Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Hardcover)

~ Nancy R. Pearcey (Author), Phillip E. Johnson (Foreword) "A fashionably dressed college student stepped into the counselor's office, tossing her head in an attempt at bravado..." (more)
Key Phrases: worldview analysis, false worldviews, escape from reason, Cultural Mandate, New Testament, Second Great Awakening (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a religiously adrift young adult in the 1960s, Pearcey found her way to the Swiss retreat, and the intellectually rigorous faith, of the Calvinist maverick Francis Schaeffer. This book continues the Schaeffer-inspired project that Pearcey and Chuck Colson began in How Now Shall We Live?—awakening evangelical Christians to the need for a Christian "worldview," which Pearcey defines as "a biblically informed perspective on all reality." Pearcey gives credibly argued perspectives on everything from Rousseau's rebellion against the Enlightenment, to the roots of feminism, to the spiritual poverty of celebrity-driven Christianity. She also provides a layperson's guide to the history of America's anti-intellectual strain of evangelicalism. Unfortunately for the book's chance at a wide audience, several chapters are devoted to a critique of Darwinism and defense of Intelligent Design—with no substantive engagement with the many thoughtful Christians (John Polkinghorne, Ken Miller, Nancey Murphy, etc.) who dissent from Intelligent Design's scientific and philosophical program. Still, Pearcey deftly applies Schaeffer's core insight that modernity has been built on a "two-story" view of reality—with "facts" on the ground floor and "values" up in the air. Her critique of this view is compelling, and her final chapters, which begin to sketch an integrated Christian way of living and thinking, are exceptional. This is the rare long book that leaves one wanting to read more.
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Review

A vitally important work for the church today . . . Pearcey explains the secular/sacred dichotomy that continues to permeate society. -- Sarah Flashing, The Foundation for Women of Faith in Culture, February 22, 2005

An outstanding writer. If you buy only one book this year, this would be at the top of the list. -- Charles Dunahoo, Christian Education and Publications, November 2004

Brilliant analysis and perspective, designed to . . . equip evangelicals apologetically. -- Catez Stevens, Allthings2all, April 12, 2005

Fabulous . . . Pearcey’s worldview guide [is] getting rave reviews from many sources. We highly recommend it. -- Byron Borger, Hearts & Minds, January 5, 2005

Pearcey advances well beyond Schaeffer, both in the maturity of her thought and in her original work. -- Bill Wichterman, Townhall.com

Pearcey argues passionately. . . . [she] can help Christians develop a more consistent orientation to all of life with a Christian worldview. -- Jim Skillen, Public Justice Report, 2nd quarter, 2005

Probably the most significant book of 2004. I pray its influence and impact will be felt for decades. -- Ray Bohlin, Probe Ministries, February 2005

Total Truth is probably the most significant book of 2004... its influence and impact will be felt for decades. -- Probe Ministries, February 2005

Very well written and spiced with anecdotes. Would that every Christian pastor and youth group leader read this book. -- Angus Menuge, Touchstone, December 2004

Viewed by many as the Francis Schaeffer of her generation . . . essential reading for all serious-thinking Christians. -- Adrian Warnock, UK Evangelical Blog, February 2005

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 479 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581344589
• ISBN-13: 978-1581344585
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

162 of 190 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Must Book for both Creationists and Evolutionists, August 6, 2004

By	The Professor - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is must reading for all Christians and Christian critics.
Pearcey's mastery of the material, her clear thinking, her outstanding
ability to express herself, and her compelling arguments are all a major
reason why I predict that this book will become the standard work in the
area. Pearcey makes a persuasive case for Christian involvement in
society (to become the salt of the Earth). In my opinion, as a professional
biologist very interested in the Darwinian controversies, the strongest
part of the book (and the main reason why I bought it) is the section on
Intelligent Design. She makes an excellent case for this world view and
why it is critically important. I believe that her well done critique of
Darwinism and her defense of Intelligent Design will improve the book's
chances at achieving a wide audience. Many works exist that go into
detail about the many problems with the conclusions of John
Polkinghorne, Nancy Murphy and, especially, Ken Miller, as well as
others who dissent from Intelligent Design's scientific and
philosophical conclusions. To conclude that God may have created the laws of
the universe and sat by watching as the creation created itself due to
mutations being selected in the struggle for life, as does Ken Miller,
suffers from major theological and, from my prospective, even more
serious problems with the evidence from biology, genetics and,
especially, molecular biology. My work is on mutations and it is clear
that mutations have a limited ability to create. They may damage
ribosome receptors in bacteria and, as a result, confer resistance to an
antibiotic, but even here a fitness cost usually results.

61 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the World As It Really Is, October 6, 2004

By	William Wichterman (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An evangelical Christian who works on Capitol Hill once told me that God put him there just so he could share the gospel with his colleagues. Sadly, he's not alone in thinking that God cares only about saving souls, and is uninterested in the legislative battles raging in Congress, much less the renewing the culture through the arts, academia, and entertainment.

True, most orthodox Christians think that God hates abortion and is not so thrilled about same-sex marriage. But beyond those "culture-war" issues, many of them have no idea that their faith has implications for all public policies, from welfare to transportation to taxation. They are privately spiritual, but publicly agnostic.

Nancy Pearcey's new book, Total Truth, was written to shake them up.

Her central thesis is that Christianity is not just religious truth, but truth about all of reality. It is a comprehensive worldview. As such, it is meant to straighten out God's creation which has been twisted by sin. This, Pearcey says, includes not just the Great Commission to bring others to faith, but a cultural commission to bring health to every aspect of human experience, from network television and Broadway plays to biology and astronomy.

Unfortunately, too many American evangelicals have bought into the lie that it is "true for me" or true about a slice of reality, but not true for everybody and true for explaining the world.

Pearcey seeks to uproot the historic anti-intellectual tendencies of American evangelicalism that have contributed to its banishment from the public square.
She traces the long tradition in American evangelicalism of emphasizing the spiritual dimension and denigrating the intellect. Some early American evangelicals like Geroge Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards managed to make Christianity a passionate, personal experience without compromising the life of the mind. Sadly, much of evangelicalism quickly devolved to a privatized faith that transformed one's personal life but was indifferent if not hostile to rigorous thought.

Even as evangelicals gained hearts, they surrendered their minds to secularism.

As Darwinism gained traction in academia, Christians further retreated to the realm of personal values. In the end, they were left with a "two-realm theory of truth" in which the upper story holds the private/spiritual/nonrational/noncognitive dimension, and the lower story the public/scientific/rational/verifiable. The upper story became "true for me," and the "lower story" simply fact. Challenging this bifurcation of reality is step one in liberating Christianity to shape every aspect of culture, argues Pearcey.

Step two is challenging the philosophical naturalism that masquerades as science.

Pearcey has spent years writing about the philosophical underpinnings of Darwinian macro-evolution. Her rigorous logic makes clear that until Christians challenge the naturalism that begins with the assumption the universe is closed and there is no God, they will fight a losing battle for the soul of the culture.

That may explain why Americans are among the most religious people on the planet, yet whose cultural elites in academia, media, and entertainment are among the most secular.

She closes the book by showing that true spirituality is rooted in a comprehensive Christian worldview. If Christianity really is the total truth about the world, then it is logical that the life of the spirit not be relegated to a private, mystical experience, but is necessarily open to facts, reason, evidence and wed to one's everyday activities.

Pearcey skillfully explains difficult concepts in plain language. Her formal education in theology and philosophy - in Germany, Canada, the U.S. -- combined with her conversational writing style, make her otherwise dense subject matter easily digestible. Perhaps this is so because she's a homeschooling mom. Or maybe because she's a former atheist who wrote a paper on "Why I'm not a Christian" when she was still in her teens and long before she learned of Bertrand Russell. Her grappling with philosophy has not been esoteric but a lived experience of great personal consequence.

Pearcey's work reflects the life and thought of her mentor, the late Francis Schaeffer, who hosted seekers at his chalet in the Swiss Alps in the 1960s and 1970s. After rejecting the faith of her parents and embracing the despair of nihilism and the drug culture, Pearcey was won over by Schaeffer's rigorous intellect and his passionate conviction that Christianity was meant to renew every part of the culture.

But if you're looking for a simple redux of Schaefer's work, look elsewhere. Pearcey advances well beyond Schaefer, both in the maturity of her thought and in her original work with source documents.

Total Truth is written with evangelicals in mind, but it should be read by orthodox Christians of whatever theological stripe who want to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the American religious tradition, dominated as it has been by evangelicals. It will help them see more clearly the flawed view of knowledge that has relegated Christianity to the private sphere and muted its witness in what seems to be a pervasively religious population.

The issue is not the number of Christians, but their ability to let their religious convictions shape their view of the world. For when Christianity is no longer just an affair of the heart but a total picture of the world as it actually is, its power is unleashed to transform culture from top to bottom.

133 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Comprehensible Books on Christian Worldview, August 4, 2004

By	Jonathan Krive (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

Nancy Pearcey's Total Truth explains the essence of Christian worldview. While many scholars, including Francis Schaeffer, have extensively discoursed on worldviews, Pearcey communicates these lofty thoughts in an understandable manner. Total Truth is a must read.

Using a plethora of external sources, Pearcey dissects the philosophy of modern society. She starts with the fact/value split in society, showing how our society constrains religion to the relativistic values realm while society deems science the only realm that universal absolutes can exist. Our society allows for religion and its moral implications provided that the religious do not impose their morality on others as universally valid. We have created a sacred/secular dichotomy that restricts Christianity to the realm of religious truth. Christianity must be viewed as ultimate Truth that pervades every part of our life.

She delves deeper into the meaning of worldview. She explains, "[E]ach of us carries a model of the universe inside our heads that tells us what the world is like and how we should live in it. We all seek to make sense of life. Some convictions are conscious, while others are unconscious, but together they form a more or less consistent picture of reality." In essence, a worldview answers the question, "Why does reality exist?"

Pearcey also tackles the most pervasive worldview in society, philosophical naturalism, which is an extension of atheism. After explicating the biological impossibility of evolution, she explores the philosophical implications of naturalism. From a naturalistic standpoint, the chemical processes in our minds should not reflect the order of the universe. For example, math, which is a conjuring of the human mind, should not function in nature. Naturalism has no rational explanation for reason or logic. Pearcey also notes, "[E]thics depends on the reality of something that materialistic science has declared to be unreal."

After eliminating other worldviews as antithetical to reality, Pearcey traces the roots of Christianity, identifying the fact/value split in even the Great Awakening. She concludes with a call to Christians: we must "liberate Christianity from its cultural captivity," because Christianity is a worldview, not just a religion.

A necessary for every Christian, philosopher, and inquisitive mind, Total Truth should be on every bookshelf.