Origen’s Revenge

Is the difference of male and female to be “completely shaken off” so that men and women are no longer men and women but merely human beings? The great seventh-century saint Maximus the Confessor said yes, but such thinking is difficult if not impossible to reconcile with much else in Christian tradition that obliges men and women to live as either men or women.

Origen’s Revenge contrasts the two main sources of early Christian thinking on male and female: the generally negative view of Greek philosophy, limiting sexual distinction to the body and holding the body in low regard, and the much more positive view of Hebrew Scripture, in which sexual distinction and reproduction are both deemed naturally good and necessary for human existence. These two views account for much of the controversy in early Christianity concerning marriage and monasticism. They also still contribute to current controversies over sex roles, gender identity, and sexual ethics.

Origen’s Revenge also develops the more Hebrew line of early Christian thought to propose a new understanding of male and female with a firmer grounding in scripture, tradition, theology, and philosophy and with profound implications for all human relationships, whether social, political, or spiritual.

“Although much has been written about early Christian views of sexuality, no one has put all the pieces together in the same bold and comprehensive way as in this work. Mitchell describes the tensions that existed in Christian teaching about sexuality from the beginning and offers a positive proposal for how these tensions can be resolved. A fascinating and provocative book.”
—David Bradshaw, University of Kentucky

“Mitchell’s careful analysis of conflicts between Greek philosophy and the Hebrew view of male and female, together with his exploration of sex, sexuality, and the distinctively human way of life that is part of God’s created goodness, is thoughtful, provocative, and well worth reading.”
—Mark J. Cherry, St. Edward’s University

“Drawing on an astonishing array of both primary and secondary sources, Mitchell offers a perspective on early Christian views of sexual difference that can shed a much-needed light on contemporary discussions. Anyone who wishes to engage in these discussions in a genuinely fruitful way needs to read this book.”
—D. C. Schindler, John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

The Disappearing Deaconess

“The whole Church has never had a tradition of having deaconesses, but the whole Church has had a tradition of not having them.”

The Disappearing Deaconess examines not just the history of deaconesses but also patristic teaching on male and female and the evolution of ministries within the early Church to conclude that the order of deaconess was inherently problematic for early Christians because it appeared to elevate women over men in the hierarchy of the Church, contrary to Christian beliefs about both the natural order and the divine economy.

The Disappearing Deaconess also includes two important appendices addressing proposals to reinstitute the order of deaconess and the larger issue of male and female as understood by the Orthodox Church. The first is “A Public Statement on Orthodox Deaconesses by Concerned Clergy and Laity,” signed by fifty-seven Orthodox clergymen and lay leaders. The second is the author’s remarks at a conference on “Renewing the Male and Female Diaconate” organized by the St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess, held in Irvine, California, on October 7, 2017. These remarks set forth a theological basis for the distinction of male and female as the key to understanding many gender issues, including the exclusion of women from clerical orders.

“Not since Martimort’s publication on the topic of deaconesses have we seen such historical and theological clarity on a topic that remains largely misunderstood. In this time of gender confusion and speculative theology, we need the clarity found in the pages of The Disappearing Deaconess.” — Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, President of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary

“Once in a while one finds a book on a controversial topic that is both slim enough to read and comprehensive enough to cover the topic thoroughly and fairly. Protodeacon Mitchell’s book on women deacons is such a volume, combining sound scholarship, deep discernment, and high readability. It is the sort of book that busy parish clergy wish they had at home by the pile, so that when a parishioner asks about the topic they could simply hand them a copy and say, ‘Here, read this.’” — Fr. Lawrence Farley, author of Feminism and Tradition

“A cool and balanced appraisal of a lost ministry. The contemporary debate on deaconesses will have to consider the evidence and interpretation in this short and thoughtful book.”  — Fr. David Pratt, Georgetown University

“Protodeacon Patrick’s work is a welcome addition to the Church’s conversation. He carefully discusses known facts with reasonable questions, free of ideological agenda. If you want to think soberly about this topic, this is a must read.” — Fr. Stephen Freeman, Glory to God for All Things

A Crown of Life: A Novel of the Great Persecution

A Crown of Life is an epic romance spanning ten pivotal years in the history of the world, beginning in 303, when churches were closed, scriptures were confiscated, and Christians were forbidden to assemble and later forced to prove their loyalty to the empire by offering a sacrifice to the government’s gods. Thousands chose death instead, in what has been known since as the Great Persecution.

Vividly written, with surprising twists, heart-pounding drama, a colorful cast of endearing characters good and bad, and profound insight into life’s deepest mysteries, A Crown of Life is an inspiring tale of Christian faith in the face of death.

“Wow, what a great novel! … suspense and excitement (battles! romance! martyrdom!) … It’s not only a great story, but also a great survey of the history of the Roman empire at that time, down to the details of clothing and food. Highly recommended.” — Frederica Mathewes-Green

“As a professor of New Testament and early Christianity, I began reading this book with a bit of skepticism: would it be just another cheesy sword-and-sandals tale? However, I was soon won over by the characters, the plot, and the evident care given to placing known historical people and events into context. When I taught Revelation, from which the title of this book comes (“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life,” 2:10), I recommended Mitchell’s book to my students. When I read about the recent trial of Mariam Ibrahim, an Orthodox Christian sentenced to death for refusing to recant her faith, in many ways it sounded just like the trials in Crown of Life (and Eusebius’ Church History Bk. 8). Holy martyrs, pray for us.” — Anonymous

“It is outstanding. I finished it last week. I had been reading it with my wife which is why it took so long. I absolutely loved the book. It was inspiring and humbling, and should be for anyone trying to pursue their own Christian walk.” — Ryan Steinbach

“What a magnificent book! Cannot recommend enough. Don’t be afraid of the number of pages. Every one draws you farther and farther into the story.” — E.A. Hall

“The drama of the romance never lets up. . . . The first sentence pulled me in and after a few pages, I was hooked. These characters come to life, and the plot keeps moving, so that I couldn’t put it down.”— D. Peters

“I could not put this down! It was such a vivid description of the times and places and predicaments early believers experienced. The contrasts between pagan and Christian thinking, between life in Roman cities and the village or the mines made reading that much more compelling. Add all the drama, action, intrigue and plot twists and you have a really, really great book.” — N. Young

Eight Ways to Run the Country

“Mitchell has written, in my opinion, the best explanation of the political spectrum. It makes sense of all the major mysteries: why left-liberals are opposed to the major threats to liberty in one instance, then switch over to the side of tyranny, allowing conservatives to seemingly fill the gap in the power dynamic; why conservatives favor some liberties and not others; where libertarians fit in all this. He surveys the history of Western politics, shedding light on centuries of shifting alliances and political orientations from antiquity through the Protestant Reformation to the American Revolution, the 1960s, and modern times.” — Anthony Gregory, Independent Institute

“Are you tired of the media’s unrelenting oversimplification of American politics? Are you sick of Republican versus Democratic, with everything being painted in ruby red and bright blue? If so, then stretch your mind and read this stimulating book. Brian Mitchell creatively paints the complex portrait of American political thought, from left to right and everything in-between and outside the lines.” — Larry J. Sabato, Director, University of Virginia Center for Politics

“If you prefer nuanced analysis to fatuous conventional wisdom, pick up a copy of Eight Ways to Run the Country. You’ll gain more insight into the current state of American politics from Brian Mitchell’s book than you would from a year’s worth of punditry on the cable news shows.” — Ken Silverstein, Washington Editor, Harper’s Magazine

“With this book, Brian Mitchell has made the lives of us pundits easier, by helping us understand the different kinds of political animals populating Washington—neos, paleos, radicals, populists, and all the rest. But outside-the-beltway readers can ‘eliminate the middleman’ by reading this book, thus gaining for themselves the taxonomic tools needed to know the D.C. bestiary. Such widespread empowerment might be bad for the punditical priesthood, because better information is vital for the success of representative democracy.” — Jim Pinkerton, Columnist for Newsday and Senior Fellow, New America Foundation

“Whether a pro-politico, a C-Span junkie, or a political neophyte, Brian Mitchell’s Eight Ways to Run the Country is the best shortcut I have seen to really knowing what you are talking about when it comes to the complicated 21st century political landscape.” — Daniel McAdams, Washington Examiner/Examiner.com

“One of my fed. colleagues gave me his book earlier this year, and I was fairly shocked after reading it that I had never heard of him beforehand, or that his book wasn’t in every PolySci 100 class in America. This is one of the most thoughtful, accessible, interesting depictions of our prominent political categories you could ever hope to find. From neoconservatism to communitarianism to theoconservatism, anyone with an interest in politics will find this a great read.” — Goodreads

“Wow. This book was cool! I’ve been very dissatisfied with the current “Left/Right–Republican/Democrat” split. I think it really no longer serves us well, if it ever did. This book has a fascinating theoretical model of political belief and tradition, along two axes–one “archy/anarchy” and the other “kratos/akrateia” with a resulting placement of eight different political traditions around the “compass” Most interesting, although I still really don’t know exactly where to place myself (Most likely, if anyone is interested–PaleoLibertarian)”— Goodreads

“The old classifications of Left and Right, Conservative and Liberal no longer apply. In this book, Mitchell breaks down America’s ideological landscape into 8 “parties,” and talks about the distinction between power (kratos) and authority (arche). This helps to shed light on the controversies that revolve around “separation of church and state” arguments, which seem to be happening more and more. It’s a short book that will really change the way you think about politics.” — Goodreads 

Political partisans want you to choose only between Left and Right, Red and Blue, Us and Them. But the reality is that Americans are deeply divided in more ways than one, and the savvy voter, no less than the savvy politician, must make more sense of things. Eight Ways to Run the Country explains what conventional political theory cannot, offering a profoundly illuminating look at our political past and our present differences.

Eight Ways doesn’t do away with Left and Right, but it defines them in better terms and adds a whole new dimension to explain what Left and Right can’t. It correctly pegs the ideological poles and thus brings easy-to-understand order to the dizzying diversity of political perspectives. It places neoconservatives into historical context, illuminating both what they share with other conservatives and how their differences have wrought a change in the character of the Right. It explains the recurring attempts to define an independent, non-ideological center. It provides the best definition of populism to be found. Finally, it relates the political heritage of the American Founders to the politics of today.

Eight Ways identifies four main traditions in the American political experience:

· Republican constitutionalism — stressing traditional values and decentralized power

· Libertarian individualism — stressing personal liberty and property rights

· Democratic progressivism — stressing popular sovereignty and social renovation

· Plutocratic nationalism — defending dominant commercial interests and national power

From these four main traditions, the author traces eight contemporary ideological perspectives: communitarians, progressives, radicals, individualists, and four varieties of conservatives. The author uses the color and drama of well-known individual examples to illustrate each ideology in concrete, everyday language. The result is an entertaining and insightful assessment of each ideology’s strengths and weaknesses that may forever change the way you think about politics.

Women in the Military: Flirting with Disaster

“This is a ‘wake up American’ book. Read it and weep.” — Gen. Robert H. Barrow, Commandant of the Marine Corps

“A most informative account of a major problem in the entire personnel dimension of U.S. military power.” — Edward N. Luttwak, Center for Strategic and International Studies

“The feminization of the American Military is a disaster, and Brian Mitchell has carefully chronicled how we arrived at this critical juncture. This sensible and carefully researched book should be required reading for anyone interested in the military preparedness of the United States.” — GEN Sam S. Walker, U.S. Army (Ret.)