Today’s world is filled with conflicting messages about what it means to be human. God’s Word speaks differently about human nature than contemporary culture does. In his new book, (Dis)Ordered: Lies about Human Nature and the Truth That Sets Us Free, author Christopher S. Esget explores what the Bible says about humankind’s purpose. He seeks authenticity in responding to the modern challenges believers face, such as transgenderism, narcissism, erotization, and more.

“In recent years, there have been many attempts to explain how our discourse became dominated by destructive ideas such as Marxism, transgenderism, emotivism, and plain old narcissism. . . .,” says Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, editor in chief of The Federalist. “With stunning clarity, Esget has written a highly accessible book that brings together theology, politics, and culture to deliver the message that a light shines in the darkness and no ‘ism’ can overcome it.”

Readers will follow Esget as he searches Scripture for how Christ heals maladies in human nature and brings humankind to its purpose. Esget also investigates what God’s Word says about sex, the danger of following our passions, and warnings against the lies of the world.

“For too many of us, Christianity has been an organization and a set of activities, but not a radical commitment to following Jesus and living from His Word and Sacraments,” Esget writes. “These challenges offer us an opportunity to learn again what it means to be married, what it means to hope in the resurrection, what it means to live in community—in short, what it means to be human.”

Visit books.cph.org/disordered for more information on the book. Contact Erica Sontag to schedule an interview with the author.

Praise for (Dis)Ordered

In recent years, there have been many attempts to explain how our discourse became dominated by destructive ideas such as Marxism, transgenderism, emotivism, and plain old narcissism. But nearly all those explanations have failed to discuss the true and singular antidote to our ideological ailments—the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With stunning clarity, Esget has written a highly accessible book that brings together theology, politics, and culture to deliver the message that a light shines in the darkness and no “ism” can overcome it.

—Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, editor in chief, The Federalist

In 1983, Nobel Prize recipient Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn delivered the most memorable speech of his distinguished career. He said the decline of great civilizations commence when “men have forgotten God.” In Christopher Esget’s magnificent new book, he demonstrates that the vigorous cultural and societal war being prosecuted against natural law norms has consequences propelling the destruction of marriages, families, and children. Repudiation and rebellion are the sad, recurring motifs. Yet the glory of Esget’s powerful analysis is that Christian hope and the seeds of authentic regeneration are possible even in a spiritual desert where transgressive ideas seem omnipresent. This is a must-read book, worthy of Solzhenitsyn’s matchless rigor, intellectual goodness, and moral duty to be intelligent.

—Timothy S. Goeglein, vice president, External and Government Relations, Focus on the Family

Christopher Esget is the consummate parish pastor who warns us against our disordered world and sets before us God’s reordering of all things in Christ. We face what we think of as new challenges to the faith of the Church and the piety of her children. Esget shows that the ancient revelation of God in Christ, delivered once and for all through the Word of the prophets and apostles, responds to all these challenges with grace, encouragement, and comfort for the troubled soul. This is soul care at its best!

—Scott R. Murray, PhD, senior pastor, Memorial Lutheran Church; vice president, LCMS West Southwest Region

About the Author

Rev. Christopher S. Esget is senior pastor of Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia, where he has served since 2001. He previously served Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, Illinois. He and his wife, Kassie, have one son. Esget is the Fifth Vice President of the LCMS (representing the East-Southeast Region). He holds a bachelors degree in music from Berklee College, Boston, and master of divinity and master of sacred theology degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. He enjoys playing classical and jazz piano.