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The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century

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As many readers know, Francis and his wife Edith ran a community in the Swiss/ French Alps called L'Abri, which means "The Shelter." The title of this book makes it seem out of date and passe at the beginning of the twenty first century, but in my opinion it's not only Schaeffer's best book (vying with strong contenders like True Spirituality for that title) but also his most prophetic.

This book already includes as an appendix the full text of "The Mark of the Christian" and a second appendix, "Adultery and Apostasy: The Bride and Bridegroom Theme", which alone is worth the price of the book, but this edition includes a second book, The Church Before the Watching World.

Schaeffer views himself as an heir and defender of the Reformation tradition, which could mean many things. What it does mean in his best known works, especially How Should We Then Live? is that he comes off as anti-Catholic--unfairly so almost DaVinci code so. This is exasperated in the video series accompanying the book which was filmed by his son, Franky Schaeffer, who himself later became Eastern Orthodox. But that caveat is no reason to stay away from his books, especially this one, for Schaeffer is the most engaging thinker from this tradition (except maybe John Stott) to come down the pike in a long time.

On the other hand, he's dismissed out of hand by other critics. Numerous readers have pointed out the bits he gets wrong, like blaming St. Thomas Aquinas for introducing the split between nature and grace in Escape from Reason, when a much more obvious candidate would be Descartes. But again, this is no reason to miss a unique and literate thinker whose clear and casual style will leave many readers challenged and enchanted.

Forcefully, Schaeffer focuses on the corruption in the visible early and modern church (structure, role, leaders, community....) throughout history and, of the men who influenced modern humanistic thinking, bringing us to where we are today. He devotes a good part of the book on what needs to be done, but the essence is Christian orthodoxy in the inerrant word of God through the Bible; and, not only is conveying the truth an imperative, but walking in truth, even if costly. He also stresses community outreach.

Schaeffer paints a grim picture when he wrote this many years ago. How much further have we corrupted ourselves since the student revolutions in the 1960's and the falling out because of the liberal church? Generations of parents have taught morals (right and wrongs) without a foundation to back it up. Truth in all areas of society has been twisted. He says, "the danger is that the evangelical, being so committed to middle-class norms and often even elevating these norms to an equal place with God's absolutes, will slide without thought into accepting some form of an establishment elite." And this is the evangelicals, what of the rest?
Wish you well
Scott

Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-84) was an American Evangelical theologian and philosopher whose works were very influential on Evangelical thinking. This book was first published in 1970, and it is just as timely today as it was then. Dr. Schaeffer saw Western, and particularly American, culture as going through a time of profound change, where the very understanding of truth is completely revolutionized. He examines how the change is coming about and where it is leading. Then, he examines what this change means for the Christian church, and where they need to go if they intend to survive and maintain their relevance (indeed, increase their relevance!) in the new world.

Overall, I must say that this is one of the most challenging and thought-provoking books that I have ever read. I think that the changes that Dr. Schaeffer saw coming have now begun to bear the fruit he foresaw. Unfortunately, it seems that the church did not listen to what the good doctor prescribed. Which brings me to my other point, his suggestions for the church were mind-blowingly revolutionary. It's hard to imagine what life would be like if we actually undertook to do what he suggested.

So, if you want to understand where we are, and how we got here, then I highly recommend that you get this book. It is an excellent read, and every Christian should read it.

When in college I had the privilege of having Dr. Schaeffer visit our campus. I have not read all of what is in this book, but have read several others including some contained in this volume. Dr. Schaeffer writes at an intellectual level that can be challenging to digest. He is a deep thinker and an astute student of philosophy. He is also a wise observer of what has happened and is happening in the history of man and man's relationship to God. If you are ready for some challenging study, his books are good reads.