The Desecration of Man

How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity

By: Carl Trueman

Narrated by: Carl Trueman

From the author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, an account of how the rejection of the imago Dei is unraveling Western culture and how we might recover what it means to be truly human

As church attendance falls, suicide rates climb, and birth rates plummet, Christian pundits have suggested disenchantment and the loss of tradition are to blame for our spiritual malaise. But what if the problem is both much simpler and much more serious?

In The Desecration of Man, Carl Trueman argues that modern man's crisis of meaning stems from a rejection of a simple fact—that he was made in the image of God. Unmoored from the basic moral fact that secures human dignity, we violently disrespect our own minds and bodies through abortion, pornography, casual sex, gender transitions, and more—and in this disrespect we blaspheme against God himself, with devastating practical and spiritual consequences.

With gentle pastoral wisdom, deep insight into church history, and an impressive command of philosophical genealogies, The Desecration of Man speaks to those troubled by the spiritual sickness of our time and points toward consecration to a God who is alive and loving as a solution. The Early Church triumphed over Rome because it offered life in place of death. It is time for modern Christians to offer the same kind of vision.

Critic reviews

“A definitive account of the fruit born of secularism.” —John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center and coauthor of A Practical Guide to Culture

“Essential reading for everyone who cares about the human future.” —George Weigel, author of Witness to Hope

“[A] powerful book . . . executed with all the grace and erudition, the breadth and depth, that we have come to expect of its author.” —Michael Hanby, associate professor of religion and philosophy of science at the Catholic University of America

“Anyone who wants to better understand key dynamics in our culture will benefit from The Desecration of Man.” —Bishop Robert Barron, Bishop of Winona-Rochester

“Trueman offers the cold plunge we in the West so desperately need.” —Erika Bachiochi, author of The Rights of Women and editor in chief of Fairer Disputations

“We are made in God’s image and likeness. It would be hard to find a more compelling, colorful, cogent exposition of this truth than the one provided by this book.” —Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York

“The book is a cultural lament, but more than that.” —Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary

“Lucidly argued, The Desecration of Man offers rich material to thoughtful secularists and Christian believers alike.” —Mary Harrington, author of Feminism Against Progress

“This book is both sobering and hopeful, for it not only traces the problem but also proposes the best of all solutions.” —Tim Challies, author of Seasons of Sorrow

“One of the sharpest diagnosticians of our many cultural malaises offers us a searing analysis of a question that has long baffled secular humanism: Are we minds or machines?” —James Orr, associate professor of philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge