Architects of the Culture of Death

By Donald DeMarco, Donald De Marco, Benjamin Wiker

Book Overview

The phrase, "the Culture of Death", is bandied about as a catch-all term that covers abortion, euthanasia and other attacks on the sanctity of life. In Architects of the Culture of Death, authors Donald DeMarco and Benjamin Wiker expose the Culture of Death as an intentional and malevolent ideology promoted by influential thinkers who specifically attack Christian morality's core belief in the sanctity of human life and the existence of man's immortal soul. In scholarly, yet reader-friendly prose, DeMarco and Wiker examine the roots of the Culture of Death by introducing 23 of its architects, including Ayn Rand, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alfred Kinsey, Margaret Sanger, Jack Kevorkian, and Peter Singer.

Still, this is not a book without hope. If the Culture of Death rests on a fragmented view of the person and an eclipse of God, the future of the Culture of Life relies on an understanding and restoration of the human being as a person, and the rediscovery of a benevolent God. The personalism of John Paul II is an illuminating thread that runs through Architects, serving as a hopeful antidote.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586170163
• ISBN13: 9781586170165
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Length: 410 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

I wish I could give it 7 stars! Must read

Have you ever found yourself having an indepth conversation with a secular or sadly a lukewarm Christian friend about modern social morality and ethics? Have they banied about such named as Margaret Mead, Freud, Ayn Rand and yes even the more extreme Nietzche, Kinsey, and Kevorkian in justifying their positions, holding them up as the brilliant minds of the nineteenth and twentieth century? Well this book rips the masks off all those people and more. It shows them for who they are, and exposes their true agendas, which can be summed up as survival of the wealthy, powerful and atheistic elite. The rest of humanity can be done away with as a pile of refuse. The theme that rang out loudly and clearly is just how mentally unfit and disturbed all these people are, coming from broken families, abusive homes, engaging in sadomasochistic behavior. And THESE are the people our society holds up as role models?! Please they should all have been locked away in an insane asylum. I HIGHLY recommend this book, it's somewhat long, but a very fast and engaging read. The chapters themselves are short, and if you want to understand why our society is becoming what it is, you NEED to pick up this book!

Armor for "The Culture of Life"

I suspect that potential readers are not prepared (likewise, I was not)for the seething summaries and frank conclusions that these chapters present to the reader. The authors successfully let the facts speak for themselves. Many of the "architects" had nightmarish and almost unbelievably depressing homelives and sad lifetime experiences. This only serves to reiterate the fact that the very people that our society has grown to idolize and that many personify and seek to imitate were troubled and sometimes insane designers of the "Culture of Death". Many of the quips and quotes about these "architects" are definetely suprising and upsetting at the same time. From atheism to misguided evolutionary theory, abortion to eugenics and euthanasia, this novel, though depressing because of its content, will be a read that you will never regret having taken upon yourself. The Culture of Life is on the rise to counter the "Culture of Death" so definitively originating in these "architects". Indeed, This book is a great piece of armor to grow into a strong soldier of Christ's army.

Recommended reading for students of philosophy and theology

In Architects of the Culture of Death, collaborative authors Donald de Marco (Professor of Philosophy at St. Jerome's College) and Benjamin Wiker (Lecturer in Science and Theology at Franciscan University) provide a clear definition of the concept "Culture of Death" which has become a both a popular phrase in national political and cultural dialogue, as well as academic circles. Architects Of The Culture Of Death provides an informed and informative delineation of the mindsets of twenty-three influential thinkers ranging from Ayn Rand, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx, to Jean-Paul Sarte, Simone de Beauvoir, and Jack Kevorkian. Highly recommended reading for students of philosophy and theology, the authors offer an understanding and restoration of the human being as a person and the rediscover of a benevolent God arising from the concept of "Personalism" as articulated by John Paul II, and appropriately serving as a hopeful antidote for the stark pessimism that has issues from the originators of the "culture of death" perspective in contemporary human affairs.

Provocative with a disturbing & honest view of our world.

The authors have done their research with this one! Each chapter highlights a modern thinker/philosopher who has been immortalized in our culture. Rare facts and shocking informative tidbits about pioneers like Darwin, Freud, Sanger & Kinsey challenge the reader to consider the darker side of these "architects" who have intentionally or inadvertently become apologists or defenders of eugenics, racial genetic engineering, sterilization, infanticide and sexual deviancy like bestiality and pedophelia. A plentitude of references from biographies, autobiographies and articles written by these "architects" reinforce the point and eliminate the "Catholic Bias" rebuttal. I promise any reader will come away challenging their own pre-conceived dispositions on a multitude of modern-day issues.

'Architects' is a thought-provoking page turner for our time

This book really surprised me. I had expected a strict review of my college philosophy course with a Catholic rebuttal. Instead I found an invititation to seriously consider how these individuals of the past two centuries have affected my life and the society that has molded me.The vignettes consist of a description of each philosophy; but more importantly they focus on the individual that developed the philosophy. Being able to see what brought each one to their viewpoint and how the viewpoint developed was amazing. How seriously would we in the modern day accept some of these individuals if we had that information? Many would be dismissed like street corner prophets. Even more enlightening was learning the tangible results of their philosophies in their own lives. Definitely not a pretty picture for them then or us now.The authors do not leave you alone without hope and reason. They point out the faultier thought processes and counteract them with Catholic teaching, mostly from the Holy Father, John Paul II.My only regret is that they covered Freud and missed Jung.It's a great weekend read. Would also be a wonderful gift/reference for Catholic family members to send off to school with thier new college student.