Paste your essay in here..Introduction
The Theolgion of the Intellectuals, Francis Schaeffer was an American theologian known for his specialties in philosophy and higher thinking. Born in 1912 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1935, he graduated magna-cum laude from Hampton-Sydney college. After graduation, he enrolled in Westminster Theological Seminary, where he shortly left for Faith Theological Seminary. Later on in life, Schaeffer founded a Christian community known as L’Abri. Schaeffer was known for his views on liberal theology, as quoted here,
"What is the liberal theology like? It can only be paralleled with what God says in Proverbs 30:20 about the adulterous woman: 'Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.' What a picture! Not everyone whose theology has been somewhat infiltrated by liberal theology should be likened to this, but the real liberal theologian (whether the old liberal-type theologian or the newer existential theologian) stands in this place. They say they have done no evil by their spiritual adultery, while not only the church but the whole post-Christian culture shows the results of their unfaithfulness.
"There is no adulterous woman who has ever been so soiled as the liberal theology, which has had all the gifts of God and has turned away to a worship of something that is more destructive than Molech was to the babies whose parents were led astray from the living God to worship this idol. This is not a thing to take lightly. We must show love to the man with whom we discuss. Yes, and we fight for this at L'Abri. We must fight for the fact that he is not to be treated as less than a man. Nothing is more ugly than the orthodox man treating another man as less than a man and failing to show that he takes seriously Christ's teaching that all men are our neighbors. We do not discuss with the liberal only to win, but to help others, and to try to help him as well. But to treat lightly what liberal theology has done—not for a moment."
Conversion
Francis was converted at the age of 17 after getting his hands on some Christian literature,
Fran was sent home from a bookstore with a book on Greek philosophy, when he had in fact entered the shop to buy a beginner’s English reading book to help him teach English to a Russian. In God’s providence reading this book on Greek philosophy set his mind on fire—but he soon discovered that the philosophers asked many questions, yet seemed to have no answers to the basic problems of the human condition. Reflecting on this he recognized that the preaching he heard on Sundays in the liberal church he attended was just as devoid of answers. “I wonder,” he mused to himself, “whether I should stop calling myself a Christian, and discard the Bible?” Then he reconsidered, and faced the fact that he had never read the Bible in his life. Since at this time he was reading Ovid, he decided that before discarding the Bible, he’d read some of Ovid and some of the Bible night by night. Gradually he put aside Ovid altogether and spent all the time he had on reading the Bible.
How did he read it? Who helped him to understand? No one gave him any suggestions. He wouldn’t have known who to ask, and in any case, he had no idea that there was any way to read it other than to read it in the same way as any other book. He started at the beginning of Genesis and read to the end. If you want to know why Fran has such high regard for the Bible and feels it is adequate in answering the questions of life, the answer is right here. As a seventeen-year-old boy with a thirst for the answers to life’s questions, he began to discover for himself the existence of adequate and complete answers right in the Bible. . . .
Sometime in the next six months Francis Schaeffer became a Christian. He believed and bowed before God, accepting Christ as his Savior, having come to an understanding directly from the Word of God itself. He thought he had discovered something no one else knew about. He thought what he had found was unique, and that he alone had found it. If what he had discovered was being a Christian, then he thought he was the only one. But—he didn’t call himself that. It was a transforming reality that changed his whole outlook; it began to change his marks at school and the way he looked at the world. But, for a time, he did not know that there was anyone else who shared this truth he felt he had discovered. You see, he thought that Christianity was what he heard preached by an old-fashioned liberal who gave ethical talks and who did not preach Biblical truth. At that time Fran was totally ignorant of the fact that there was any other kind of preaching.
Early Ministry
After graduation from seminary, Schaeffer began ministry at three different churches in total. This served as a transitional period between his seminary experience and his time at L’Abri. “The Shelter”, a haven for Christian evangelicals of all denominations, was operated on four basic principles,
“(1) They would not ask for money, but would make their needs known to God; (2) They would not recruit staff but depend on God to send the right people; (3) They would only plan short-term so as to depend on God’s guidance; and (4) They would not publicize themselves but trust God to send them people in need.”
What an incredible amount ot faith this takes, not only that God will provide, but fully and on time!
Spiritual Struggles
In 1951, Schaeffer experienced a major spiritual crisis in his life for two reasons, first, Schaeffer did not see the work of the Gospel in the lives of people claiming Christ, this bothered Him deeply. Secondly, He acknowledged that his own hard had grown slightly colder from the religious fire he experienced in his youth. The evangelical songwriter Keith Green perfectly summarizes this phenomenon in his song, My Eyes are Dry,
My eyes are dry My faith is old My heart is hard My prayers are cold And I know how I ought to be Alive to You and dead to me
But what can be done For an old heart like mine Soften it up With oil and wine The oil is You, Your Spirit of love Please wash me anew With the wine of Your Blood
How easy it is to lose track of what is truly important, the Gospel can quickly lose potency in the mind of an incredibly educated man such as Schaeffer. Schaeffer did however come to the conclusion that Christianity was true and for Him. The Lord also used this time in Francis’ life to bring about serious spiritual growth, for the production of spiritual maturity was truly at work in His life. It was from this experience that his book, True Spirituality, was later born. Often times Christians do not understand that out trials are working for us, not against us. God often times sharpens us through times such as this. Schaeffer came out of his depression with a renewed energy and clarified views on the Gospel.
“Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Theological and Philosophical Views
“Ideas have consequences.” Schaeffer rightly thought that western society has seen a “line of despair”, which is the culmination of all ideas, art, music, culture, and eventually theology, The moral and political mess we currently live in did not come from nowhere, in fact, Schaeffer understood our predicament to be one of several dozen years in the making. As Schaeffer reminded us over and over again, there is a flow to history as ideas work themselves out both for good or ill. In addition, Schaeffer rightly believed that in in order to understand modern day theology and philosophy, one has to begin to understand the chain of ideas that precede us. In fact, Schaeffer warned us, if we do not think through this intellectual history, we will not only misunderstand our own times, but we will also have nothing constructive to say to our present age. For Christian leaders this lesson is extremely important. If we are to remain faithful to our Lord and to his people; if we are to have something worthwhile to say to our generation; if we are to be those who truly understand their times and speak to the pressing issues of the day, then it will require nothing less than a profound understanding of the day and age in which we are called to serve and minister, as well as a wholehearted devotion to the Lord and his Word. In this regard, Schaeffer often loved to quote the famous statement by Martin Luther,
”If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confess- ing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
This was not theoretical for Francis Schaeffer. For him, this was a matter of life and death. We must grasp, he warned, the importance of “ideas” carried out a massive weight on the theological battlefield. To Schaeffer, this was no game.
Worldviews
Francis Schaeffer not only taught us that “ideas have consequences,” he also reminded us that the crucial “ideas” that we wrestle with are ultimately worldview debates. Although, this is not a new observation, it is one that, until recently, has often been ignored. Given the massive shifts that have taken place in society, it is important to realize that we are engaged in a battle not over merely this or that doctrine, but over entire competing worldview structures. In many ways, modern-day evangelists find themselves back in Acts 17 preaching to a culture that is primarily humanistic. If we are to learn from Schaeffer at this point, our sermons and ministries must be much more focused on worldview.
Lessons
Nearing the end of his days, Schaeffer wrote this,
“What really matters? What is it that matters so much in my life and in your life that it sets priorities for everything we do? Our Lord Jesus was asked essentially this same question and his reply was: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37- 40). Here is what really matters—to love the Lord our God, to love his Son, and to know him personally as our Savior. And if we love him, to do the things that please him; simultaneously to show forth his character of love and holiness in our lives; to be faithful to his truth; to walk day by day with the living Christ; to live a life of prayer.”
Schaeffer understood the basic functions of the Christian life, and the instructions given to us by our Lord
The Watershed Issue
Few evangelicals have spoken more passionately and frequently about inerrancy and the authenticity and historicity of scripture than Francis Schaeffer, Not only was he instrumental in forming the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, he also, in his own mind, made the legitimacy and inerrancy of scripture a watershed issue on which not to waver. Schaeffer did not have any time for those who claimed to be proponents of Biblical legitimacy and yet did not live this out in hermeneutical study and approach. We now must look at what went on in Schaeffer’s life to make him this way, what was it that started this?
The answer should not surprise us. He was so concerned because the doctrine of Scripture was so basic to the Christian worldview and the God of Scripture. For Schaeffer the personal triune God which saved us from death in transgressions is nothing to pay about. We come to know this God not only because he is there, but because he has spoken to us, he is not silent. And because God is as Scripture presents him to be the creator, sustainer, and Lord of his universe there is no intellectual problem affirming that God is perfectly able to reveal himself to us and to guarantee that what the human authors of Scripture freely write is precisely what he intended to have written. Furthermore, this seems to be the claim of Scripture regarding itself. So exegetically, theologically, and philosophically, biblical authority makes sense. It is intellectually credible, part of the entire worldview structure. And it is theologically necessary if we are to have truth and to justify theological doctrines. Without a high view of Scripture, we deny what Scripture says about itself and undercut the foundation by which we may do theology and answer the basic questions of life.
Conclusion
At heart, Francis was no different to any other believer, we have another man here who was an imperfect sinner saved by grace. But Schaeffer was unique in that he was specifically gifted for such a time as this, his own generation. He often said that God did not have to use someone with extraordinary gifts, instead God can use a dead stick of wood if he wants as he did in the hand of Moses. In an incredibly impassioned sermon he stated it as this,
Though we are limited and weak in talent, physical energy, and psycho- logical strength, we are not less than a stick of wood. But as the rod of Moses had to become the rod of God, so that which is me must become the me of God. Then I can become useful in God’s hands. The Scripture emphasizes that much can come from little if the little is truly consecrated to God. There are no little people and no big people in the true spiritual sense, but only consecrated and unconsecrated people. The problem for each of us is applying the truth to ourselves. Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation. And as we get on a bit in our lives, knowing how weak we are, if we look back and see we have been somewhat used of God, then we should be the rod “surprised by joy.”
From the thought and life of Francis Schaeffer there is much to ponder and learn. It does not honor Schaeffer to simply become an armchair theologian who posts quotes from sermons on Facebook, this is not what he would have wanted, we see this clearly from his life. We have a man here who opened up a sanctuary to all and shared his home with many. What Schaeffer’s teaching’s truly do is spur us on to more effectively witness today with the heart of the Gospel as he did.
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