Laura+and+Nick+-+Summary

=Summary=

Chapters 1-8
In //How Should We Then Live?,// Francis Schaeffer discusses literature, music, painting, philosophy, theology, and ethics in terms of culture and people from Ancient Rome up to the 1970s. This book paints a portrait showing how worldviews are portrayed in culture and how cultural beliefs differ over time.

The first eight chapters of Schaeffer’s book cover history from Ancient Rome to the rise of modern science and the breakdown of philosophy and science. Schaeffer discusses the society of Ancient Rome, noting that the Romans looked to their gods as their basis for their societal beliefs. These gods were of inhuman proportions, finite, and did not have any powers; however, belief in these gods led to a societal belief that the Roman people themselves were infallible. With this weak base, the pressure on Rome from its authoritarian government eventually became its downfall and Rome collapsed under its own weight. Schaeffer explains this topic further in the following video clip:

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The Middle Ages often known as the Dark Ages, was a direct result of the turmoil caused by the downfall of the Roman society. The persecution of Christians in Rome led to a humanistic view of Christianity during the Middle Ages. As Schaeffer notes, “increasingly, the authority of the church took precedence over the teaching of the Bible. And there was an ever-growing emphasis on salvation as resting on man’s meriting the merit of Christ, instead of on Christ’s work alone” (pg 32). Art became very formal and symbolic as can be seen from this comparison of Roman art and art from the Middle Ages:

A Roman Art Lover (1870) by [|Lawrence Alma-Tadema]. The realistic representation in this painting and the fact that the people in this painting are all focused on a sculpture shows the Roman focus on inhuman proportions and larger than life sculptures. (from [])

THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS by Hiëronymus Bosch The symbolic images in this painting represent mortals on their way to hell for their immoral actions on earth ([])

As men and women increasingly rested on their own merit for salvation, the humanistic movement of the Renaissance was born. People believed that they had the power to make themselves great and they were proud of their beliefs and accomplishments. The ultimate example of Renaissance thinking could be considered Michelangelo’s statues of men “tearing themselves out of rock” (pg 71). These statues symbolize the thinking of the time that men could make themselves great through their own strength. The Reformation, however, was a direct reversal from the beliefs of the Renaissance as people turned back to God as their authority and viewed the Bible as God’s inherent word of truth. The Reformation was also a time of disrespect for certain people based on race and it was during this time that slavery became a widely used form of racial prejudice.

The period of the Enlightenment fell back to the humanist beliefs of the Renaissance and as Schaeffer points out in his book, “the utopian dream of the Enlightenment can be summed up by five words: reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty” (pg 121). Even though science was inspired by a Christian worldview which understood that nature was created by a God who is still active today, as science became more modernized it also became more secular and God was essentially removed from the picture. Removing God from science enabled many people to lose sight of their Christian worldview which gave birth to the loss of purpose and meaning in life. Existentialism, the belief that life is meaningless and that everything is subjective to personal feelings, was the result of this loss of purpose and meaning and it is still a widely held worldview today.

Chapters 9-13
In the second half of his book, Schaeffer presents philosophy and theology in the context of modern beliefs. Existential methodology, the belief that reason and non-reason are completely separate was developed during the late 1880s and early 1990s. However, even famous existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus had difficulty living consistently with their beliefs which shows the downfalls of this worldview. Existentialism is seen in modern culture as people feeling autonomous from God, dependent on their own strength, and many people see truth as subjective and not something that can be decidedly objective. According to Schaeffer, the two basic values of modern culture are “personal peace and affluence” (pg 205). Franky Schaeffer, Francis’ son, once observed that “humanism has changed the Twenty-third Psalm:

They began – I am my shepherd Then – Sheep are my shepherd Then – Everything is my shepherd Finally – Nothing is my shepherd” (pg 226)

This is an interesting look at how societal perspectives have changed. What started with a complete dependence on God from Bible times to early Rome eventually evolved into the widely held belief now days that “nothing is my shepherd” (pg 226) and I am my own being, completely dependent on myself, my abilities, and my beliefs.

For more information on existentialism and humanism, Jean Paul-Sartre wrote an article in 1946 comparing the two articles. This quote from the article aptly sums up the existential belief:

“If man as the existentialist sees him as not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself. Thus, there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills, and as he conceives himself after already existing – as he wills to be after that leap towards existence. Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. That is the first principle of existentialism” (Sartre, Jean-Paul. "Existentialism is a Humanism." //Marxist.org//. World Publishing Company, 1948. Web. 6 Oct 2011. []).

Additional Readings
//The Dissatisfaction of Francis Schaeffer// is an article about the beginning of Schaeffer’s career in ministry and the development of L’Abri. It goes on to reveal the hardships of family life while managing L’Abri, but also the success they had with its visitors. Schaeffer’s idea of linking art with philosophy was the result of his conversations with Hans Rookmaaker. This became a well-known component of Schaeffer’s “portrait of the decline of Western society” (Hamilton). The article finishes by saying that Christians today do not know what to make of Schaeffer but his “ vision of the vast difference between the world God designed and the world that is the work of our hands” (Hamilton).

For more information on Schaeffer’s views of Christians and their involvement in Western culture, visit http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/the-new-yorker-and-francis-schaeffer/ //Growing up Schaeffer// is an article about Frank Schaeffer’s memoir //Crazy for God//. Frank is the son of Francis Schaeffer. His memoir tells of a family quite opposite than one would expect from a Christian family managing L’Abri. He describes his father’s dedication to his job and frequent absence as having a negative impact on his life growing up. He was left to “raise himself” (Smith). Despite this, Frank has kept most of Christian beliefs and considers his parents heroic for their ministry work. Perhaps the most memorable quote is, “My parents were human beings. Humans are not perfect” (Smith). The Schaeffer family still had their share of difficulties and struggles.

L’Abri was a place of relaxation and thinking time for students in its early days. Many youth found their way there to reflect on life and have discussions about philosophy and religion. The Schaeffer’s opened L’Abri in 1955 and students could stay their as long as they wanted. It was a welcoming place for many who might not have been welcomed elsewhere, and many people converted to Christianity there. Today, L’Abri is still open. With locations around the world, it is now visited by families and students every year.

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