Culture and WorldView Book Reviews

The Francis A. Schaeffer Trilogy: The 3 Essential Books in 1 Volume/the God Who Is There/Escape from Reason/He Is There and He Is Not Silent by Francis A. Schaeffer (Crossway, 1990)

This is a classic by the grandfather of the contemporary evangelical artistic movement. Before Schaeffer, almost no one in American churches understood art or its importance in culture. Sure, there were others who preceded him, but he brought the value of art and worldview into the mainstream of Christian culture. These three books in one are his main thesis of the secular/sacred or nature/grace dichotomy that still plagues modern culture and the church. We think that some things in life are rational and provable (science, nature), while other things in life are irrational and unprovable (religion, morals). So in order to find meaning, we take a leap of faith over a line of despair that suffers the pitfalls of mysticism and irrelevance. Though it is now outdated in its examples, it is still an excellent primer, particularly in its historical analysis. He deals with the nature of worldview and presuppositions in our thinking and shows that philosophy is not merely an academic discipline by snooty dry ivory tower professors, but something that drives the culture, and something that everyone engages in, whether they realize it or not. Wouldn’t you rather realize it? - BG

Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity by Nancy Pearcey (Crossway, 2004)

This is a book that updates Francis Schaeffer’s brilliant insights into the “two-tiered” level of thinking that cripples modern Christianity, indeed non-Christian thought as well. It’s called the secular/sacred dichotomy or the fact/value split. We think that some things in life are rational and provable (science, nature), while other things in life are irrational and unprovable (religion, morals). Pearcey makes the point that the fact/value dichotomy is “the single most potent force keeping Christianity contained in the private sphere—stripping it of its power to challenge and redeem the whole of culture.” She shows historically how evangelicalism adopted this fact/value split and then explains how worldviews operate on our thinking and how we can apply the Christian worldview to all of life and regain our access to the marketplace of ideas. – BG

Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan to Radically Change Your World by Bob Briner (Zondervan, 2000)

Notice the title. Very important. This is not a book that talks about the liberating power of Christianity on our culture and the arts. It is about a plan for how to do it. I love the action orientation here. And this isn’t about creating a Christian ghetto of Christian subculture of Christian books and Christian movies and Christian TV, this is about being in the world but not of it. Being a force for change in the secular culture. Bob sees the detrimental aspect of much of secular entertainment culture, but rather than cursing the darkness, he helps us to light a candle and be salt and light. Rather than boycotting, he encourages us to reform through involvement. And he is more than theoretical, he actually refers to specific Christians who have integrated their faith into the secular world of movies, television, literature, music and the visual arts. - BG

The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by James Sire (Intervarsity Press, 1997)

Every Christian artist needs to have a basic understanding of the tenets of the dominant unbelieving worldviews out there in the big bad world. This book is the best simplification of those that I have found. Sire quotes from original sources to describe the basic components of each worldview and then gives a brief but powerful critique of each one. Indispensable tool for understanding the dominant thought forms in our culture, especially in the arts. He addresses Christian Theism, Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Existentialism, Monism, New Age, and Postmodernism. Thorough but concise and readable. Must have reference. - BG