“”Truth Tuesday” Here is Wikipedia entry on Schaeffer’s book “He is There and He is not silent”

Here is Wikipedia entry on Schaeffer’s book “He is There and He is not silent”

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Episode VII – The Age of Non Reason

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Episode 8: The Age Of Fragmentation

Published on Jul 24, 2012

Dr. Schaeffer’s sweeping epic on the rise and decline of Western thought and Culture

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I love the works of Francis Schaeffer and I have been on the internet reading several blogs that talk about Schaeffer’s work and the work below was really helpful. Schaeffer’s film series “How should we then live?  Wikipedia notes, “According to Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live traces Western history from Ancient Rome until the time of writing (1976) along three lines: the philosophic, scientific, and religious.[3] He also makes extensive references to art and architecture as a means of showing how these movements reflected changing patterns of thought through time. Schaeffer’s central premise is: when we base society on the Bible, on the infinite-personal God who is there and has spoken,[4] this provides an absolute by which we can conduct our lives and by which we can judge society.  Here are some posts I have done on this series: Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” , episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence”, episode 8 “The Age of Fragmentation”, episode 7 “The Age of Non-Reason” , episode 6 “The Scientific Age” ,  episode 5 “The Revolutionary Age” , episode 4 “The Reformation”,  episode 3 “The Renaissance”, episode 2 “The Middle Ages,”, and  episode 1 “The Roman Age,” .

Here is Wikipedia entry on Schaeffer’s book “He is There and He is not silent”:

He Is There and He Is Not Silent

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He Is There and He Is Not Silent is a philosophical work written by American apologist and Christian theologian Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL:Tyndale House, first published in 1972. It is Book Three in Volume One of The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer A Christian Worldview. Westchester, IL:Crossway Books, 1982. This is the third book of Francis Schaeffer’s “Trilogy.”

Contents

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[edit] Overview

He Is There and He Is Not Silent is divided into four chapters, followed by two appendices. The first of these chapters deals with metaphysics; the second, morals; and the third and fourth, epistemology. The first appendix concerns revelation and the second the concept of faith. To give the reader an idea of what the book is about, an overview of “Chapter 1. The Metaphysical Necessity” is presented.

[edit] Table of contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Metaphysical Necessity

In the opening chapter, Schaeffer, after briefly defining “metaphysics,” states two dilemmas concerning humankind. First, he claims that humans exhibit “mannishness” and have a personal nature, separating them from the impersonal, but that humans are also finite. Second, he points out the contrast between the nobility and the cruelty of man. He then presents his view of the two classes of answers to these dilemmas.

First, what Schaeffer calls the “Line of Despair” (and associates with existentialism): that there is no logical answer to the dilemmas, and that all is “chaotic, irrational, and absurd.” Schaeffer characterizes this view as impossible to hold in practice, because order is necessary for life. Schaeffer also accuses advocates of this viewpoint of utilizing logic when it suits their arguments, but attacking logic when it is convenient.

The second class of answers Schaeffer postulates is that logic exists, and that the subject of metaphysics is open to rational discussion. Within this category, Schaeffer discusses three specific answers: first, existence ex nihilo, that all that exists “has come out of absolutely nothing.” Schaeffer labels this answer “unthinkable.” Second, Schaeffer lists the “impersonal beginning,” and along with it, “reductionism.” His criticism is that such an answer fails to give meaning or significance to particulars. Furthermore, he alleges that there is no proof that an impersonal beginning could produce complexity or personality. Schaeffer also attacks pantheism in this vein, which he labels “paneverythingism,” propounding that while it provides an answer for unity and universals, it fails to explain the origin of diversity and particulars.

Finally, Schaeffer introduces the answer of the personal beginning. In addition to providing an explanation for both complexity and personality, Schaeffer writes that the answer to the dilemma of both unity/universals and diversity/particulars may be found in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Returning to the two dilemmas given at the beginning of the chapter, Schaeffer describes what he calls the “Personal-Infinite God.” On the side of personality, Schaeffer posits a “chasm” between God and Man, on the one side, and the animal, the flower, and the machine on the other. On the side of infiniteness, Schaeffer moves the chasm to between God and Man. The existence of this “complete chasm,” Schaeffer says, is the origin of our confusion on issues of metaphysics.

Schaeffer finishes the chapter by concluding that there is a “God who is there,” reprising the titular phrase of his book, The God Who Is There. However, he extends beyond this by describing revelatory knowledge, via the idea that God has spoken: “He is not silent.”

Chapter 2. The Moral Necessity

Chapter 3. The Epistemological Necessity: The Problem

Chapter 4. The Epistemological Necessity: The Answer

Appendix A. Is Propositional Revelation Nonsense?

Appendix B. “Faith” Versus Faith

[edit] References

[edit] External links

By Everette Hatcher III, on February 23, 2016 at 12:39 am, under Francis Schaeffer. No Comments
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