Total Truth
From Neoredemptive
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Nancy Pearcey
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A discussion of the impact of worldview upon thought and practice, and particularly a critique of our contemporary modern/postmodern worldview mash and how to go about forming a countercultural Christian worldview in its midst.
Doc's take
If you've not done much reading on worldviews and how they influence belief (particularly, how they can make the most preposterous things "self-evident" -- e.g. Richard Dawkins' anti-theistic rants), then this book looks to be a good and thorough introduction to the topic and the recent state of affairs. If you find yourself tempted to say "I don't understand this philosophical gobledygook... what does it have to do with real Christian faith?", keep reading -- she also explores the roots of anti-intellectualism in American Christianity.
Pearcey argues that all worldviews consist of three key elements: Creation, Fall, and Redemption; the gospel is the ultimate worldview, providing a consistent and complete account of all three. I agree with this premise whole-heartedly. She also warns that an over-emphasis on any one of these is dangerous. Again, I whole-heartedly agree; we talk about redemption incessantly around here, but in doing so it is always with reference to the goodness of God in original creation and the need to come to terms with the consequences of Adam's (and all of our) sin.
One of the most important theses of this book is that Christians have abdicated their responsibility to challenge worldviews that compete with Christianity as a universal truth claim. The main angle of attack, of course, is not to take on Christian thought wholesale, but to gradually chip away at particular domains of thought, science, and practice; the most cunning incursions have even convinced the theological mainstream to go along with their methods, moving the gospel from its place as the absolute foundation for all knowledge and knowability (see epistemology) to yet another project being developed within the framework (and under the thumb) of some purely secular (godless) worldview (inductive empiricism, naturalism, humanism, etc).
She is spot-on that the debate about human, biological, and cosmic origins has very little to do with "science" and everything to do with a worldview contest between materialism and theism. (See Evolution; for further reading on this subject, see Darwin's Black Box, The Wedge of Truth, Uncommon Dissent, The Origin of Species Revisited, and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, for starters.)
Pearcey also loves the "over/under" word pictures that appear throughout many of Francis Schaeffer's worldview texts (e.g., Escape from Reason). This may work for some people, but for me it eventually becomes a tedious waste of whitespace (that, thankfully, disappears later in the book). But that's mainly an aesthetic complaint about typesetting, not a flaw in the content of the book!
