True Spirituality [Paperback]

Francis A. Schaeffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 1972

Francis Shaeffer had been serving as a pastor for over a decade when he began to wonder if Christianity really made a difference in people’s lives. True Spirituality, a twentieth-century spiritual classic, outlines the result of his effort to “start at the beginning” and re-examine his faith. The book is a treasure trove of wisdom for Christians trying to discover what true spirituality looks like in everyday life. Includes a foreword by Chuck Colson and an introduction by Dr. Jerram Barrs, director of the Schaeffer Institute.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Does believing in Jesus really make a difference?
Can God really change lives?

After serving as a pastor for over a decade, Francis Schaeffer—founder of L’Abri Fellowship—found himself wrestling with deeply perplexing questions like these. He was tired of not seeing results in his own spiritual life and others’. He found himself talking about Christianity, but not living it. So, as a pastor, he decided to “start at the beginning”—go back to agnosticism—and reexamine his Christian faith. “Did Christianity really make any difference in my life?”

True Spirituality is the result of Schaeffer’s honest search for answers. When the book was published thirty years ago, it shook the Christian world. Young people flocked to L’Abri, his spiritual retreat center in the Swiss Alps. Today, it’s a classic book on understanding what real Christianity is all about—what it means to follow Jesus moment by moment.

Foreword by Chuck Colson, author of How Now Shall We Live, founder of Prison Fellowship, and speaker on the popular radio broadcast Breakpoint.
Introduction by Dr. Jerram Barrs, Resident Scholar at the Francis Schaeffer Institute and author of Who Are the Peacemakers? and Building Bridges to the Gospel.

From AudioFile

The late Schaeffer, who rose to prominence in the 1970s, is regarded as a theologian or even a philosopher, although he regarded himself as an evangelist. He wrote this work as a result of his frustration with his own lack of spiritual progress--specifically, not being able to walk the talk. Spurred by this personal crisis, he went back to the beginning, to agnosticism, and reexamined his faith in Christ. This work, a confession almost, is a practical examination of how to live the Christian life with integrity in the face of modernity, materialism, and, as Schaeffer puts it, dead orthodoxy. Grover Gardner narrates with deceptive ease. He reads with a sense of humility--maintaining a low-key and conversational tone. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (February 24, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842373519
• ISBN-13: 978-0842373517
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,309 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

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True, July 5, 2002

By 

P. E. Marshall "Reference Guy" (Reynoldsburg, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: True Spirituality (Paperback)

The Lord has used this book to revive me two separate times. Schaeffer examines the Bible lived in post-modern society. He obviously put a lot of thinking and analysis into this book at his own time of "re-thinking" or personal crisis. This book was written at a time when he had to reconsider his whole position from square one. If we are honest about the intellectual struggles of living in this modern world we are likely to encounter difficulties and apparent contradictions. What bothered Schaeffer also bothers me--that what I see in the Bible I do not see in the lives of modern Christians.

What was especially useful to me recently was his discussion of the tenth commandment and thankfulness. Romans 1 tells us that the lack of thankfulness and acknowledging God as our creator is the root of all perversion. Schaeffer explains how Paul was seized by his own sinfulness when encountering "Thou shall not covet." If we are honest with ourselves we can see that this envy and covetousness is at the root of all sin. We are selfish and not content--not thankful. Yet when Paul confronts his sinfulness in this regard his reaction is correct. "Who will deliver me? Thanks be to God through the Lord Jesus Christ!" (Romans 7)

This is a thinking person's book. The more education you have had to endure the more you will benefit. I get more out of Schaeffer now than I did as a young man. This is a sensitive person's book. If you care and hurt about the way things ought to be, if you struggle with living a life pleasing to God, this book will comfort and encourage you.

This book is about faith and forgiveness and daily new starts. It is not about being justified by following a set of arbitrary rules, but going beyond those rules to live by faith. Schaeffer has helped me to meditate on the depths of my forgiveness and the complete renewal that is possible by faith at any moment.

The thread of Schaeffer's philosophy runs through the book as well. God is there in time-space history. We do not create God or our reality in any sense. He created us. We did not evolve. For the unbeliever reading this book, there will be a good deal of unwinding of presuppositions to understand. Modern religious people often use the same language, but mean something entirely different from a literal interpretation of the Bible and a Christ whose cross you might have got a splinter from if you were there to witness.

The book is also a challenge to live by faith continuously. You cannot live on yesterday's faith. You must daily bear the cross.
This is true spirituality.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essentially Classic, August 11, 2000

By 

james cordrey (ardmore, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Spirituality (Paperback)

Schaeffer does a superb job in True Spirituality examining the many facets of what it means to be a Christian in the depths of our beings.

As if turning a diamond while holding it up to the light, he allows the reader to see the life of a Christian and what it relaly means, as opposed to possible misconceptions and false impressions that Christians and non-Christians often find themselves believing.

His exploration of the internal and external implications of the Ten Commandments, and the way he gets into the commandments to show how they expose the heart, is crucial for Christians today.

The book is a call to really allow God to be God in all aspects of life, a recurring theme for Schaeffer: lordship. This book is foundational in a similar way that C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" is foundational. While the two books are vastly different in their style and approach to examining Christianity, they both lead readers on critical paths of thought.

"True Spirituality" is a thinking man's / woman's book, but not too cerebral as to be professorial. It will encourage you to really think, and that's something rare among Christian books these days.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Christian book for a Post-modern age, June 27, 2002

By 

Bill Newcomer (Ada, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Spirituality (Paperback)

What is the meaning and essence of true Biblical Christian spirituality? It was in wrestling with such basic questions that Theologian/Philosopher Dr. Francis Schaeffer developed the Biblical material that became focus of his lectures at L'Abri. Dr. Schaeffer describes "True Spirituality" as the written form of those L'Abri studies.

In "True Spirituality" Schaeffer expounds the meaning of Christ's finished work for Christian living in this life, and the freedom that truth brings to the believer in terms of substaintial personal healing and in substantial restoration of relationships with other people. Faith is not just a "once for all" experiance, but an on-going, moment by moment trusting in Christ and His Word. It is in Christ, and Him alone that we have a security and acceptence that is sure and firm. It is in that security and acceptence we can grow in love to Him, and give of ourselves in service to God and to others.

This book is not for someone looking for a quick "how to" formula, but for the patient and persistent reader, willing to expend the time and work, there is profit to be gained. I could only read one chapter at a setting, and then re-read that chapter several times before going on to the next.

It is one of those classic books that needs to be read every few years or so. In an uncertain world at an uncertain time, we as Christians do well to meditiate often on the ultimate security and acceptence we have in the Gospel of Chirst, instead of looking to the idols of this world; that is those things we consciencsly or un-consciencsly keep wanting to put in in our lives in that place only He can fill.