Is Reality Secular?: Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews
"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." (Craig Keener, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary)"This masterful book will be a much-debated and welcomed 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." (Carol M. Swain, professor of political science and law, Vanderbilt University)"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.'" (Anne Hendershott, director of the Veritas Center at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio)"The attractiveness of this book results from its combination of two qualities not often found together: Though it is intellectually serious, at the same time it is deeply personal—you might call it 'warmly logical.' Mary Poplin understands that the truth of things concerns us in our very depths, for unlike all of the myriadwhatsof the material world, we arewhos." (J. Budziszewski, departments of government and philosophy, University of Texas at Austin)"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." (John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and author of Who Is This Man?)"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." (Nancy R. Pearcey, director, Francis Schaeffer Center for Worldview and Culture; professor, Houston Baptist University)"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." (John Lennox, professor of mathematics, University of Oxford; fellow in mathematics and philosophy of science, Green Templeton College)"It is unusual these days for a book to be both provocative and reflective, but that is precisely what Professor Poplin has accomplished inIs 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." (Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University)"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." (Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University)"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." (Paul C. Vitz, professor, Institute for the Psychological Sciences; professor emeritus, New York University; author of Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism)"Mary Poplin has lived out many of the ideologies of the past fifty years—secular humanism, ivory-tower Marxism, radical feminism, New Age spirituality, you name it.Is Reality Secular?is her penetrating analysis of these ideologies and a brilliant exposition of the profound truths of the Christian faith. A terrific book for undergraduates, grad students and all those who want to be really educated—that is, aware of the sweep of intellectual history, what it has been and is now, and where it should be headed." (James W. Sire, author of The Universe Next Door)"The line of argument Mary Poplin develops in this book is vital for the future of education today and tomorrow, both for secularists and for Christians. . . . Mary breaks the impasse between secularists and Christians by intelligently reframing the questions which must be asked and answered for thoughtful and honest living today." (From the foreword by the late Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy, University of Southern California)