A year or so ago I searched the religious section of our local library and came across a book whose intriguing title I had heard of through a Kiwi Christian apologist. The name of the book is Total Truth- Liberating Christianity From It's Cultural Captivity by Nancy Pearcey.
This book not only contains autobiographical notes of Nancy's journey from the Christian faith of her parents to disillusionment and a concerted search for truth and back again to Christianity- which is interesting in and of itself- but a lot more besides. Her journey took her to the L'Abris Fellowship and the company of Francis Schaeffer. In the fellowxship she found a community that took her questions seriously and convinced her that the faith she had abandoned, or all but abandoned actually had good reasons for tenaciously surviving the onslaught of skepticism, unbelief, and competing worldviews.
Among the more memorable moments is her explanation of the sacred/secular split and how it is such an accepted part of reality in our world that it isn't even questioned let alone dealt the analysis she is so adept at writing. The privatization of the Christian faith is so endemic that people are hardly aware of it. Christianity in the public square is largely silent on so many issues that people live out this sacred/secular dichotomy impervious to the reality that secularism has enculturated the church and now has it captive. This is a great read and a tribute to her vibrant faith, and not a little compliment to the late Francis Schaeffer and the work of the L'Abris Fellowship.
If the following video is anything to go by, I would not call Nancy a gifted speaker in the charismatic sense that many might expect, but she is a powerful writer and nonetheless deserving of every opportunity for your attention.
