Total Truth
Check out the link above to an interview with author Nancy Pearcey, whose new book, "Total Truth," has just come out. The thesis of her book connects with one of the first main points I'll be making during a series of discussions we'll be having in September and October. Here is a key quote:
"Most evangelical churches have a long history of anti-intellectualism that elevates the heart over the head, the sacred over the secular. The reason is that American evangelicalism grew out of the First and Second Great Awakenings, which focused on an intense emotional conversion experience, while downplaying doctrine, theology, and the whole cognitive element of belief. As a result, even today most Christians treat religion as though it were a matter of their private experience, relevant mostly to church, worship, and ethics—but they have a hard time seeing how it applies to their professional work, their academic study, and the way they run their businesses and ministries.
I am convinced that this is a major reason we miss out on the power and joy we’re meant to experience in our Christian life. The sacred/secular split is not just an abstract concept—it produces a division in our inner lives, so that we are fragmented and compartmentalized, losing out on the wholeness and focus that God intends for us. The theme of my book is that Christianity is not just religious truth but truth about all of reality. It is 'total truth.'"
This gets me excited, because it's that very power and joy that people our age, Christians and non, are hungry for. And simple emotional religion alone has disillusioned many. The time is right for a robust Christianity with power and substance that will make a difference in people's everyday lives.
posted by Jon @ 11:43 AM
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