Nancy and I will be speaking at a conference in the Houston area Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016.

Titled "Christ Culture Conference -- Finding Truth Now," the event will be held at Sienna Ranch Baptist Church in Missouri City, Texas, in the southwest Houston metro area.

Here's the schedule of the conference:

9:00-10:00 am -- Open doors/light refreshments

10:00-11:00 am -- J. Richard Pearcey presents: "Test Everything: What Every Atheist and Christian Needs to Know"

11:15 am-12:15 pm -- Nancy Pearcey presents: "Finding Truth: Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes"

Lunch Break: 12:15-1:15 pm (Lunch is provided by Sienna Ranch)

1:15-2:15 pm -- J. Richard Pearcey presents: "A Nation in Crisis: The Truth About Where We're Headed and What We Can Do About It"

2:30-3:30 pm -- Nancy Pearcey presents: "The Worldview Factor: Finding Sexual Healing in a Secular Age"

3:45-4:30 pm -- Book Signing: Nancy Pearcey available to sign books

Talks subject to change

This conference is free of charge, and there will be a book table.

For more information, please see this announcement from Sienna Ranch Baptist Church.

I will appear on the "Joe Miller Radio Show" at 5:15 Central Time (2:15 Alaska Time) on KOAN 1080 AM and 95.1 FM.

The show is based in Anchorage, and you can listen online by clicking here. Miller is a former candidate for the U.S. Senate from Alaska.

Topics we are slated to discuss: The endgame of the homosexual extremism, plus my Foreword to Nancy's new book Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes.

Here's the station website. Go here to see Joe Miller's Restoring Liberty website.

Are families, moms, and dads irreplaceable? Or is family merely a social construct that can be removed or changed at will to suit the agendas of those who wield political and cultural power at a particular moment in history?

To help answer questions like this, Pearcey Report editor at large and best-selling author Nancy Pearcey will appear on film in some 700-plus theaters nationwide this coming Tuesday, May 6, as part of a new documentary titled Irreplaceable.

Irreplaceable is a "special event in theaters nationwide from Focus on the Family," states Irreplaceablethemovie.com.

Nancy was interviewed for the film on the campus of Houston Baptist University, where she is a professor of apologetics and scholar in residence. Nancy has an honorary doctorate from Cairn University, and her next book is near ready to be sent to the publishers. Her previous books include Total Truth and Saving Leonardo. 

In this new film project, Nancy is joined by radio host Michael Medved, philosopher Roger Scruton, and other thought leaders, as host Tim Sisarich (in photo above) travels around the world to "find out whether the adage 'If the family fails, society fails' is actually true," states FathomEvents.com.

"In their view of the family, Americans have been deeply affected by what is called social contract theory, propounded by thinkers such as Locke and Rousseau," Nancy states in an interview at The Family Project.

"American conservatives tend to be influenced by Locke, while liberals think more along the lines of Rousseau. But in both cases, the heart of social contract theory is the idea that the ultimate starting point is the individual, the autonomous self," she explains.

On this view, however, "where then do social institutions, like the family, come from?" she asks. Answer: "They are products of choice."

Nancy argues that the "implications" of this view "are staggering. Social contract theory implies that we agree to be in relationships when they meet our needs. Relationships are essentially redefined as products of enlightened self interest. Thus if a marriage relationship is not meeting my needs, then I can choose to leave.  If the origin of marriage is individual choice, then marriage is subject to the whim of the individual."  

No wonder," she concludes, "marriage has become so fragile in our day."

In an article published at American Thinker and The Pearcey Report, I argue that marriage "has a normative meaning. It refers to the diversity of male and female, one man plus one woman, united in love, service, and commitment for life. Its merit derives not from tradition or from being a 'value preference,' a social construct, a belief system, or a crutch of the bourgeoisie."

Rather, "marriage should be respected in terms parallel to the concept of freedom and unalienable human rights endowed by the Creator. Marriage is thereby recognized as an unalienable societal structure embedded by the Creator into the architecture of creation and into the essence of human nature. People who smash marriage end up smashing themselves as well, as does anyone who defies gravity by jumping off a cliff without a parachute."

We would encourage you to consider seeing Irreplaceable.

To find a theater near you, go here. Using the website's interactive map, I counted 12 viewing locations in the Houston area.

And to buy tickets for this one-night event, go here. 

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The Revolt of Intelligence Against "Marriage Equality" 
Quack! Earth Needs Men Who Stare Ducks and Women 
Brazil, in Portuguese: Nancy Pearcey on Homosex "Marriage" Opening Door to "Unlimited Statism" 
Fireproof -- Reel Rebel Upsets Tinseltown Stereotypes

Pearcey Report editor at large Nancy Pearcey will be speaking this Friday at Dallas Baptist University on her book Saving Leonardo. 

The event is part of a lecture series organized by David Naugle, author of Worldview: The History of a Concept.  If you are in the Dallas area, come by.  The lectures are held at Rogers Theater, Pilgrim chapel, at 12 noon.   

For more information, click here.

Note also that editor and publisher J. Richard Pearcey and Nancy Pearcey are developing a series of team-taught worldview seminars for universities, churches, and other venues. Further announcements on this new development will appear on The Pearcey Report.

If such events are of interest to you, please contact us at pearcey@thpearceyreport.com.

Readers of The Pearcey Report may be interested know that I will be speaking at the Southwest Conference on Christianity and Literature on the campus of Houston Baptist University on Friday at 2:15. My talk draws on themes from Saving Leonardo and is titled, "Recovering Our Virtue: Does Dickens Succeed in Overcoming the Fact/Value Split in Hard Times?"

In the novel Hard Times Dickens is doing battle with philosophies like empiricism and utilitarianism, which had come to dominate the public sphere of politics and economics. Writing at the height of the industrial revolution, Dickens realized that the impact of these philosophies was reductionistic and dehumanizing, and he raises the question: In an age where Truth has been identified solely with empirical fact, what is the truth status of Goodness and Beauty?

Dickens knew that the outstanding philosopher of utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill, had undergone a personal crisis (related in Saving Leonardo). He recasts Mill's story as the plot line in the novel.

Here is a brief preview of my remarks:

When John Stuart Mill was born, his father was close friends with Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism. They decided to turn the boy into a kind of experiment: They would educate him from a young age to become a prophet for their utilitarian creed.

And it worked. As a young man, Mill was brilliant. He was writing for professional journals, he had founded several intellectual societies, and he was heralded as the crown prince of an influential utilitarian movement in politics.

But at the age of twenty, Mill suffered a mental crisis. As he wrote in his Autobiography, it came crashing down on him that he had been turned into little more than a "reasoning machine." He felt he had been robbed of entire dimensions of life.

So intense was Mill's depression that he compared himself with someone on the threshold of a religious conversion. Yet he did not find a resolution to his crisis in religion. Instead, he found it in poetry. His depression lifted when he discovered the poetry of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and the other Romantics.

Now, however, he was faced with a dilemma. The discovery of poetry and beauty had saved his life. But his philosophy did not allow for any form of truth except the empirical and the quanitfiable.

How would Mill resolve the conflict?

And how would Dickens resolve the conflict in his fictional treatment of the same issues? Most importantly, how can we stand against the inhumane reductionism and scientism of our own age and assert once again that Goodness and Beauty are rooted in Truth?

According to the conference website, online registration "is $85 per professional ($95 at the door) or $55 per graduate student ($65 at the door) and includes the Friday dinner meal. In addition, all registrants must be current members of Conference on Christianity and Literature. The membership rates are $35 per year or $60 for two years."

On the topic of conferences, Rick and I are excited to announce that we are developing plans for conferences where together we address the critical challenges of our day, in light of the liberating and reality-oriented principles set forth in the Judeo-Christian worldview. Stayed tuned for updates on this initiative.

Nancy was recently interviewed by Jeremy Dys of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia (FPCWV), and a podcast of the interview is now posted online.

"The next big push in sexual orientation rights is for transgender people. There's an idea that one's physical body has nothing whatsoever to do with who a person really is," states FPCWV. Pearcey Report Editor at Large and HBU Prof. Nancy Pearcey argues "that affirming the transgender lifestyle is damaging to a person's self-image. She talks about how our view of our physical body is linked to our worldview and, consequently, the laws we advocate for."

The interview centers on Nancy's article, "Transgender Politics vs. the Facts of Life," recently published in The Pearcey Report.

Perhaps also of interest to readers is my article "The Revolt of Intelligence Against 'Marriage Equality,'" published at American Thinker and The Pearcey Report.

Among other points, this article examines how the push for "marriage equality" in reality leads to "'marriage elasticity,' with the ultimate goal of 'marriage extinction'." The stated views of a leading lesbian journalist-activist on these matters is most revealing.

"The Mainstream Valedictorian vs. Hysterical Atheists" appears on this page.

My column "Pushing the Envelope: Mainstream Valedictorian Defies Secular Extremism" is published here.

Here's a key passage:

Roy Costner was supposed to follow a script pre-approved by imperious functionaries of a secular state.

But their extremism is at odds not only with the American mainstream but also with the transgenerational mainstream of free thought and of free humanity created in the image of God and not in the image of the state, the particles of an impersonal cosmos, or the results of agenda-driven polls.

Costner chose instead a humane resistance of love and truth on behalf of God and man. This "defiance" may confuse some observers today, but it should be of little surprise to those who affirm the content of the Lord’s Prayer. For included in that communication is publicly actionable information regarding an enduring and liberating mandate of human existence: the challenge to do God’s will "on earth, as it is in heaven."

That liberation can mean feeding the poor, rescuing 12-year-old girls from sex-trafficking, creating magnificent art, inaugurating the scientific enterprise, or sharing the Good News about a resistance movement launched from heaven. It might even mean bright young men and women rocking secular boats at public events in South Carolina and elsewhere -- maybe even "unto the end of the earth," as the Ringleader puts it (Acts 1). He and his people do have a knack for pushing the envelope.

This column is also published at The Pearcey Report.

I attended the funeral service and graveside ceremony of Edith Schaeffer. Please go here to see, "Death, Revolt, and Resurrection: A Tribute to Edith Schaeffer."

Related
Francis Schaeffer: A Student's Appreciation of a Distinctive Approach 
Edith Schaeffer and the Apologetics of Beauty

For millions of people, the entrance of God into verifiable history in human form is cause for celebration. It began with that birth in Bethlehem, and it culminated with an empirically verifiable resurrection in space and time in Jerusalem. Here was an individual observably alive at point A, dead at point B, but then alive again at point C. Thus we have Easter, a rock upon which to build a house, a life, a city on a hill, and even an entire civilization, once the profoundly pro-human implications of the Judeo-Christian worldview begin to be understood and applied across the whole of thought and culture.

No one should be surprised that the consequences of factual events so amazing should cascade like fresh mountain waters over the centuries into new years and into new lives every year. Christmas becomes a time of joy and celebration. Easter becomes a time of doubt followed by certainty and then amazement. But for others it’s a different story. King Herod’s is such a story. So is that of Pontius Pilate.

Herod searched for the newborn king not to celebrate but to destroy a potential rival to power, and that is why he ordered the death of boys in Bethlehem “two years old and younger” (Matt. 1:16). Pilate had Truth staring him in the face when he asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:19). But instead of setting an innocent man free, a man in whom Pilate found nothing wrong, the Roman washed his hands and gave Jesus over to be crucified (Matt: 27:26), just as the religious establishment wanted.

Had Pilate really been honest in his question about truth, in a matter of days he could have begun investigating the ample evidence regarding the resurrection of the man about whom he found nothing wrong. His curiosity might have been stimulated, one would think, after hearing reports of strange goings-on at the tomb of Jesus. After all, a dead man usually does not unwrap his grave clothes, roll away a massive boulder blocking the entrance to his tomb, overcome sentries whose job (upon pain of death) is to ensure his body stays put, and then convince utterly defeated followers that he is the Lord of life.

One thing pretenders and outright liars seem to have difficulty understanding, whether they be corrupt religious leaders, maneuvering politicians, or enablers easy to command: Truth never dies, is never really defeated, even if you kill it.

Celebrations of Easter and Christmas in America today occur at a time and place far different from that of the countryside and politics of ancient Israel. And yet, there is continuity, for ours too is a time of celebration and praise -- but also one of pretense and hatred and even persecution. That’s right. Persecution is the correct word, it seems to me, if we are to reflect sensitively a Biblical understanding of what is at stake in the world today. 

Continue reading "Easter and Other Four-Letter Words."

The website of Evangelicals Now, a monthly newspaper available in England, has published "What Is Killing the Western World?," which I was honored to write as the Foreword to Emancipating the World, by our friend Darrow Miller of Disciple Nations Alliance.

To see "What Is Killing the Western World?" at The Pearcey Report, please go here.

You get a "Revolt of Intelligence Against 'Marriage Equality'."

Dear MSNBC: Black good, liberalism bad.

Listen to The Pearcey Report editor and publisher John Richard Pearcey on 101.5 WORD-FM Pittsburgh radio today at 4:15 pm, eastern standard time.

You can listen live here.

A hamfisted Juan Williams said Ann Romney during her RNC speech looked like a "corporate wife," which led one of my FB friends to ask how my "beautiful corporate wife" Nancy "is doing."

My response:

She's having her nails done, back by pool no. 2., which is next to the tennis courts and outdoor theatre.

Tomorrow, we join Clint Eastwood at the "Make My Day" self-improvement center for more target practice.

Saturday, we're over at the Kants to demolish a few tacky intellectual slums . . . maybe replace them with groundwork for a shining city on a hill.

Ahem, Williams wasn't guilty of imposing upon Mrs. Romney rather outworn stereotypes about the "rich," blondes, faithful mothers, and life outside of Template Obamaville, was he?

Surely, everybody knows that blondes have more fun because they have more brains.

Nancy and I tendered our resignations to Rivendell Sanctuary yesterday. What follows is from the letter of resignation, submitted to CEO Bobby Norment:

We are writing to let you know that our family is moving to Houston, Texas, so that Nancy can assume a new appointment as Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University. As a full professor, her duties will include teaching, research & writing, and helping to create a new MA program in Apologetics. Rick is pursuing exciting opportunities that would be premature to announce at this time. 

John Mark Reynolds of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University was recently announced as the soon-to-be new Provost of HBU.

Here's more news: Today, Nancy and I depart for a series of lectures at the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Also, there is the recent publication of Darrow Miller's important new book, Emancipating the World: A Christian Response to Radical Islam and Fundamentalist Atheism. 

I was honored to write the Foreword, which you can read here.

Author, speaker, teacher and activist for the poor and hungry Darrow Miller has written a much needed and timely book titled Emancipating the World: A Christian Response to Radical Islam and Fundamentalist Atheism. 

I was honored and delighted to write the Foreword, now appearing here in an exclusive at The Pearcey Report.

Emancipating the World has been endorsed by Nancy Pearcey, Marvin Olasky, and Wayne Grudem.

The book goes on sale officially tomorrow (May 1, 2012) and is available at Amazon and other stores. Congratulations to Darrow Miller on the publication of this fine book!

The following list of 15 websites is an indication of how The Pearcey Report is performing on the internet, according to ratings provided by Alexa.

Although these results are only a snapshot of "World" and "U.S." rankings from today, and are results that include a mix of different kinds of websites (news, think tank, magazine, ministry, etc.), we thought it might be a kick to see how we're doing when compared with other sites you may come across on the web.

In the top tier of websites (1-5) are Drudge, WorldNetDaily, Rush Limbaugh, Human Events, and World magazine.

In the second tier of websites (6-10), we see Challies, Family Research Council, The Pearcey Report, Philadelphia Biblical University, and Eagle Forum.

In the last tier of websites (11-15), we find BreakPoint, Alliance Defense Fund, Summit Ministries, Rivendell Sanctuary, and Mark Steyn.

Website                                                  World                      U.S.
1. Drudge Report                                       411                         81
2. WorldNetDaily                                    2,689                       603
3. Rush Limbaugh                                   6,287                    1,695
4. Human Events                                  12,637                    2,424
5. World magazine                               65,398                  12,338
6. Challies                                               76,954                  19,244
7. Family Research Council                202,135                 33,746
8. The Pearcey Report                        314,425                  56,993
9. Philadelphia Biblical University    496,330                  82,526
10. Eagle Forum                                   457,296               105,687
11. Breakpoint                                      528,810               111,345
12. Alliance Defense Fund                  671,923               136,418
13. Summit Ministries                         505,484               147,103
14. Rivendell Sanctuary                       796,285               186,484
15. Mark Steyn                                      937,350               261,966

A longtime friend of mine asked me the other day, "What's it like to be married to a famous person?"

"You'll have to ask Nancy," I replied.

Jesse Mullins offers an in-depth profile of Nancy Pearcey -- with observations from columnist David Limbaugh, World magazine's Marvin Olasky, "Hank the Cowdog" mega-author John Erickson, and more.

Fans and friends of Nancy should really enjoy this in-depth, 4,000-word-plus profile.

It will require courage and a commitment to free-thinking, but disciples of sheltered ideological, formerly mainstream media outlets such as the New Yorker may also want to turn in here for a far more fair and balanced look at the life and times and thinking of my favorite editor at large of The Pearcey Report. 

And not just Nancy because of her more than 100,000-copies selling book Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity ("Wonderful" book, says Bachmann), but also Francis Schaeffer because of his work, including the 10-part film series How Should We Then Live? and his book A Christian Manifesto.

Equally as dangerous as Total Truth, I would suggest, and perhaps even more so, is Nancy's new book Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning. I hope Michele and Marcus Bachmann put this new rascal on their reading and thinking list. But don't let the teenagers get ahold of it!

So who is Nancy? Not mentioned in the New Yorker is that Bachmann once told me, by phone, when Bachmann was a Minnesota state senator and considering a run for Congress, that she had two heroes: "Ann Coulter and Nancy Pearcey."

Nancy is a former agnostic, who, like me, embraces critical thinking as a way of life. This too is, perhaps to some, seen as dangerous and even subversive. To us, it's simply being human and taking responsibility for one's ideas and one's choices in life. I think Camus might have liked that. I like Camus; he played soccer, like me.

For some reason, the so-called elite establishments in politics and media seem frightfully worried about the resurgence of a people who can live and think for themselves.

We're not afraid of the big questions, and we're not bigoted toward possible rational answers to the big questions, even if, as the Founding Fathers noticed, the possible answers involve taking seriously the subversive and liberating influence of the Creator.

This divine subversion, as you may recall, upset the reactionary, non-critical-thinking establishment of its own day. Imagine, those extremist tea-partiers actually had the audacity to write it up in the Declaration of Independence (is that document still legal in New Yorker land?). By the way, here is the, sadly, all-too-predictable New Yorker hit piece on Bachmann. Enjoy!

Rivendell Sanctuary has just ordered a shipment of Nancy's great book (if I may say so!) Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity for our semester of Socratic-style studies on critical thinking, theology, and philosophy, beginning August 18.

We offer many additional readings as well, but it's terrific to be able to make the kind of content available in foundational works such as Total Truth to students brave enough to think for themselves and to walk wisely in this world.

Here's the press release (noticed also at Breitbart.com) announcing our decision to join the faculty of Rivendell.

Update
Pearceys Resign From Rivendell Sanctuary