Francis Schaeffer has an extremely high view of the church and great expectations as any Christian should. He details some solemn responsibilities that the church of Jesus Christ must consider. We Must Adhere to the New Testament Boundaries for the Local Church Schaeffer’s primary assertion is that Scripture mandates eight specific norms for the NewContinue reading “Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: The Responsibility of the Church in Post-Modern Culture – Part 8”
Author Archives: davidsteele1966
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: The Church in Culture – Part 7
The Church in Modern Culture Francis Schaeffer’s view of the church in modern culture is multifaceted yet cuts straight to the point. He does not mince words or play clever evangelical games. He believes one major problem with Christians is that they see things in bits and pieces. They have failed to see that modern […]
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: His Approach to Apologetics – Part 6
Christian Apologetics: Two Purposes Francis Schaeffer’s holds a rather basic view concerning apologetics. He explains there are two purposes of Christian apologetics. “The first is defense. The second is to communicate Christianity in a way that any given generation can understand” (The God Who Is There, 151). Schaeffer begins his approach to apologetics by pointing […]
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: Epistemology – Part 5
The Importance of Presuppositions Dr. Schaeffer’s epistemology is integral to his approach to apologetics and may be described simply as follows: First, one must understand that pagan thought endorses a belief in the uniformity of natural causes in a closed system. Propositional and verbal revelation is nonsense in this scheme. Christian epistemology stands in starkContinue reading “Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: Epistemology – Part 5”
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: Consequences of Pitting Rationality Against Faith – Part 4
The decisive result of falling below the line of despair is a pitting of rationality against faith. Schaeffer sees this as an enormous problem and details four consequences in his book, Escape From Reason. Pitting Rationality Against Faith First, when rationality contends against faith, one is not able to establish a system of morality. ItContinue reading “Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: Consequences of Pitting Rationality Against Faith – Part 4”
Why Francis Schaefer Matters: The Line of Despair – Part 3
The Loss of Antithesis The loss of antithesis in American culture led to what Dr. Schaeffer coined the “line of despair” or giving up all hope of achieving a rational unified answer to knowledge and life. Schaeffer outlines what he believes are the various steps below this line of despair. He begins with the GermanContinue reading “Why Francis Schaefer Matters: The Line of Despair – Part 3”
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: The Turning Point in Truth – Part 2
The Truth Crisis Francis Schaeffer sets the tone for his apologetical procedure by explaining the crisis of truth in America: “We are fundamentally affected by a new way of looking at truth. This change in the concept of the way we come to knowledge and truth is the most crucial problem facing America today” (The […]
Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: An Introduction – Part 1
Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984) may very well be one of the most important Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. Schaeffer graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary and was heavily influenced by J. Gresham Machen, Cornelius Van Til, and the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper. In 1948, after a ten year pastorate in the United States, he […]
The Eclipse of the Gospel and the School of Hard Knox
A Powerful Man I stood in the shadow of St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Clouds gathered overhead and people walked curiously through the front doors. Here, the famous reformer, John Knox faithfully tended the flock until his death in 1572. Once inside this massive cathedral, I was transfixed by the sheer beauty of thisContinue reading “The Eclipse of the Gospel and the School of Hard Knox”
Travel With John Knox
David Campbell, Travel With John Knox Leominster: Day One Publications, 2003, 128 pp. $20.00 Travel With John Knox by David Campbell is another installment in the Day One series the introduces readers to the heroes of the Christian faith. This 128-page volume is a great introduction to the Scottish Reformer who is described as “theContinue reading “Travel With John Knox”
Veritas et Lux 