He Is There and He Is Not Silent [Paperback]

Francis A. Schaeffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1972

Tyndale celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of this twentieth-century spiritual classic with a special commemorative edition featuring new foreword by Chuck Colson and introduction by Dr. Jerram Barrs, director of the Schaeffer Institute.

He Is There and He Is Not Silent discusses fundamental questions about God, such as who he is and why he matters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Anniversary edition (July 15, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 084231413X
• ISBN-13: 978-0842314138
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Recognized internationally for his work in Christianity and culture, Francis A. Schaeffer authored more than twenty books, which have been translated into a score of languages and sold millions worldwide. He and his wife, Edith, founded L'Abri Fellowship international study and discipleship centers. Schaeffer passed away in 1984, but his influence and legacy continue worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time to Think, May 4, 2006

By 

Gord Wilson "alivingdog.com" (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: He Is There and He Is Not Silent (Paperback)

To my mind there are a lot of alienated, thinking Protestants (not that they would use the "P" word)-- far outside of or on the fringes of the institutional church (whatever that is) who nevertheless have active minds, open hearts and hungry souls. Once there was a retreat area in the Swiss alps called L'Abri or "The Shelter" run by Francis and Edith Schaeffer that these seekers would be drawn to. Outside of that hands-on culture Schaeffer's books seem somewhat out of context. InterVarsity Press, which published most of them, once displayed them in its own rotating in-store rack, but now they are lost on the shelves (if they're in stores at all) amid much more viscerally-aimed, issues-oriented books about the crisis of the week or the conspiracy of the month. Not much for the thoughtful reader.

(Re)enter Francis Schaeffer, probably the author that seeking readers would like to seek out. Should they do so, however, one immediately finds two dozen or so books, with no idea where to start or how they're supposed to go together. Reading the many negative reviews, it seems that this book is especially misunderstood. But to my mind it remains one of his best.

This is the third book of a trilogy which begins in a non-obvious way with a tiny but densely written book called Escape From Reason. That book briefly traces the history of the split between nature and grace, lamenting it and, as many have pointed out, wrongly attributing it to St. Thomas Aquinas, who also lamented it. The second volume is a larger book called The God Who is There, which can be read on its own and which many readers have found quite engrossing.

This third book, which also stands on its own, is a very brief examination of epistemology (how we know and how we know we know). I took a philosophy class once which studied the exact same questions and I used to bring up Schaeffer's points in class. The instructor thought those were valid and interesting arguments, and I would suggest that the reviewers who don't like this book either have no taste for philosophy or don't like Schaeffer's style, or both.

Either impersonal forces created us as personal beings, or a personal creator did so. The other choice, that we are somehow impersonal beings resulting from one of the above options makes no sense but has nevertheless been argued by behaviorist B.F. Skinner in Beyond Freedom and Dignity and elsewhere. Schaeffer helps us see that there are really very few answers to this dilemma, and like Pascal, we must wager on one or the other. This book could be titled "Think Along with Schaeffer". For those who'd rather read the results of his thinking, they are laid out more simply in one of his best books, True Sprituality.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I'm a believer, May 14, 2008

By 

Jordan M. Poss (Georgia, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: He Is There and He Is Not Silent (Paperback)

After years of hearing about Francis Schaeffer's work, I finally picked up How Should We Then Live? last winter. I was not impressed, though I could see a sharp and brilliant mind at work in the book. My friends still insisted that Schaeffer was worth reading, and so shortly thereafter I read A Christian Manifesto, which I liked more, though still with misgivings. He is There and He is Not Silent, however, made me a believer in Schaeffer's work.

In less than 100 pages, Schaeffer distills the essences of the major modern philosophical movements into their most basic parts in the areas of metaphysics, morality, and epistemology--the three critical factors that shape what a person believes and how they will act. He then describes the logical ends of the competing views--such as the utter hopelessness of knowledge stemming from existentialism or the whirling, self-defeating frenzy of what he calls "linguistic analysis." All of the systems Schaeffer examines fall apart on some point, or lead to despair or cynicism.

The reason, Schaeffer points out, is all these systems exist to fill a void that is only completely and adequately filled by Christianity. Each exists not beside Christianity, but against it. Schaeffer shows the necessity of belief in a God who is not only there--existing--but not silent--he not only created the world but is constantly involved with it.

This book reads like all the best parts of How Should We Then Live? without the baggage of misrepresentation and oversimplification that plagued the other book (though he does take a more benign dig at Dante and Thomas Aquinas at one point). While there is, admittedly, a certain amount of simplification required of an 80-page book that treats modern philosophy's problems, the broad-strokes structure of the book is in no way a liability. He is There and He is Not Silent is an apologetic masterpiece. This is one book which I'll read again.

Highly recommended.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Christian Classic!, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: He Is There and He Is Not Silent (Paperback)

Schaeffer contrasts the silence and despair of modern life with the Christian answer that God can indeed be known because He is there and He is not silent. I believe that this book will profoundly change your life. Schaeffer urges you to know what you believe and why. You will be forced to think things through, which is a good thing.