The Church at the End of the 20th Century

Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-84) was an American Evangelical theologian and philosopher whose works were very influential on Evangelical thinking. This book was first published in 1970, and it is just as timely today as it was then. Dr. Schaeffer saw Western, and particularly American, culture as going through a time of profound change, where the very understanding of truth is completely revolutionized. He examines how the change is coming about and where it is leading. Then, he examines what this change means for the Christian church, and where they need to go if they intend to survive and maintain their relevance (indeed, increase their relevance!) in the new world. Overall, I must say that this is one of the most challenging and thought-provoking books that I have ever read. I think that the changes that Dr. Schaeffer saw coming have now begun to bear the fruit he foresaw. Unfortunately, it seems that the church did not listen to what the good doctor prescribed. Which brings me to my other point, his suggestions for the church were mind-blowingly revolutionary. It's hard to imagine what life would be like if we actually undertook to do what he suggested. So, if you want to understand where we are, and how we got here, then I highly recommend that you get this book. It is an excellent read, and every Christian should read it.

Is it too late for the church to overcome the pressures that threaten its existence? Some tough minded answers are given as Dr Schaeffer takes a long hard look at the church at the end of the twentieth century. His analysis takes him into the political arena where he considers the new left and the establishment, both of which constitute a threat to freedom. Dr Schaeffer also sees the church under the pressures of the ecological crisis, the biological bomb, the loss of the concept of truth, the population explosion, and the manipulation of the common man by scientists, artists, and mass media experts.

When in college I had the privilege of having Dr. Schaeffer visit our campus. I have not read all of what is in this book, but have read several others including some contained in this volume. Dr. Schaeffer writes at an intellectual level that can be challenging to digest. He is a deep thinker and an astute student of philosophy. He is also a wise observer of what has happened and is happening in the history of man and man's relationship to God. If you are ready for some challenging study, his books are good reads.

This is obviously an older book, and as such it lacks a certain familiarity or "modernness", however, much of the message is timeless and relevant and certain predictions about the future almost give Schaeffer a "prophet" type air. The book was written in the 1970s and starts off with a chapter on the "roots of the student revolution". Now that time and place is gone, and despite the fact that currently (in 2004) the country is reliving some of the Vietnam era again because of the Presidential race, the sixties and seventies won't be coming back. What will remain the same, however, is that there will always be the young and they will always question the previous generation and while the means that they use to rebel may change, the inner drive to figure out life and question the status quo will not go away. Nor should it, I believe. Schaeffer here calls upon the church to be real, to live a real community and to live in real truth. Only then can it minister to the young and have a rightful place to answer honestly questions and challenges to faith. One of the strongest points he makes in this book is that the church often is on the same side of an argument as the "establishment elite" but it better make sure that people in general and the young in particular don't confuse being on the same side of an issue with actually being an ally of that system. The point is very relevant today. We as the church must stand strong for scriptural truth and while that stand may on seem to ally us with a certain political party or movement, we cannot allow ourselves to be seen as allies to something that is of this world, even, and perhaps especially, when that system is in the right. It doesn't mean we don't work together with world systems and political systems, it just means that we must maintain a separate identity and always stand strongly for real truth and real community and not back down from serving our real God. Schaeffer deals with science and philosophy and how those disciplines have had an effect on modern man. Some of conclusions about the future are downright amazing, he predicts a time in the future when all mankind is interconnected by computer and that the immediate "democracy" that will be available by having the ability to capture the beliefs of the majority world wide at any given time will help shape public policy (world wide). He points out that if democracy is the end all of law, then if the majority of Germans had voted supported Hilter, then who can morally oppose the holocaust. Law must have some basis besides the rule of majority, he argues, and he explains some of the problems "modern" man has faced due to his reasoning that man was the end. He also discusses to some degree the ecology movement and pantheism. Many of the issues haven't changed, at their foundation, very much, and that's the reason I give this book a recommendation. He really challenges the church to live up to her responsibility and for the individ

There is a vast plethora of writers out there telling us how to do Christianity better, but few penetrate to the crux of the disease that underlies the symptoms that they are treating as well as Francis Schaeffer. Scripture shows us that how we view the world, what we know, affects who we are, our character, out of which we act. Rather than merely treating the actions, Schaeffer adds to what we know about our culture, our human nature, our God, and how all three are related, and the additional knowledge has the capability to produce in the reader a very Godward transformation. This work is prophetic. Written in the 1970's, it is still current, and what's more, it has correctly deduced and defined the rise of postmodern Christianity, which is integral to the emerging church movement, years beforehand. For the Christian who is frustrated with church, begin here. Understand who God is, who you are, and who your church is called to be. "To young people who want a revolution, let me say this: You cannot be a revolutionary simply by some minor thing like letting your hair grow and cultivating a beard [or, in this day and age, by piercing yourself and commissioning a tattoo--or several]. To be a real revolutionary, you must become involved in a real revolution--a revolution in which you are pitted against everybody who has turned away from God and His propositional revelation to [humankind]--even against the user of god words. This is a revolution in which we may again hope to see good results, not only in individuals going to Heaven, but in Christ who is Lord becoming Lord in fact in this culture of ours to give us even in this fallen world something of both truth and beauty." --F.A. Schaeffer, "The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century"