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

Book Review: Francis Schaeffer. "The God Who is There."

Francis Schaeffer was one of the more important apologists and evangelists in the twentieth century. Almost thirty years after his death, his works seem to many to be prophetic. It becomes all thoughtful Christians to be familiar with his works at some basic level. For many, this volume may be the place to begin.

Full disclosure: readers should know that his "The Great Evangelical Disaster" would be a much easier read for those less conversant in philosophy.

This particular volume is bound with all three of Schaeffer's primary works in his essential trilogy; "The God Who is There," "Escape from Reason," and "He is There and He is Not Silent." Here, I will be reviewing only the first book, "The God Who is There," as it is foundational to its sequels. 

Schaeffer's overall goal is to trace the flow of history to the modern era where the idea of absolute truth ("true truth" as he often calls it) has been abandoned. Schaeffer traces this loss of absolutes at critical junctures in the arenas of philosophy, art, music, and language before moving on to theology. Schaeffer sees the abandonment of absolutes as the death knell to the individual man and the entirety of our culture.

In this work, Schaeffer coins the important term "the line of despair," viz. the threshold at which humanity must abandon rationality and reason in order to also abdicate absolutes. Once a man abandons antithesis (the idea that some things are true and their opposites necessarily untrue; some actions moral and their opposites evil) man begins to live in a realm in which all meaning and truth are compromised. Among the losses most precious, ironically, is man's own understanding of his own life and purpose.

In the realm of theology, Schaeffer diagnoses the problem and deception of liberalism, namely, that it makes a leap into obscurity by removing the traditional meaning of words and replacing them with nebulous undefinable ideas. For instance, the very word "god" can be imputed with virtually any meaning (or lack of meaning) that the speaker desires. While one has the ability to continue the use of religious language (and thus to reap a sentimental benefit) he may simultaneously forgo any real foundational relationship with living God who entered time/space/history in the person of Jesus Christ.

From there, Schaeffer helps Christians to begin to speak to this dreadful existentialism by addressing modern man at the point of his own absurdity. While pointing out the hopelessness of existentialism (what we would now call "post-modernism"; Schaeffer called it modernism), he acknowledges that the weight of the despair of the modern worldview has the potential to crush its adherents if they were intellectually honest enough to live consistently with their own beliefs.

Thus, in the latter half of the book, Schaeffer calls for an intelligent, compassionate defense of the rational, historic Christian faith through a combination of apologetic approaches. Throughout "The God Who Is There," Schaeffer's love for and pity upon unbelieving modern men comes through strongly. Of course, listening and responding to the questions and objections of skeptics was part of his lifeblood, and integral to his intellectual rescue mission in L'Abri in Switzerland.

Ultimately, Schaeffer cries out for three things: (1) an uncompromising defense of doctrinal, systematic Christianity (2) a compassionate approach to men who have fallen below the line of despair and (3) and an integrated all-encompassing worldview founded upon the absolute truth of the God who is (truly) there!

If you are ready for an intellectual challenge, read this book. 

Matthew Everhard is the senior pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.

Book Review. "Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life." By Colin Dureiz

After reading several of Schaeffer's books firsthand, (The Mark of the Christian; The Great Evangelical Disaster; A Christian Manifesto; How Should We Then Live?; He is There and He is Not Silent) I was eager to learn more about the life and thought of this great evangelical apologist from the last century.

Colin Duriez's biography certainly did not disappoint me on that quest to know Francis Schaeffer better.

Duriez, who bases his "Authentic Life" on voluminous personal interviews (including an interview with Schaeffer himself added as an appendix) does an admirable job in tying together first-hand witnesses, written sources, letters, and the author's own personal experiences at L'Abri in Schaeffer's presence.

Duriez traces the unassuming young man from his rural Pennsylvania upbringing, through his fundamentalist early years in the pastoral ministry, into his European study excursion, and ultimately to his founding of L'Abri and corresponding meteoric rise in international prominence, driven by his writings and film production.

Thankfully, someone has done a full-length biography of this prophetic pastor, and cultural guru before the generation of living witnesses to his ministry thins and ultimately dies out. This book combines the authoritative force of a well-researched documentary, with the personal ethos of a student of Fran who knew him personally.

By the time the author traces Francis Schaeffer's life to his demise at the mercy of cancer in 1984, the reader feels that he too--along with the whole evangelical community--has lost an important voice for truth.

Thankfully, Schaeffer's writings live on, continuing to influence generations still today. This biography would serve as an excellent companion for those considering spending some time in Schaeffer's mind though his writings and films. Colin Duriez's book will doubtlessly last as a helpful companion to understanding the life and mind of the author of these epochal works.

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