Book Review: Carl Trueman, ‘The Desecration of Man’

Posted on October 15, 2026 
Filed under Resources

At AP, the Presbyterian online journal, David Palmer reviews Carl Trueman’s The Desecration of Man: how the rejection of God degrades our Humanity –

“Carl Trueman, an Englishman, currently Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, has proved to be a prolific author covering Reformation history, theology and now more recently has written with well-grounded authority on contemporary cultural issues. His first foray in this direction was the widely acclaimed, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution. This explains how, in modern culture, the sense of self has involved the rejection of the impact of religion, tradition, and community in favour of the elevation, indeed glorification of individualism, emotion, and sexuality.

The Desecration of Man is a book rich in illustrative material for preachers anxious to relate Biblical material in meaningful ways into the lives of their people; indeed, for Christians generally to have a better understanding of the world they inhabit. As an encouragement, it is an easier book to read than The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self!

In The Desecration of Man, Trueman describes this move to desecration as a self-inflicted and seriously punitive action, not just in relation to God, but to us, as well. Trueman illustrates this desecration in three areas: sexual morality and behaviour; technology and reproduction; and death as the final enemy. …”

– Read the full review here.