#61, "He Is There and He Is Not Silent"

"He Is There and He Is Not Silent"

Francis A. Schaeffer

This is the third of Francis Schaeffer's great trilogy (preceded by "The God Who Is There" and "Escape From Reason"), and is a direct and concise defense of the existence--indeed, the necessity--of God, and the truth of Christianity. He writes mostly on the subject of epistemology: that branch of philosophy concerned with knowing, and how we know that we know. Fairly dense stuff, but if one pays close attention, I think it is not difficult to understand his reasoning. If you miss something, you are likely to become lost. There are no wasted words here; every sentence is focused and makes a difference. This is not exactly light reading. It requires concentration and thought in order for it to fully bloom in the mind. However, I think that once it has been given sufficient attention, the rewards are an incredible look into the mind of a very great thinker.

Schaeffer argues that the central problem facing mankind in the last half of the 20th century (a problem which bleeds into the 21st) is that of knowing. That is not to say "knowledge," which might be thought of as culminating facts, but "Knowing," in a metaphysical and existential sense. We can know truth about God, the universe, and ourselves, because we can know that God exists, that he must exist. I particularly love his coinage of phrases such as "true truth," "infinite-personal creator" and others. Schaeffer never falters, though he does require, as I've said, quite a bit from his reader. I think it would nearly be required to have read the other two books in this trilogy before tackling this one, as he (if I recall correctly) dives more deeply into concepts such as the "upstairs vs. downstairs," the consequences of the "leap of faith" and his "line of despair," all of which are essential to understanding his philosophy but which are not described here.

In the end, this is required reading for those who wish to understand truly the basis of the Christian faith and the existence of the Christian God.

#whatIreadin2017