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Christianity Today, May, 2007 |

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Francis Schaeffer, the Pastor-Evangelist

Bryan A. Follis on his book, Truth with Love.

Review by James E. Taylor, interview by Susan Wunderink | posted 5/22/2007 10:33AM

Truth with Love: The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer
Bryan A. Follis • Crossway • 208 pages • $15.99

Bryan A. Follis says an examination of Francis Schaeffer's books and his relationships ...

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mk	Posted: May 24, 2007 8:35 AM

Reviewers sometimes fall into the trap of reviewing a book as if it were supposed to meet their expectations of the subject rather than the book that is actually written. I'm afraid that Mr. Taylor does that in his comment: "It would have been more effective if the author (who was brought back to Christ through a Schaeffer film series) had been more willing to acknowledge Schaeffer's shortcomings." To criticize the book for failing to address the "limitations of his [Schaeffer's] methods and arguments" or to cite a theological weathervane like Clark Pinnock --the intellectual antithesis of Schaeffer-- as an authority on the deficiency of Schaeffer's thinking reveals the reviewer's own deeply flawed thinking. As an opinion piece from a partisan perspective, it's adequate; as a review for a general readership, it's terrible.

Ron Kubsch

Posted: May 24, 2007 12:15 AM

Yes Robert, it is necessary to read primary sources. In the matter of Kierkegaard it is essential to read Kierkegaard (and Hegel). I have read most of the books of Kierkegaard including his diaries (and the important new biography of Joakim Garff). Again: Schaeffers later understanding of Kierkegaard is quite adequate. Kierkegaard’s subjective understanding of truth was a source of inspiration for Heidegger, Camus, Brunner, Bultmann, Niebuhr and Barth.

Robert

Posted: May 23, 2007 12:25 PM

Why should anyone be required to read a little known secondary source in German when you can read the primary source material in English. As a young man I read all of Schaeffer's books not realizing that he relied on anecdote and other people's understanding of the philosophical works he criticized (something that became painfully obvious when I read the primary source materials that he critiqued). Schaeffer's early works God Who Is There, Escape From Reason and He is There and He is Not Silent, rather than his later works are quite helpful in their call for believers to resist compartmentalizing their lives, but as philosophical works they are completely deficent, unannotated (as I recall there is not a single footnote in these 3 volumes) and unfortunately reduce the Christian faith to a set of propositional truths (extracted from their narrative context as if the Christian faith were simply a philosophical position rather than a dynamic relationship with a living God) to believe.

Ron Kubsch

Posted: May 23, 2007 2:05 AM


I did a study of Schaeffers position on Kierkegaard and have to say that he not completely misunderstood Kierkegaard. His later understanding of Kierkegaard was quite accurate (and there are misconceptions in the works of Ruegsegger and Evans). See (only in German, sorry): Ron Kubsch, "Schaeffers Kierkegaard: Können wir mit ihm leben?", in: Ron Kubsch (ed.), Wahrheit und Liebe, Bonn: VKW, 2007.

Patrick Gann

Posted: May 22, 2007 8:15 PM


This article is good. The opening from James Taylor gives a sober assessment of the book, and the interview gives decent information. It is clear that another article-rater here seems to have an acute dislike of Schaeffer and his writings. I doubt that Schaeffer didn't read Kierkegaard, and he did not completely misunderstand the man; he merely used Kierkegaard to further some of his points.

Robert

Posted: May 22, 2007 3:24 PM

Francis Schaeffer is indirectly responsible for the emergence of the Religious Right. With A Christian Manifesto and The Great Evangelical Disaster Schaeffer became the poster boy for the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and even Randall Terry. I have no doubt Schaeffer was a caring apologist, but he was a second rate philosopher (if that) who completely misunderstood (or perhaps never read) Kirkegaard and others. Schaeffer emphasized the rational propositional nature of biblical truth over the relational aspect. The subtitled of this book is The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer, but this interview makes no attempt to categorize his apologetic style or approach other than imply that there is some misconception about him being overtly rational without bothering to unpack the many meanings of what that might mean, particularly in a post-modern context.

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