Saturday, September 8, 2012

Book Review. Bruce Little (Ed.). Francis Schaeffer: A Heart and Mind for God

Francis Schaeffer: A Mind and Heart for God was not exactly what I thought it would be when I purchased this brief book. Judging by the subtitle on the cover (a proverbial error!) I suspected this tiny work of about 100 pages would be a mini-biography of the great apologist. It was not. This is not to say that I was disappointed, however.

Instead the book contains five brief chapters that were given at a conference on the life and thought of Francis Schaeffer. Notable among the contributers are Udo Middleman (would that more parents name their children Udo!) the son-in-law of Rev. Schaeffer, and a key expert on his personal life as well as his theology.

Also memorable were the two essays presented by Jarram Barrs, a former L'Abri student of Schaeffer, and now one of the foremost experts on Schaeffer studies at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

Dick Keyes presents a well-written article on Sentimentality at the end of the book, although it is not directly connected with Schaeffer, other than that Keyes suggests this is the kind of work that Schaeffer might have done had he been alive today. Perhaps. The inclusion of this essay, while helpful, certainly bore little relevance to the title or subtitle of the book.

While I was hoping for a short biographical introduction to the life of Schaeffer, these brief chapters gave some helpful context to shed light on some of Schaeffer's own books.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville Florida

No comments:

Post a Comment