Free Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes by Nancy Pearcey Page B

postmodernism is no exception. Philosopher William Lane Craig points out that virtually no one applies postmodernism consistently across the board: “People are not relativistic when it comes to matters of science, engineering, and technology; rather, they are relativistic and pluralistic in matters of religion and ethics .” 37
    In short, they apply their postmodern skepticism selectively.
    Think of it this way: We often hear people say, “Don’t impose your religion on me.” But we never hear people say, “Don’t impose your facts on me.” Why not? Because facts are assumed to be objective and universal, binding on everyone.
    The upshot is that most people function as modernists and postmodernists—depending on the situation. When dealing with religion and morality, most people no longer think in terms of true and false. They no longer look to religion for an explanatory system to answer the cosmic questions of life. Instead they choose a religion the way they choose a wallpaper pattern or an item on the menu, says philosopher Ernest Gellner. It has become an area of life where it is considered acceptable to act on the basis purely of personal taste or feelings. By contrast, Gellner says, when “serious issues are at stake” like making money or meeting medical needs, then people want solutions based on “real knowledge.” They want to know the tested outcomes of objective science and research. 38
    What this means is that most people live fragmented lives. In the private world of home, church, and relationships, they operate on a postmodern view of truth as subjective and relative. But in the public world of work, business, and finance, they operate on a modernist view of truth as objective and verifiable. In short, they no longer live as whole persons with a consistent, coherent philosophy of life.
    No wonder philosopher Louis Dupré says that the central challenge of our age is the lack of any integrating truth: “We experience our culture as fragmented; we live on bits of meaning and lack the overall vision that holds them together in a whole.” As a result, people feel an intense need for self-integration. Christianity has the power to integrate our lives and create a coherent personality structure, but only if we embrace it as the ultimate, capital-T truth that pulls together all lesser truths. Our commitment to Christian truth “cannot simply remain one discrete part of life,” Dupré says; it must “integrate all other aspects of existence.” 39 Anything less is neither beautiful nor compelling enough to ignite our passion and transform our character.
    A Harvard Professor’s Admission
    I once delivered a presentation that included several of the examples in this chapter. Afterward a Harvard professor came up to me from the audience, visibly upset. After all, I had criticized the work of university professors at places like Harvard—his own colleagues. “ They know their theories don’t explain ordinary life outside the lab,” he said emphatically. “But why throw it in their faces?”
    The first thing that struck me was that he had let slip an amazing admission. These scientists and philosophers know that their theories do not fit the real world? In Romans 1, Paul says the testimony of general revelation is knowable by everyone. Was this professor unwittingly confirming what Paul says?
    When we read in Romans 1 that those who worship idols are “without excuse,” those words may seem harsh. In this chapter, however, we have met several scholars who openly acknowledge that their reductionist theories clash with the facts of experience. They are aware, at some level, that they harbor a severe contradiction. Derek Parfit says this type of inner conflict is actually quite common. Addressing his fellow philosophers, he writes, “At a reflective or intellectual level, we may be convinced that some view is true; but at another level, one that engages more directly with our emotions, we may