By Jacob Bier

Have you ever heard the statement “I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body” and wondered how our society can consider such an idea meaningful and coherent or how it can be met with nearly universal approval? In years past, such a statement would have been incomprehensible. Today, however, our society is being restructured to accommodate and accept its verity. The culture is shifting so fast that many Christians are at a loss to explain what is happening, let alone prepared for what is coming next.

This very issue is the one that Carl Trueman takes on in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution. Trueman, professor of Biblical and religious studies at Grove City (Pennsylvania) College, addresses the sexual revolution and transgender phenomenon in light of the rise of expressive individualism. Trueman shows that transgenderism is only the most recent manifestation of the radical redefinition of personhood and identity that has taken place over the past three hundred years. If Western culture has lost its way, Trueman retraces its steps and shows us how we got to where we are.