Is Reality Secular?
Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews
- Apologetics
- Publisher: InterVarsity Press
- Published: 2014
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Publisher's Description
What is the nature of reality? At the root of our society's deepest political and cultural divisions are the conflicting principles of four global worldviews. While each of us holds to some version of one of these worldviews, we are often unconscious of their differences as well as their underlying assumptions. Mary Poplin argues that the ultimate test of a worldview, philosophy or ideology is whether it corresponds with reality. Since different perspectives conflict with each other, how do wemake sense of the differences? And if a worldview system accurately reflects reality, what implications does that have for our thinking and living? In this wide-ranging and perceptive study, Poplin examines four major worldviews: naturalism, humanism, pantheism and Judeo-Christian theism. She explores the fundamental assumptions of each, pressing for limitations. Ultimately she puts each perspective to the test, asking, what if this worldview is true? If reality is secular, that means somethingfor how we orient our lives. But if reality is not best explained by secular perspectives, that would mean something quite different. Consider for yourself what is the fundamental substance of reality.
Endorsements (10)
“This masterful book will be a much-debated and a welcome addition to graduate and undergraduate courses in religion, philosophy, and social and political culture. I suspect readers will spend many hours pondering the powerful arguments that Poplin advances.”
“With the increasing threats to our religious freedom from our government and beyond, Poplin's book is most welcome. She helps us understand the emergence of the 'dictatorship of relativism' and reminds us, as Pope John Paul II has reminded us, that 'truth enlightens man's intelligence and shapes his freedom.'”
“Mary Poplin and I take very different sides on the topics discussed in her book. That is why I prize her writings, because they are so fair and comprehensive. She shows me clearly what I must grapple with and defeat—or give up and join her side! Very much recommended.”
“This is a serious book by a serious thinker. What's most appealing is its authenticity. Mary Poplin guides readers through the pitfalls of the same secular beliefs she held personally for many years until finally discovering the truth of Christianity at the age of forty. Her analysis reflects the insight of someone who has lived out secular philosophies and knows from the inside how destructive and dehumanizing they are. She makes the case that Christianity is not just a better theory, it is reality.”
“Truth, a wise man said, is valuable because it is what allows us to navigate reality. Mary Poplin has done us a great service—she helps us explore where truth lies and how it guides. This is fair-minded, clear-seeing and deeply informed.”
“This is a thorough and remarkably informative critique of what is wrong with today's predominant worldview, that is, secularism. The many atheists, humanists and materialists controlling so much of what is read in our colleges and presented in the media should put it on their informal but effective list of 'forbidden books.' Of course, Poplin's book should go on the list of required books for all Christians trying to survive the politically correct rejection of God and Christ now nervously maintained by our governing elite.”
“This clearly written and wide-ranging book shows Mary Poplin to be an important Christian intellectual voice. The cumulative force of her best evidence provides a compelling case, one all the more relevant because of her personal story.”
“In her book, Mary Poplin, an academic with many years of insider knowledge of the secularist mindset, questions what for many people, particularly in the West, is beyond question—that secularism is reality. With great honesty and sensitivity she takes us on a journey—her journey—intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual from the secularist worldview to vibrant Christianity. Her voice deserves to be heard as she explores one of the most important questions of our time.”
“It is unusual these days for a book to be both provocative and reflective, but that is precisely what Professor Poplin has accomplished in Is Reality Secular? The roots of her reflection are clearly in what began as a personal quest for meaning and truth, but she has produced an extended essay that addresses a universal longing and therefore speaks to us all. Her fellow Christians will find the book edifying. I myself certainly did. But others, too, will find value in it. Even at its most provocative, it is never merely polemical. It provokes, rather, by engaging the reader where he is and challenging him to join her in thinking ever more deeply about ultimate things.”
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