Reason in the Balance: The Case against Naturalism in Science, Law, and Education, by Phillip E. Johnson (InterVarsity, 238 pp., $19.99)
THOSE of us committed to living a religious life while participating in the contemporary intellectual world will appreciate Mr. Johnson’s new book. The religious aspects of our personality can take a beating in the public square, where faith is often ignored, denigrated, or ridiculed by secularists—or as Mr. Johnson calls them, Naturalists. Explaining in great detail both the philosophical underpinnings of Naturalism and its deep flaws, he convincingly argues that Naturalism is as much a religion as Judaism or Christianity, if by religion we mean a system based on unchallengeable orthodoxies. Indeed Naturalism may be more “fundamentalist” than many sorts of conventionally defined fundamentalism. The conflict between that faith and traditional religion is leading us toward a culture war. Wars begin when rational discourse breaks down and one side resorts to denigrating the other—in this case, as “phobic,” “authoritarian,” and otherwise dangerous. Only by restoring the search for objective truth, and allowing all viewpoints a fair hearing, can we avoid such a frightening prospect. Despite some shortcomings—Johnson can be long-winded, and he needs to distinguish more carefully between theism and Christianity—Reason in the Balance is an important exegesis of the debate between religion and secularism.
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