This article first appeared in ChristianWeek on March 1, 2009 (Vol 22 No 24).
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Two new books explore the continuing influence of Francis Schaeffer
Two books published in time for the 25-year anniversary of the death of Francis Schaeffer remind us of the profound influence he left on 20th-century evangelicalism - an influence evident in the work of many privileged to sit under his teaching.
Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life (Crossway Books, 2008) by Colin Duriez is a full-length biography of the man behind the reputation. Duriez studied for several months under Francis Schaeffer prior to reading English and philosophy at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
Tracking his life from a humble working-class home in Germantown, Pennsylvania, through his conversion and call to pastoral ministry within separatist fundamentalism; the broadening of his ministry base through the work of L’Abri; his crisis of faith; and his subsequent return to America where he became a key figure in the significant social issues of his day; Duriez portrays a man wholly committed to God and passionate to show that Christianity is a thoroughly reasonable faith.
In his Preface, Duriez comments on the recent publication of Crazy for God (Da Capo Press, 2007), the “confessional memoir” of Frank Schaeffer, son of Francis & Edith Schaeffer. He challenges Frank’s portrayal of his father’s “façade of conviction about his faith.” Duriez contends that Francis Schaeffer “did not divorce his inner and public life.” Os Guiness and others concur, having publicly refuted Frank Schaeffer’s harsh assessment of his own father.
In addition to extensive interviews with those who knew Schaeffer well, Duriez enjoyed full access to Edith’s Schaeffer’s family records, L’Abri history and unpublished Family Letters. The inclusion of 28 pictures provides a welcome visual to a gripping story of an authentic life lived for God’s glory. The book concludes with an interview Colin Duriez had with Francis Schaeffer on September 30, 1980.
If you are familiar with his writings, you will enjoy this finely crafted biography that Alister E. McGrath says effectively mingles “personal memories and theological analysis.”
An Absorbing Portrait
Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008) by Barry Hankins, professor of history at Baylor University, is an absorbing study of Francis Schaeffer providing valuable insight into how he was perceived by other intellectual Christians then and now. Hankins paints a sympathetic picture of a man who did not always get it right.
While Hankins records significant life events in the Schaeffer family, the heart of this study is a critical analysis of Francis Schaeffer’s work. Tracing Schaeffer’s beginnings as a pastor in America, Barry Hankins skillfully maps the gradual move from American Fundamentalist bent on finding every vestige of doctrinal compromise, to European Evangelical intent on equipping Christians to effectively engage the cultural questions of their day, to social crusader calling America’s evangelicals to rise up and reclaim Christian America. Hankins rightly observes that, had Schaeffer not moved to Europe, he would likely have remained an unknown pastor mired in the swamp of separationist fundamentalism (my term, not Hankins’).
In God’s providence, Schaeffer’s move to Europe, a move aimed at organizing continental fundamentalists and conducting child evangelism, drew him into contact with men like Hans Rookmaker – a friendship that encouraged Schaeffer’s move toward exploring Christianity’s interface with culture. It was a move that catapulted Schaeffer into an international ministry of helping young Christians wrestle through their philosophical questions about God and truth.
Hankins organizes Schaeffer’s work into three broad categories: his fundamentalist beginnings in America, his broadening evangelicalism and engagement with culture in Europe, and his return to America with its subsequent return to a strident fundamentalist engagement with the social questions of the day. Whatever one’s view of Schaeffer’s work, all are compelled to acknowledge his profound influence on the way evangelicalism relates to the world around it.
Hankins notes that much of Schaeffer’s writing does not readily address the cultural questions of today, but observes that Schaeffer understood his own times, learning how to effectively capture a generation for Christianity.
Whereas Colin Duriez was afforded liberal access to the Schaeffer family and papers, Barry Hankins notes that “members of the Schaeffer family were unwilling to be interviewed” for his book. He does not tell us why. Despite this restriction, Hankins has provided a thoroughly satisfying study of the man who, perhaps more than any other, was used by God to bring evangelicals into the public square.
Read together, these books provide a complete account of the man behind the books, lectures and films, providing a valuable assessment of his continuing impact on evangelical Christianity. I highly recommend them both.
