Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology

by J. P. Moreland

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2018

Overview

Rigid adherence to scientism—as opposed to a healthy respect for science—is all too prevalent in our world today. Rather than leading to a deeper understanding of our universe, this worldview actually undermines real science and marginalizes morality and religion.

In this book, celebrated philosopher J. P. Moreland exposes the selfdefeating nature of scientism and equips us to recognize scientism’s harmful presence in different aspects of culture, emboldening our witness to biblical Christianity and arming us with strategies for the integration of faith and science—the only feasible path to genuine knowledge.

Key Features

• Provides a persuasive argument that counters the popular perception that science can explain everything
• Presents strategies for integrating issues between faith and science
• Analyzes the danger posed by scientism

Contents

• The (Scientistic) Air We Breathe
• Why Scientism Matters
• How Scientism Changed the Universities
• Scientism Is Self-Refuting
• Scientism Is the Enemy of Science
• Why Weak Scientism Is No Better Than Strong Scientism
• The Availability of Nonscientific Knowledge
• When Science Exceeds Its Reach: A Case Study
• Scientism and First Philosophy
• Examples of the Authority and Autonomy Theses
• How Do We Explain Things?
• Five Things Science Cannot In Principle Explain (But Theism Can)
• Methodological Naturalism, Theistic Evolution, and Intelligent Design
• The Importance of Integrating Christianity and Science
• A Plan for the Integration of Christianity and Science

Top Highlights

“Absent such knowledge, contemporary freedom has come to be understood as the right to do whatever one wants to do.” (Page 36)

“The first shift is in the realm of religion and ethics and is a shift from knowledge to blind faith” (Page 33)

“The fourth shift is related to the third, but is manifested in the area of freedom, moving from a classic model to a contemporary version. Classically, freedom meant the power to do what one ought to do.” (Page 36)

“The second shift is in the realm of guidance for living one’s life, and it goes from truth to the immediate satisfaction of desire.” (Page 35)

“Roughly, scientism is the view that the hard sciences—like chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy—provide the only genuine knowledge of reality. At the very least, this scientific knowledge is vastly superior to what we can know from any other discipline. Ethics and religion may be acceptable, but only if they are understood to be inherently subjective and regarded as private matters of opinion. According to scientism, the claim that ethical and religious conclusions can be just as factual as science, and therefore ought to be affirmed like scientific truths, may be a sign of bigotry and intolerance.” (Page 26)

Praise for the Print Edition

Science is a wonderfully useful discipline, but in recent times it has been distorted into scientism, the view that science is the ultimate path to truth in any area of reality. Based on that false adulation of science, many have denied the value of religion and philosophy, and many have rejected the claims of divine revelation in the Bible. J. P. Moreland is a respected Christian thinker who has studied both science and the Scriptures in considerable depth. He clearly demonstrates the fallacies of the arguments for scientism. He shows how Christians can defend their faith against scientistic objections, while affirming genuine science as a gift from God.

—John M. Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary

Moreland offers a brilliant critique of scientism and a comprehensive defense of theistic science. As valuable as this critique and defense is, I believe his book’s greatest contribution is his wake-up call to Christian leaders of how ‘scientism has forced the church to offer the gospel simply because it works rather than because it is true and can be known as such.’ Kudos to Moreland for equipping us to know through scientific evidence and philosophical reasoning that the Bible and the gospel indeed are true.

—Hugh Ross, President, Reasons to Believe; author, The Creator and the Cosmos; Improbable Planet; and Why the Universe Is the Way It Is

Product Details

• Title: Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology
• Author: J. P. Moreland
• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 224
• Resource Type: Topical
• Topic: Science

About J. P. Moreland

J. P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He received a B. S. in physical chemistry from the University of Missouri, a Th.M. in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, an M.A. in philosophy from the University of California at Riverside, and a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Southern California. He has spoken and debated on over 200 college campuses and taught in 500 or so churches around the world. In addition, he has authored, edited, or contributed papers to ninety-five books, including Does God Exist? (Prometheus), Universals (McGill-Queen’s), Consciousness and the Existence of God (Routledge), The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology, The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism, and Debating Christian Theism (Oxford.) He has also published over 85 articles in journals such as Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, American Philosophical Quarterly, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, MetaPhilosophy, Philosophia Christi, Religious Studies, and Faith and Philosophy. Moreland was selected in August, 2016 by The Best Schools as one of the 50 most influential living philosophers in the world.

Sample Pages from Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology