Nevertheless, Schaeffer remains fascinating for his extraordinary influence on evangelical thinkers and leaders, and his genuinely sympathetic efforts to engage the great thinkers of European history that he saw as struggling against a tide of civilizational despair.
Where previously these philosophers and cultural figures had been regarded as dangerous and beyond hope, Schaeffer arrived on evangelical college campuses in the 1960s with electrifying lectures on the history of Western thought, drawing his famous “line of despair” across the blackboard and pinpointing Hegel as the moment when philosophy gave up hope of reconciling reason and meaning.Įvangelical scholars after Schaeffer, as well as the few historians who have begun to investigate his impact, have not been kind to his interpretations of Western thought, which often featured unusual chronologies, glaring omissions, and idiosyncratic readings. David was formerly the religion editor of The Daily Beast, and has also written for Slate, Newsweek, Jacobin, and others.įrancis Schaeffer (1912-1984) is widely credited with motivating conservative evangelicals in the U.S to engage with secular thought and art. This book provides an excellent introduction to his ideas.The following guest post is by David Sessions, a doctoral student in history at Boston College, and the founding editor of. Schaeffer had a way of communicating Christianity to modern culture-we need more like him today. His critique demonstrates Christianity's promise for a new century, one in as much need as ever of purpose and hope. Schaeffer's work takes on a newfound relevance today in his prescient anticipation of the contemporary postmodern ethos. Wide-ranging in his analysis, Schaeffer examines philosophy, science, art and popular culture to identify dualism, fragmentation and the decline of reason. Schaeffer traces trends in twentieth-century thought and unpacks how key ideas have shaped our society. How did we get here? And where do we find a remedy? In this modern classic, Francis A.
Despite our obsession with the emotive and the experiential, we still face anxiety, despair, and purposelessness.
What we feel is now the truest source of reality. About the Book Tracing trends in 20th century thought, Schaeffer shows that Christianity offers meaning where there is purposelessness, and hope where there is despair.
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