"The God Who Is There"
Francis Schaeffer
A part of Francis Schaeffer's great trilogy of Christian philosophy and apologetics, "The God Who Is There" is focused on contrasting the Christian system of thought with modern humanism (also labeled rationalism). The contrast is described through an examination of presuppositions, the historical radical change from a basic understanding of antithesis to that of synthesis, which formed the basis of modern rationalism, and finally by an overview of the Christian answer to modern humanism's existential problem.
As I've written before, Schaeffer is easy to read, but rather more difficult to comprehend. He uses simple phrases, but often in unconventional ways, which simply means if you aren't paying attention you can easily become confused. This isn't casual reading. You have to invest a bit in order to understand what he is driving at. Yet when the pieces come together, his thinking is filled with power and clarity. I especially appreciate his compassionate spirit and his urging to other believers to use Christian thought not as a weapon, but as a tool in order for them to see their eternal crisis and to turn to the only one who can save them. That is clearly seen in this book. Every page practically shouts the author's caring for the souls in despair that he writes about. If every Christian uses his or her mind and heart like Schaeffer, I wonder what a different world we would live in.
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