Nancy Pearcey

Nancy Pearcey, a Christian worldview advocate and author of the award-winning Total Truth, has accepted an invitation by the Education Department to speak next fall at Corban College.

Total Truth is the “most important single book to have come out of the U.S.A. in recent years, because it tackles the root-level misunderstandings which stop people from seeing that the message of Jesus brought, and still brings, individual liberties, social transformation, political freedom, and scientific, technological and economic progress,” wrote Prabhu Guptara, chairman of the Trinity Forum in Europe, in praise of the book.

Total Truth earlier this year received a Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, as well as an Award of Merit in Christianity Today’s Book Awards.

Pearcey, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, where the focus of her work is on the cultural and philosophical implications of the evolution controversy, also is a frequent public lecturer. She has spoken to actors and screenwriters in Hollywood; students and faculty at universities such as Dartmouth, Stanford, USC, and Princeton; scientists at national labs such as Sandia and Los Alamos; staffers at Congress and the White House; and various activist and church groups around the country, including the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. She has appeared on NPR, and a lecture based on Total Truth was broadcast by C-SPAN.

“I just called her up,” said Matt Lucas, director of the Graduate Studies program. “Actually, I called her book publicist and she put me in contact with Nancy. I teach worldviews, so I’ve been familiar with her extensive work in this area of study. I am thrilled she agreed to be the speaker for our next state-wide In Service Day here at Corban.”

That won’t be until Oct. 11-13, 2006. Pearcey is set to speak in chapel, sign books, and spend Friday morning discussing what a Christian worldview looks like and how a Christian can maintain one in the midst of a decidedly secular society.

“The Teacher Education Program has been talking about a Christian worldview for 10 years,” Lucas said. “How do we develop Christian teachers who truly are making a difference for Christ? How do you live and breathe as a Christian? And how do you do that and still remain within the law?

“Most people lament the lack of a Christian worldview that impacts the greater culture,” Lucas continued. “However, it is not enough to just lament; we want to move beyond this and begin developing educational theories that are based on biblical truth. This is where we are as a department, and hopefully Nancy will jumpstart this conversation beyond the lamenting.”

Ultimately, the Teacher Education Program would like to develop a relationship with all Oregon teachers who are Christians; Bringing powerhouse speakers like Nancy Pearcey to Corban is one of Lucas’ strategies to reach that goal, the graduate program director explained.

“What I want to create is a place where Christian teachers can get together and talk about education from a Christian perspective, and let a Christian worldview form from our discussion,” Lucas said. “Currently there isn’t a place in Oregon where this is happening.”

Educators across the state are given paid time off once a year to take part in one of about 75 education-related workshops. Corban became an In Service Day site this fall, when the Education Department invited Greg Bell to speak on cultural competency in the classroom and develop the participants’ ability to work in diverse environments, Lucas said.

“Our goal is to get the education department off this hill,” said Lucas, speaking metaphorically about the terrain of the campus and the state of Oregon. “We want to make an impact for Christ in education. We want to think Christianly about education and thus to impact what the secular world thinks of education.

“To roll that out, Nancy Pearcey is to help us kickstart this,” Lucas continued. “We hope to continiue to invite to the school important thinkers and writers who will challenge the department, school and Christian community to engage the culture at both the intellectual and practical levels.”

Next year, the Teacher Education Program would like to invite someone to talk about Intelligent Design, one of today’s hot topics, or perhaps adolescent development, Lucas said.

“Chap Clark from Fuller Theological Seminary recently published a book titled ‘Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers,’ which examines the social dynamics of high school students,” Lucas said. “Not only is his work affecting Christian youth workers and educators, but it is also challenging secular sociologists. Engaging these types of thinkers will not only sharpen our own biblical worldview, but will also help us fulfill our mission of training Christian educators.”

Pearcey began writing in 1977 for the nationally distributed Bible-Science Newsletter, where for 13 years she wrote pioneering in-depth monthly articles on issues related to science and Christian worldview. In 1991 she became the founding editor of “BreakPoint,” a national daily radio commentary program, and continued as the program’s executive editor for nearly nine years, heading up a team of writers. Under her leadership, the program grew into an influential organ for teaching a Christian worldview perspective on current events, with an estimated weekly audience of five million.

“The book [Total Truth] rocks secular boats because it argues that God is a public figure,” Pearcey explained. “It shows why secularists cannot simply relegate religion to the private realm of faith and feelings, which is the most common way of stripping Christianity of its power to challenge and redeem the whole of culture.

“But the book may also rock some evangelical boats,” Pearcey continued, “because it challenges a tendency to allow essentially secular principles to shape the way we do business in Christian circles, which hurts many people who are seeking authentic relationships and answers to life’s questions.”

The Total Truth Study Guide Edition is now available. This revised edition is full of fresh stories, examples, and illustrations, and features a 31-page study guide based on questions and comments raised by readers of the first edition.

For more information on Corban’s teacher education program, see www.corban.edu/education. For more information on Nancy Pearcey and Total Truth, see www.gnpcb.org/sites/total.truth/ and www.totaltruthbook.com. See also www.pearceyreport.com, a new-since-September website of news, comments, information and worldview.

By Karen L. Willoughby