Wednesday, April 4, 2007

A Must Read for all Christians

I am finishing up the book, "A Christian Manifesto" by Francis A. Schaeffer, and I must confess that I believe that it would profit all believers to be challenged by his radical teaching. Though this work was published in 1981, you would think that it was written last week because of his keen insight and strong attack on issues facing the world and the church.

Here are some quotes that I would like to specifically point out...

The basic problem of the Christians in this country in the last eight years or so, in regard to society and in regard to government, is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals. (17)

They have failed to see that all of this has come about due to a shift in world view--that is, through a fundamental change in the overall way people think and view the world and life as a whole. (17)

Liberal theology is really humanism expressed in theological terms instead of philosophic or other terms. (21)

The humanists push for "freedom," but having no Christian consensus to contain it, that "freedom" leads to chaos or to slavery under the state (or under an elite). Humanism, with its lack of any final base for values or law, always leads to chaos. It then naturally leads to some form of authoritarianism to control the chaos. Having produced the sickness,humanism gives more of the same kind of medicine for a cure. With its mistaken concept of final reality, it has no intrinsic reason to be interested in the individual, the human being. It's natural interest is the two collectives: the state and society. (30)

For those interested, you can find a copy of this at your local Christian bookstore, Borders, online, or at http://www.crossway.com/

Bibliographical Information:

Schaeffer, Francis A., A Christian Manifesto. Copyright 1981, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL.

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