Commmending a man who has influenced many

By: American Decency Staff

Commending a man (and a book) who has influenced many – including me. I am referring to the late Francis A. Schaeffer, author, speaker, film maker, philosopher, theologian, Christian thinker. Though he’s dead, his ideas yet live. I read all of Schaeffer’s books (including “How Should We then Live?”) while he was yet alive. Schaeffer passed into eternity in 1984 from cancer at the age of 72. Has there ever been a more prophetic writer in recent years? I wonder. His last work “The Great Evangelical Disaster” is the book that has affected me most. While returning from an over-nite trip to Orlando yesterday, I began to read for perhaps the fourth time this incredibly prophetic book. I commend it to you. Oh that I had a 1000 copies of it to disseminate – inexpensively. Schaeffer is writing below regarding the need for balance between form and freedom. Schaeffer writes “The Reformation not only brought forth a clear preaching of the gospel, it also gave shape to society as a whole — including government, how people viewed the world, and the full spectrum of culture. … it is clear that through the Reformation many were brought to Christ and that the absolutes of the Bible became widely disseminated in the culture as a whole. The freedoms which grew out of this were tremendous; and yet, with the forms grounded in a biblical consensus or ethos, the freedoms did not lead to chaos.” Schaeffer continues with these telling words (again writing in 1984): “But something has happened in the last sixty years. The freedom that once was founded on a biblical consensus and a Christian ethos has now become autonomous freedom, cut loose from all constraints. Here we have the world spirit of our age — autonomous man setting up as God, in defiance of the knowledge and the moral and spiritual truth which God has given. Here is the reason why we have a moral breakdown in every area of life. The titanic freedoms which we once enjoyed have been cut loose from their Christian restraints and are becoming a force of destruction leading to chaos. And when this happens, there really are very few alternatives. All morality becomes relative, law becomes arbitrary, and society moves toward disintegration. In personal and social life, compassion is swallowed up by self-interest. ….” [Taken from “The Great Evangelical Disaster” by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, Crossway Books, 1984] This book helps us understand what is happening. There has been an incredible undercutting of the Word of God. As we have moved from living under the authority of God’s Word as churches, people, culture, we have lost our bearings. Biblical convictions are largely lost. Few live desiring to please and honor God no matter what. Lastly, I’m not trying to bring despair. It is better to know the reality rather than to pretend that there is an easy remedy. But, God is still in control. He’s not surprised by the mess that we are engulfed by. He calls us to be saved by His grace and to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. “The Great Evangelical Disaster” is a powerful book. It is available in most Christian bookstores or through ordering. American Decency Association P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 www.americandecency.org PH: 231-924-4050 fax:231-924-1966

---