SCHAEFFER'S APOLOGETIC - DR. GROOTHUIS

We were overjoyed to have Dr. Groothuis with us for the Francis Schaeffer Centennial via Skype. It was definitely a highlight of the event. His insight into Schaeffer and his relevance in apologetics today needs to be heard. What people often forget about Schaeffer is that he was a catalyst. He did not seek to be exhaustive in his explorations of various fields of study, but he did seek to be honest and to motivate the church to explore these things for themselves.

For men like Doug Groothuis, Schaeffer provided a spark that would create a passion for truth and a restoration of the integrity of Christian thinking. The ripples of which are still being felt.

The Outline for Doug's Talk:
Download Outline

Links for Doug:
http://theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/

Books by Doug:

NEWS: 100 DAYS OF SCHAEFFER!

The L. Russ Bush Center for Faith & Culture is presenting 100 days of Schaeffer on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow along as they present memorable quotes and scholarly comments for 100 days straight!

Here is what they have presented already!



Day 1 - David Wells on Schaeffer's 100th bday; "Schaeffer inspired us as he engaged the artists, musicians and philosophers of his day. It was not so much the engagement itself that moved us as the realization of how great and grand is the truth which God has given us, one that is large enough and deep enough to speak to every human situation. At L’Abri, we were talking about reality in a way that was authentic."

Day 2 - Jeremy Begbie on Schaeffer's 100th bday; "Francis Schaeffer was a man for his time, who could energise countless Christians into a cultural engagement they would never have imagined possible had they not met him. His influence was incalculable."

Day 3 - David Naugle on Schaeffer's 100th; "How many of us have received our initial Christian aesthetic inspiration from FAS and Art and the Bible. I did. Thanks be to God… for him."

“The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” Francis A. Schaeffer, Art and the Bible (Downers Grove: IVP, 1973), p. 61.

Day 4 - Timothy George on Schaeffer's 100th: Francis Schaeffer had a great influence on my life as a young Christian. Though I met him only briefly, I devoured everything he wrote and listened on tape to many of his talks from L’Abri. Schaeffer showed me that it was possible to engage fully with issues of life and culture including art, music, philosophy, and history, without abandoning “the faith once delivered to the saints.” In these and other ways, Francis Schaeffer taught me the meaning of what I believed.

Day 5 - Danny Akin on Schaeffer: Francis Schaeffer taught us the presence and importance that presuppositions play in the makeup of our worldview. What we value and how we live are inescapably influenced by these realities. Schaeffer also taught us how to expose presuppositions, critique them, and in light of God revealed truth, transform them.

Day 6 - Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, “God commands that we should assemble ourselves together until Jesus comes (Hebrews 10:25). . . Christianity is an individual thing, but it isn’t only an individual thing. There is to be true community, offering true spiritual and material help to each other. . . The local church or Christian group should be right in its teaching, but it should also be beautiful. The local groups should be the example of the supernatural, of the substantially healed relationship in this present life between people.”

Day 7 - “Our calling is to exhibit the existence of God and to exhibit his character, individually and collectively. God is holy and God is love, and our calling is simultaneously to show forth holiness and love in every aspect of life—as parent and child, as husband and wife, in business, in our Christian organization, in the church, in government, in everything—an exhibition of the character of God showing forth his holiness and love simultaneously.” Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, 351–352.

Follow the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith & Culture on Facebook and Twitter for more!

A GLOBAL CELEBRATION ~ SCHAEFFER REMEMBERED!

As you probably know by now, yesterday (as of the time of this writing), Jan. 30th, was Francis Schaeffer's 100th birthday. Yet, what was astonishing was the vast celebration that transpired on the web. So many scholars, authors and teachers took time to remember Schaeffer. We here at francisschaefferstudies.org noticed the trend early and posted updates to our fan page every 15-30 minutes throughout the day. It was a day to remember, with so many significant reminders of what Schaeffer meant to those who his thought has impacted. It was a wonderful collage of writings that served to affirm that Schaeffer is still respected. Here is a list we collected in case you missed this huge "splash" made on the web this weekend. There may be more, but this is what we found:

Friday the 27th

Kingsmeadow Study Center, Parish Presbyterian Church  & Cor­ner­stone Pres­by­ter­ian Church, launched their "Schaeffer 100" celebration.

Dr. Grant displays the Schaeffer 100 Cake.

MORE PICTURES BELOW!

Saturday the 28th

• Francis Schaeffer Studies began posting updates and video segments on the Francis Schaeffer Centennial mini-conference.

Our video on the Francis Schaeffer Collection 

at the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith & Culture.

Our video on the new True Spirituality studies coming this year.

Sunday the 29th

The Schaeffer 100 conference post pictures on Facebook:

Click Image To See the Facebook Album

Monday the 30th, Schaeffer's Birthday
(note: not chronological)



Francis Schaeffer Studies releases first pictures of the Centennial Celebration.

Pastor Tony Felich of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, "Happy Birthday Francis Schaeffer," on the Reepicheep Blog.

A letter to Francis Schaeffer from R.C. Sproul Jr. on his 100th Birthday. http://ow.ly/8Lcmh

Remembering Francis Schaeffer - Made Alive With Christ Blog. http://ow.ly/8LeR8

SEBTS post a comment from David Wells, as it begins it's 100 days of Schaeffer: http://www.facebook.com/cfc.sebts

100th Anniversary of Francis Schaeffer's Birth by Nathan W. Bingham http://ow.ly/8LcHM

Francis Schaeffer and a World in Desperate Need
By Lane T. Dennis, PhD, Crossway, President and Publisher - http://ow.ly/8LiNu

Crossway Publishers on Francis Schaeffer's 100th - http://ow.ly/8LitS ~ In honor of Dr. Schaeffer many of his works are marked down to just $3.99!

Here are some great resources on Francis Schaeffer plus a chance to win his Complete Works. http://www.challies.com/resources/the-works-of-francis-schaeffer

100 Years of Francis Schaeffer - Faith Radio - http://ow.ly/8Lj7f

Author Don Sweeting: Remembering Francis Schaeffer: On The Occasion of His 100th Birthday http://ow.ly/8LjCC

We featured our video on the Francis Schaeffer Collection at the L.Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture at SEBTS. http://ow.ly/8LmKR

The Gospel Coalition - Francis Schaeffer - 100 Years - http://ow.ly/8Ld4A

Francis Schaeffer 100 years - JesusFame.net http://ow.ly/8LpqF

Pastor Tony Felich of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, "Schaeffer On The Gospel" on the Reepicheep Blog.

VIDEO: Francis Schaeffer - 100 Years - Stand To Reason, Greg Koukl http://ow.ly/8Lvw8

Nancy Pearcy is on "Chris Fabry Live!" to talk about the 100th anniversary of Francis Schaeffer's birth.
http://www.moodyradio.org/chrisfabrylive/

Nancy pearcy was on Faith Radio to talk about Francis Schaeffer's legacy.
http://www.faithradionet.com/2012/remembering-francis-schaeffer/

How Francis Schaeffer Saved My Saved Soul ~ Tim Challies' mother: http://ow.ly/8Lefj

Rick Pearcy: How was FRANCIS SCHAEFFER different from the Evangelical Machine? http://www.pearceyreport.com/blog/2012/01/how_was_francis_schaeffer_different_from_the_evangelical_machine.php

Happy 100th Birthday Francis Schaeffer! From Christian Heritage UK http://ow.ly/8LdqK

Francis Schaeffer - 100 Years - Frank Gantz http://ow.ly/8LesM

 

VIDEO: Francis Schaeffer -- 100 Years by Jason Burns http://ow.ly/8LwSS

Francis Schaeffer at 100 - Daniel Silliman http://ow.ly/8LDVx

Francis Schaeffer at 100, and Edith Schaeffer’s wonderful note to me. Francis Beckwith http://ow.ly/8LFcg

Happy Birthday, Francis Schaeffer - The Get Anchored blog. - http://ow.ly/8LGIQ

The Baptist Bulletin offering free reprint of Schaeffer's address “An Examination of the New Modernism," August 1950. http://ow.ly/8LHUh http://ow.ly/8LIcO

The shepherd poet: centenary of Francis Schaeffer: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fallenporto.blogspot.com%2F

More Portuguese Schaeffer celebration!

Updates:

Tuesday the 31st

Covenant Seminary shares the francisschaefferstudies.org "Legacy Project" interview with Dr. David Calhoun on his friend Dr. Francis Schaeffer (we are very honored).

SEBTS L. Russ Bush Center for Faith & Culture, continues it's 100 Days of Schaeffer, with contributors from various scholars.

ARTICLE: SCHAEFFER'S 100th BIRTHDAY!

Today, Jan. 30th, 2012, is Francis Schaeffer's 100th birthday. 

We at francisschaefferstudies.org constantly strive to communicate the value of Dr. Schaeffer's work, a task that can be overwhelming and sometimes nearly impossible to communicate succinctly. Yet, we are determined that if the world does not understand Schaeffer, it will not be for lack of trying on our part. So the following paragraph will be my attempt to encapsulate something of the core reasons why we are remembering Schaeffer on this, his centennial year. I will explain simply by telling you how that he has helped me.

Schaeffer's cultural analysis helped me understand the world and inspired me to go deeper as a Christian at a very critical time in my life. His apologetic inspired a way to engage the non-believer with integrity and sincere compassion, respecting the created order while remaining honoring to God. Yet his two concepts of 1.) Truth & Love, and a 2.) "moment-by-moment" spirituality, have thoroughly transformed my walk with Christ and relationship with others. He is the most significant mentor in my life and more than any other scholar, his works have constantly and consistently lead me to Christ and His Word for the answers against real-world adversity in the whole of life. So let me be plain, the reason I love Dr. Schaeffer, is for how his works have directed me to Christ and aided in helping me understand how to live in a post-Christian world. 

We at francisschaefferstudies.org have the solid conviction that his thought must be passed on to the next generation. In fact, we feel that it is critical for the future of our culture. Schaeffer's vast mental reach, significant moral character, simple honesty and ability to speak with a near prophetic understanding stand starkly in contrast to so much of what has caused disillusionment with Evangelicalism today. The church as a whole must turn to Schaeffer's maxim of "honest answers to honest questions," else risk losing another generation to secularism. It is our prayer that as we expand this work, that we are able to continue to provide a service to the Francis Schaeffer community to that end.

Providence!

~ Dan Guinn

FOLLOWING THE FRANCIS SCHAEFFER CENTENNIAL

If you can't make it to Kansas City to attend the Francis Schaeffer Centennial Celebration, you can do the next best thing... follow it on line!

Content from the event will be posted in multiple places so you can pick the one that best works for you. You will see regular updates, pictures, videos and more.




Here are your options:

• Follow on Twitter
• Follow on our Facebook Fan Page
• Follow on our Facebook Group
• Follow on Google+ (limited)

If you would like more information on the mini-conference, check out the
Francis Schaeffer Centennial Event Page.

ARTICLE: SCHAEFFER AND THE NEXT GENERATION

Dr. Donald Williams

It seems hard to fathom, that the average college age Christian student may have never heard of Francis Schaeffer, but that is exactly what concerns scholars like Donald Williams, who has witnessed this first hand as an educator. He describes teaching a class of 125 students and asking them at the close of the class, “How many of you had never heard of Schaeffer or L’Abri before taking this class?” Soberly he watched, as nearly every hand in the class went up. Donald Williams notes that this never would have happened even five years ago.

In an era when culture is under siege, and given the value of Schaeffer's thought in this area, one has to wonder how this could happen. One of the symptoms of the system formerly known as "modernism," (now Liberalism) is the tendency toward forsaking the value of history and constantly seeking the latest and greatest thing. To what extent has the church adopted this model? Time will tell, but this is one of the motivating factors behind francisschaefferstudies.org. Our desire is to introduce Schaeffer's thought to a next generation that is so in need of it. A generation in search of truth and answers.

I recall speaking to a man last year over dinner and talking to him about Schaeffer and L'Abri. He was greatly moved and overwhelmed by what he heard. Not because Schaeffer is some sort of icon, but because his thought and the work of L'Abri was so relevant to his life and struggles in the real world. The next week we planned to meet again, however he notified our mutual friend that he would not be able to make it. He had promptly decided to take the week off from work and drove to L'Abri in Rochester, MN. His hunger for truth, is typical of the next generation. When they are impacted by it, it naturally invokes passion and desire for greater truth.

READ TRUE TRUTH: Francis Schaeffer’s Enduring Legacy by Donald Williams
It's well worth the read.

ARTICLE: RONALD REAGAN POPULARITY, FRANCIS SCHAEFFER & STATISM

As a new year starts, and new presidential hopefuls begin their caucus runs, the name Ronald Reagan has been dropped many times over. Many seeking the office, have regularly touted the need for a true "Reagan Conservative." Some in the media have even sought to cast our current president as "Reaganesque" last year during Reagan's Centennial Birthday Year. Yet, many may not know of the name of a man who had an important influenced on Ronald Reagan and so many Conservatives to follow. That name of course is Francis Schaeffer. Schaeffer in fact was influential to several presidents in that era. He visited the White House to meet with Gerald Ford as well as George H. W. Bush.

Schaeffer was not a politician, a political guru, or even a politically driven person. Rather, he was a pastor-teacher-philosopher that cared deeply about people and culture and realized the role that politics play.  His care and concern are something which Ronald Reagan deeply admired about him. Here is a quote from Ronald Reagan after Schaeffer's passing.

"He will long be remembered as one of the great Christian thinkers of our century, with a childlike faith and a profound compassion toward others. It can rarely be said of an individual that his life touched many others and affected them for the better; it will be said of Francis Schaeffer that his life touched millions of souls and brought them to the truth of their creator." ~ Ronald Reagan

It is quite telling that in this election cycle, Reagan can be admired by the Left by separating him from his thought, and Schaeffer who in some very significant ways contributed much to Reagan and Conservative thought, is still misunderstood and misrepresented. It is such that a Conservative politician might not dare mention Schaeffer in a political context without suffering criticism. The mistaken accusations of "dominionism" last year seem to evidence this. Yet, it's rather strange that no one is accusing Reagan of such positions. We have to question all such attacks as attempts to silence, and further question the greater potential of the state to manipulate as Schaeffer warned.

Given the current climate of Reagan name capital, and the obvious desire to manipulate, it will be important to remember what both Reagan and Schaeffer warned about in the future of America, namely "statism." In closing, I would like you to read this excerpt from Dr. R.C. Sproul recounting a talk he once had with Schaeffer on the subject.:

"About thirty years ago, I shared a taxi cab in St. Louis with Francis Schaeffer. I had known Dr. Schaeffer for many years, and he had been instrumental in helping us begin our ministry in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, in 1971. Since our time together in St. Louis was during the twilight of Schaeffer’s career, I posed this question to him: “Dr. Schaeffer, what is your biggest concern for the future of the church in America?” Without hesitation, Dr. Schaeffer turned to me and spoke one word: “Statism.” Schaeffer’s biggest concern at that point in his life was that the citizens of the United States were beginning to invest their country with supreme authority, such that the free nation of America would become one that would be dominated by a philosophy of the supremacy of the state." Read The Full Article

NEWS: THE FRANCIS SCHAEFFER CENTENNIAL

100 years ago, one of the most significant leaders of the Christian church in the 20th century was born on Jan 30th, 1912 to a middle-class family of German descent in Germantown Pennsylvania. His name was Francis August Schaeffer.

People know of Schaeffer from his various areas of influence. Some encountered him personally at L’Abri, some know him from his early works, some know him from his films, still others know him from his public stance, later in his life, on the ethics of life, euthanasia and abortion. Others may have discovered Schaeffer through the tape ministry of L’Abri, or perhaps heard his radio broadcast across Europe. Some may have seen him personally during one of his many book or film tours, and some may know of his significant role at the first Lausanne Congress in 1974.

Depending on the sphere in which you discovered Schaeffer you may have picked up on something of what he was saying. Yet for many their exposure to Schaeffer has been incomplete, and some have even gotten the wrong ideas about him. However, beyond all of this, there is a generation today that has never heard of him, where once Schaeffer was a household name among Christians, you could say the name "Francis Schaeffer" in public, but today even some Christians might not know who you are talking about. Yet all the while, it is likely that many of the views and concepts of their worldview and those pastors who they are listening to have been impacted in some way by Francis Schaeffer.

So at the beginning of 2012, we are celebrating the Francis Schaeffer Centennial, by honoring him on his birthday weekend, with a celebration on January. 28th, 2012 (his birthday is January 30th) and reintroducing his thought and works through various ways throughout the coming year, staring with several videos and the Life & Works of Francis & Edith Schaeffer lectures. We are inviting you to join us by sharing the video above with everyone you know.

If you are in Kansas City, visit our Schaeffer Centennial page for details on the Francis Schaeffer Centennial event. If you plan to attend here in KC please let us know on our Facebook Event!

ARTICLE: TRUTH WITH TEARS - REFLECTING ON SCHAEFFER AND SEPARATISM

One of the toughest things about Truth is the difficulty of being right. As important as it is to maintain the truth, it can be lost without a visible display of love. Being right can often be license for all sorts of injustice and abuses and can easily turn into it's own types of wrongs. This is something which Schaeffer dealt with deeply in his heart. During our recent interview with Dr. Calhoun, we had no idea that the event where he witnessed Schaeffer shedding tears was at the Lausanne Congress, 1974. Providentially, Dan had just been studying the event and discovered the video footage from which several of the pictures used in the interview were taken. In the interview we get a story from Dr. Calhoun that gives us a glimpse beyond the event and into the heart of the real man Francis Schaeffer. Here's a clip from the interview:

The significance of Schaeffer weeping is that it depicts both the character of Dr. Schaeffer and what moved him, but also the deep hurt that he felt over divisions in the church during the early splits over modernism (Religious Liberalism). If you are not up on the history, it started with the split from Princeton seminary by J. Gresham Machen in the 1920s and continued with various additional church and missions related splits from the mainline Presbyterian denomination. The splits did not stop there, later resulting in numerous other splits within the camps over Christian holiness, and other things. All of which deeply moved Schaeffer to the point of spiritual duress. For more on all of the splits I recommend reading Frame's paper called Machen's Warrior Children.

Now one can argue that a lot of these splits were necessary, especially the split from the mainline church. Yet it is also easy to see that considerable damage had been done to Christians by other Christians in some of these cases, in the cause of being right, which is itself wrong, and this is cause for lament. Right motives with wrong actions will always and forever be wrong.

The results of these deep feelings would eventually produce a crisis in Schaeffer, and out of that crisis came the work True Spirituality, which is at the foundation of all of Schaeffer's works and L'Abri. He further elaborated on this topic in a more succinct way in his work The Mark Of A Christian. So reflecting on Schaeffer's tears during this event should be at the heart of our studies. Understanding this event helps us to understand Schaeffer in the deepest of ways. Until we as a church understand the difference between saying "Truth & Love" and actually shedding tears over it, the problems will not be resolved. This was Schaeffer's heart and what disappointed him as time went on. The church has still not understood this balance, and until it does there will still be a need for teaching Schaeffer's works.

RESOURCE: THE WORKS OF FRANCIS & EDITH SCHAEFFER SPREADSHEET

Have you read them all? Many are still discovering the Works of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. The best way to get a broad understanding of Schaeffer's thought is to read both Francis and Edith's books together. To help with that end, Francis Schaeffer Studies provides a spreadsheet that contains a list of each book by date, along with our historical findings about the book origins and contents (entries subject to change).


Our desire is to make Schaeffer's thought more accessible for general inquiry, and this is just one of the ways we are doing that. We hope that this spreadsheet will aid you in your studies, and we thank you for your interest in the work of Francis Schaeffer Studies. Watch for other resources as they become available! 


Download the Works of Francis & Edith Schaeffer Spreadsheet!