contrast, Jesus' great commandment was to love God and one another. "It is the vocation to love that not only makes each person, but makes each person human."

"A Civilization to Love" focuses on Catholic social values, what it means to love our neighbor. Especially as lay persons, we are called to work in the world. We are called to change society by the way we raise our families and conduct our business affairs. We are called to witness to what it means to be a people rooted in faith. Everything we possess has been given by God. "Every talent is given as a gift. Every moment is a chance and an opportunity for conveying love. . . Fundamentally, one of the only ways in which we can show our love for God physically is through service to him through people."

Anderson focuses on the ways we can serve in our families, our workplaces, and in the global economy. He discusses many of the social ills that face Catholics and the world today such as the breakdown of the family, the reality of abortion, the increase in working hours, the loss of the Sabbath rest, the need for more ethical behavior in the workplace and government, and adjusting to a changing Church. He offers concrete ways Catholics can make a difference.

Catholics do have the power to transform the world. "They will do so by their actions, by their attitudes, and by their influence. But above all, they will do so by their love. This love is a matter not of mere high-minded sentimentality but of genuine compassion tempered with a well-grounded realism. It is a love that offers hope not only for eternity but for a better way of life on this earth." "A Civilization of Love" invites us all to be part of that transformation. It is up to us to answer the call.

"We cannot have compassion without acknowledging the suffering of others." This sentence (p. 167) crisply expresses Carl Anderson's central claim in A Civilization of Love that a reinvigoration of the Catholic tradition of personalism can transform the world. When we focus on individuals rather than abstract data, we discern the contours of their suffering--a suffering in which, we also realize, we're too often complicit. But we also discern the fact that they, made in the likeness of God, are eminently lovable. Just as Christ lovingly makes himself a gift to us in the Eucharist, so we're moved by compassionate love to give ourselves to them (p. 55). The goal is more than mere community; the goal is communion.

This vision of compassionate love as the catalyst for both vertical (human-God) and horizontal (human-human) relationships is as old as Christianity. Anderson draws on a diverse wealth of thinkers--for example, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Paul Ricoeur, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Robert Coles, Freud, Lao Tsu, Aquinas, and George Orwell--to argue for the vision's contemporary relevance. His defense is gracefully and judiciously written.

One of the outstanding qualities of Anderson's treatment is that he refrains from lapsing into a circle-the-wagons shrillness, a temptation into which many religious critics of modern secular culture fall. He makes it clear in his first chapter that he finds the "Whig version of history's" focus on material progress naively optimistic, and his subsequent examinations of education (Chapter 3), Christian humanism (Chapter 4), family (Chapter 5), globalization, work, and economics (Chapters 6 and 7), and right to life issues (Chapter 8) underscore his reservations about secularization. But Anderson spends more energy in setting forth his positive alternative model than wringing his hands over the old one.

Although I quite like Anderson's book and his personalist approach, I have two reservations. The first is the book's surprising silence on issues of war and peace. Both John Paul and Benedict have written strong personalist-oriented denunciations of war that redefine traditional just war doctrine. Given the fact that the US just passed the fifth anniversary of our latest war, it's odd that there's no mention of Catholic teaching on the violence of warfare.

My other reservation is Anderson's treatment of work and economics. While acknowledging that capitalism unleavened by love can reduce human relationships to consumerist manipulation, Anderson ultimately concludes that the economic structure that births huge multi-national corporations isn't itself the problem. Rather, the problem is the abuse of the system by unscrupulous individuals, and a love-ethic is needed to reinforce the Catholic notion of "business as a calling" (a phrase Anderson borrows from Michael Novak, p. 120). While I see his point, I also think that a stronger case can be made for overhauling the entire system. The current subprime mortgage debacle, for example, surely hasn't been caused by a few bad apples. It's a reflection of the way in which our current economic system encourages systemic greed. Anderson's treatment strikes me as too individualistic.

Having said this, though, Anderson's book is highly recommended. It's a refreshing and inspiring defense of the social consequences of taking the "absurd" (as Paul Ricoeur puts it) commandments to love God, to love our neighbors, and to love our enemies, seriously.
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* "Love conquers all."

The dust jacket of Carl Anderson's "A Civilization of Love" strikes a seemingly familiar note: "The battle today is between the culture of death (where people are judged by their social or economic value) and the culture of life." The expectation might be yet another polemical broadside to weigh down shelves already overloaded with such wares: The world is going to hell in a hand basket; hang on for the ride.

Yet Anderson seems to be up to something more, and that something more is evident almost immediately in the first pages of "A Civilization of Love." The polarity is only a starting point, rather than an apocalyptic call to arms - or a trumpet to sound retreat to the hills. Anderson is the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, so it is unsurprising to see him choose his title from a phrase by Pope John Paul II. Is it a throwaway? Is it an empty phrase? Is it an opposition - such as many have tried to draw - against the smaller "mustard seed" idea of the Church and Christianity of John Paul's successor, Benedict XVI?

The answer only becomes fully clear when Anderson reveals his working paradigm in his conclusion. Anderson latches on to three possible approaches of the Christian to society identified by twentieth century Protestant theologian H. Richard Niebuhr: 1) "Christ against culture," with Christ's message understood as a call to revolt against, or at least separate from, society; 2) "Christ of culture," an Enlightenment idea of Christianity as fully compatible with society, and Christ reduced merely to a great moral teacher; or 3) "Christ above culture" - the Christian message as engaged with, yet distinct from, the world. It is this last approach that Anderson embraces, and provides his thesis. "The message and event of Jesus Christ," Anderson insists, "cannot be limited simply to an affirmation - or for that matter, a repudiation - of existing cultural norms." Human beings are called to love. And because they are called to love, it is only by (re)building a culture, a civilization, which loves that we can overcome the conflicts and threats we face today. And in this great task, the Catholic, the Christian, is indispensable: This is the great work we are called to.

All of may sound rather rarified. "Civilization of Love," however, is a very accessible work to the educated layman, and eminently practical, and remarkably succinct (only 173 pages). Every chapter ends with a short list of "Suggestions for Contemplation and Action." The survey for this engagement ranges from the very smallest unit of society, the family ("The Domestic Church") to the largest, the increasingly intertwined (and yet conflicted) global society ("Globalization and the Gospel of Work"). Anderson clearly hopes to do more than move books; he wants to move the world. And like Archimedes, he has found a lever, the only lever, capable of doing so: the salvific grace of Christ, the very embodiment of love.

In short, "A Civilization of Love" is a valuable contribution to the public discourse between the Christian and the secular - one at once both intellectual and eminently practical.

The Knights of Columbus is a big Catholic organization that has been around for 125 years and does a lot of good things that you never hear about: donating millions of dollars to help victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, providing more than 2000 wheelchairs for veterans, care for the needy around the holidays, and the list goes on. The leader of this organization is called the Supreme Knight, a post held by Carl Anderson since October 2000. In this book Anderson engages the thinking of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, and applies it to the American context, commenting on issues as varied as globalization, divorce and the Special Olympics. In anticipation of Pope Benedict's visit to the United States in April, this book provides an indispensable introduction to the range of challenges faced by our society today, and an intelligent, practical application of Catholic principles toward improving our civilization. Read this book and prepare to be inspired. Catholics will find new connections between their faith in Jesus Christ, the writings of the popes and their lives as citizens; non-Catholics too will appreciate the practical suggestions offered by Anderson and will learn what the popes mean when they call for "a civilization of love."

After reading A Civilization of Love, I had one overwhelming thought: this is a good man.

We are in need of such good men. As the cultural voices in America become increasingly polarized and dispirited, Carl Anderson offers a good man's thoughtful exploration of the major issues facing our humanity: freedom, love, sex, work, ethics and justice. Central to Anderson's suggestions about how to "transform the world" is an understanding that one good man cannot face these aspects of human life with any sustaining goodness of his own. He quotes a 1964 sermon by then-Father Joseph Ratzinger: "[God] loves us not because we are good, but because he is good."

The Civilization of Love is the witness of a man in the world-- CEO, attorney, former White House staffer--who has taken a stand and made a commitment to receive the transforming goodness offered to men and women in the life of the Catholic Church, through the living presence of Jesus Christ.

As the wife of a Knight of Columbus, I am happy that Mr. Anderson is leading other good men by continuing to point the way toward a civilization of love.

Today many ask, "What will become of the people in our world?" More specifically, author Carl Anderson asks, "What kind of people are we becoming in our world?" With the way the world is headed, many wonder what can be done to turn things around. We have perhaps heard various names used to describe our world as it stands today - the culture of death, the clash of civilizations, the dictatorship of relativism - but the leader of the international men's fraternal organization The Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson, chooses to focus his new book on the theme of building a world of hope and love.
Anderson states that his new book, A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World, is "a call to active hope." Practical hope is the reason I think this book succeeds, because it is about the hope and means of building a civilization of love; and this book truly inspires hope, but more - while offering a clear and engaging theological treatise on the social doctrine of the Church it is also a practical guide to making such a hope a reality. This book is for anyone who is looking to be part of the revolution of love that has already changed both individual hearts and sectors of society through organizations like the Knights of Columbus.

Mr. Anderson, a first-class theologian in his own right, has written a how-to book that appeals to Catholics of all backgrounds. The author does for Catholic social teaching what Lee Iacocca did for American corporate business - he first leads a revival within his own social enterprise at the Knights of Columbus and then calls the rest of us to follow his success, to transform the world with love.

Anderson weaves his chapters with thematic discussions that focus on various ways to build the civilization of love - topics that include the power of Christ, the domestic church, globalization, business ethics - while filling in the gaps with illustrative examples of people and successful projects that demonstrate the practical possibility of making his plan, which is ultimately the plan of the Church and the Holy Spirit, a new world-wide reality. From Fr. Michael McGivney who founded the Knights of Columbus, which is today a 1.7 million volunteer Catholic men's organization that gave $143 million to charity in 2006, and who was recently regarded by Pope Benedict for his heroic virtue, to Lt. Dan O'Callaghan who died at the World Trade Center on 9-11 and was found holding his Knights of Columbus rosary, to Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) who found his vocation to become a priest while learning the "Gospel of work" in a rock quarry in Nazi-occupied Poland. In this way, Anderson's book offers the best of both Church social teaching and inspiring examples of modern witnesses of love.

Pius IX once said that if there were one million families praying the Rosary every day, the entire world would be saved. After reading this book, I would add that if there were a million people who would read this book and attempt to put its principles into action, the entire world would be changed... into a renewed civilization of love. Outlining how we can build our contemporary culture with an authentic spirit of progress, Anderson's book gives his readers an invaluable resource on how to become living stones in the building of a global civilization of love. And this is the kind of people Christ is calling us to become in building our world of tomorrow.

Kelly Bowring, STD, is dean of spiritual mission and associate professor of sacred theology at Southern Catholic College in Georgia.

Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, has written a practical, yet spiritual book on living out one's faith in the world today. Drawing on the teachings of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, he presents the challenge faced by individual Catholics and the institutional Church in living out the Gospel message in a secular, and often antagonistic world.

Drawing on papal teachings, Second Vatican Council documents, and an extensive array of other works, Anderson crafts a compelling invitation to Catholics to live the faith that they profess each Sunday at Mass. The work focuses on the individual dignity of all human life -- valued for its intrinsic worth, not because of it monetary value or economic utility -- and moves to a holistic exploration of the structures of social justice. He challenges the reader to move beyond the "culture of suspicion" to an appreciation for humanity contained within the individual, family, and society.

The author calls for those who respect life to work for that respect in all areas. For example (and I am paraphrasing), opposition to abortion must be coupled with work to ensure that those elements in society that drive a person to consider abortion as an alternative are no longer present.

The book is well written and presents a bold challenge to the indifference of many who call themselves Catholic, yet confine their Christianity to the pew on Sunday morning. At the same time, it is a universal call to social justice, which can be embraced by anyone who seeks the betterment of society and the most vulnerable of its members.

"My love is something valuable to me which I ought not to throw away without reflection" Eight decades after Freud's criticism of the Christian call to love comes a reflection and reply worth noting.

Ambitiously, the book develops Catholic theological ideas to their practical conclusions and sets them in the common secular marketplace of ideas. Love, as the fundamental law of God, is our natural law; the structure of love based on theology of the Trinity creates the guide for marriage and family; the dignity of the human person based on being created in the image of God demands charity and respect. In these, his reasoning is undeniably Catholic, and especially papal, yet his diversity of examples helps enormously to broaden and concretize the concepts.

Crucial to the feasibility of a civilization of love in a culture of capitalism is the treatment of work, and his chapters on marketplace ethics and globalization provide a positive philosophy on labor unattempted by a bestseller since Ayn Rand. However, his message is radically different: the dignity of work lies in its participation in mankind's redemption. Business and globalization become noble in their unique capacity to translate love into the systems of enterprise; when they go awry, they reveal in a calculable way the cost we put on human life.

The risk in writing a book about love is that it requires some amount of repetition of a very, well, common theme in life. Fortunately, Anderson proves himself a master at drawing out the intricacies (radical and compelling in their own right) in each new light, and successfully avoids the singsong of flowerchild mantras that so detrimentally cauterized the serious consideration a civilization of love till now.

And in this, practicality can never be far. This is especially true in the suggestions for contemplation and action at the end of each chapter. Rather than being guidebooky, they seek more to train the eye to reconnect and reassess one's life - challenging and revitalizing and, I might add, fascinating to bring up with family or friends. I was surprised at how different their responses they gave on some issues.

I also found the book's website an interesting reference and well worth the exploration: www.acivilizationoflove.com

As a whole, the book does more than it proposed, and becomes a breakthrough and fundamental document in what we can expect to become a vital debate. For skeptics, Anderson creates a sort of apologia pro amore, presenting vividly an argument for the rationality of the Christian vocation to love. For the converted, he brings out an analysis of love that brings an integrity that revolutionizes not only how we look at love in our life but how we live the privilege of the vocation to love.

A revitalizing read -

"A Civilization of Love" by Carl Anderson has been published just in time for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the US. In highly accessible language, Anderson recapitulates the thinking of both Benedict and his predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II on the key issues facing the Catholic Church in the wake of Vatican II. What's more, the book gives rank-and-file Catholics concrete suggestions on how to live out this papal vision, which, in part, can be summarized in the insistence that only in Christ is fulness of what it means to be human revealed. Concretely,this means treating our fellow men and women with respect always, regardless of our political, social or religious differences. The book also lays out the Catholic position regarding immigration. Catholic social teaching is pro-immigration; it insists on welcoming the stranger and reuniting families. In a presidential election year, this is a highly potent position. In sum, Carl Anderson argues that the West, with its tradition of human rights, and standards of justice, cannot be understood without reference to its Judeo-Christian roots.

This is a superbly written, historically enriching, and culturally engaging!

Its a sort of contemporary manifesto for Catholics. But there's something here for Protestants and Eastern Orthodox alike.

For a comparatively similar perspective of what Anderson attempts for Catholics, see JP Moreland's KINGDOM TRIANGLE, which is a manifesto to Protestant evangelicals.