An Overview of “Against the Waves: Christian Order in a Liberal Age” by Jon Harris

In the year 2025, we find ourselves in a very auspicious time in our country’s relatively short history. We have a populist administration in the White House, a rising interest in the Bible, a surprising number of young men leaning conservative, and promising signs of a recovery of traditional values and gender roles. At the same time, the strong tide of progressivism seems to be an insurmountable force when it comes to the nation’s views on issues related to disordered sexuality, abortion, and the breakdown of the family, to name a few. As Christians, we know that we cannot passively sit by and watch this opportunity to help transform our country for the glory of God slip away. 

Jon Harris’s new book*, Against the Waves: Christian Order in the Liberal Age, argues for “a positive social vision of divine order, natural relationships, and localized community” (ix). As a Christian podcaster, Harris has spent years critiquing social justice and wokeness in the church when it was a liability to do so. Now that the evangelical elites are caught off guard by the culture’s conservative shift, Harris’s voice is needed more than ever. In his treatise, Harris attributes the large swath of humanistic ideologies that pervade our culture to what he calls the false religion of liberalism. Encompassed within are the various ways liberalism has eroded the moral fabric of our nation, as well as practical steps we can take to fight against it for God and country. 

If you have appreciated Harris’s insights on the deficiencies of the conservative right and compromise in the evangelical church, this book will be beneficial as he expounds on similar themes in greater detail. However, he also provides actionable steps his readers can take to help stem the tide of liberalism in the church and our society. This review will list three ways Against the Waves can help to better equip you for our present moment.

1. Understanding the Corrosive Nature of Liberalism

Since our country has actively pushed to remove all vestiges of Christianity, the one true religion, modern man has needed to fill the spiritual vacuum in his heart: enter liberalism. Harris opens by noting this has contributed to modern man’s dilemma: Despite having more freedoms, rights, and choices, they are more disillusioned, aimless, and depressed than ever before. He attributes this to their “gradual rejection of transcendent standards” (p. 3) and their “attempt to find significance within self, society, or other aspects of creation [which] leaves them fragmented and without a transcendent reference point” (p. 4). Coupled with the strife and moral decay that comes with a departure from a divine moral order, liberalism’s utopian vision has proven to be an utter failure. Still, it continues to be the predominant narrative in society and, sadly, many churches and Christian institutions.

Harris outlines the various ways liberalism continues to hold sway, from spreading the historically erroneous idea of the “proposition nation” to corrupting definitions to reducing our national identity to “a nation of immigrants.” As a student of history and theology, Harris adeptly weaves in primary sources and the Scriptures to show biblical precedent for national distinctions and Western Civilization’s indebtedness to Christianity. Rather than looking to the past for guidance, too many leaders rode the wave of liberalism. Harris argues that our leaders should be steering our ship of state in the direction intended by the founding fathers, who foresaw the dangers of mass migration, multiculturalism, and pluralism. He states, “To stabilize the country and ensure its survival, we must nurture the iconic American Ango-Protestant identity” (p. 113). Seeing as liberalism aims to destroy this identity, Christians should be the ones ascending to places of power and influence to preserve all we hold dear. What happened.

2. Recognizing the Church’s Failure to Combat Liberalism

In the chapters titled “Our Leadership Crisis” and “What Makes a Leader?”, Harris traces the history of managerialism and how evangelicals utilized its principles in changing the criteria and processes for choosing and training leaders in the church. As a result, states Harris, “These conditions produced a situation where evangelicalism’s managerial elites cultivate and oversee a stable for shallow personality-driven and slightly effeminate spokesmen” (166). This, Harris later says, expressly contradicts examples of godly leadership in the Scriptures. He gives various examples based on the created order, including principles in political philosophy and leaders found in the biblical narrative. He further dedicates a section to the classical idea of internal virtue, such as wisdom and bravery, noticed in figures like Noah and John the Baptist, who “were not perfect, but a love for God and others characterized them. It is ultimately this love that internal virtue rests upon” (177). Because so many leaders today are pragmatic rather than principled, they’ve allowed liberalism to slowly infiltrate the church.

In the chapter “Act Like Men,” Harris shows how traditionally masculine qualities, such as strength and power, have been deemed toxic at best, abusive at worst. He refutes these claims by providing arguments for a return to strong male leadership based on biblical and historical examples. In “Power is Not a Dirty Word,” Harris provides the lamentable reason why evangelical leaders have been impotent in the fight against liberalism: The major evangelical leaders of today “focus on preserving a ‘neutral’ liberal-dominated, shifting status quo while opposing so-called ‘radicals.” Instead of following their example, Harris urges traditional conservatives to “pursue power” in all levels of society “for the purpose of loving their neighbor” (199). He goes on to detail specific ways Christians can use their civic rights to help enact change in their local communities and, by extension, our nation.

3. Charting a Path to Christian Order in a Chaotic World

Harris anticipates criticism from those who argue for “an ecclesiocentric approach where Christians focus solely on evangelism and church-related activities.” This is the pietistic attitude we hear from well-respected evangelical leaders who do not see a need for Christian influence in the secular realm. To this, Harris answers, “While church activities remain essential, it is equally crucial for Christians to secure the influence needed to protect these efforts” (211). Influence, like power, is not inherently bad since everyone wants to spread their belief system. The question is whether Christians will capitalize on the small window of opportunity we have now to do so.

In Chapter 19, “The Way Forward,” Harris sets forth how everyday churchmen can work “to build and cultivate counter-institutions that reflect the wisdom of the ages and the timeless truths in creation and Scripture” (226). He does so by focusing on three key areas: the church, government, and personal conduct. Harris discusses how Christians, grounded in their love for God, natural relations, and nation, can help restore God-centered worship in the church and advocate for localized efforts to influence government policies.

Although much of the book focuses on restoring order in our institutions, Harris also offers ways for Christians to cultivate awe-filled wonder for God through creation and foster God-honoring relationships, as seen in the chapters “Appreciating Nature” and “Friendship and Community.” If Christians are to gain influence in social spheres, they must possess godly character informed by timeless truth and evidenced by a rightly-ordered life. This message is especially needed for young men to hear as they lack Christian male role models encouraging them to reject the weak, effeminate version of masculinity pushed on them by the culture.

Conclusion

As the old hymn states, “This is Our Father’s World,” and as salt and light, we have a responsibility to preserve the ancient Christian faith and traditions for the good of our families, fellow countrymen, and future generations. Against the Waves can serve as a field guide for Christians who want to see our nation recover its traditional Christian identity. While the ideology of liberalism seeks to untether us from any connection to a particular place, people, and faith tradition, Christians can and should provide a biblical alternative for those adrift in their search for identity, meaning, and purpose. Harris’s appeal to “rediscover the timeless traditions, heroes, and wisdom of the past” is not advocating tradition for tradition’s sake: it’s a call to stand confidently on the principles revealed since ages past by the Creator of the Universe. In a time of confusion and fragmentation, people need timeless Truth to instruct them how to order their temporal lives so they reflect their ultimate purpose: “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

*Editor’s Note: This is the first book published by TruthScript Press