Free Republic

For many years now, it has been clear that America has been in a steep moral and spiritual decline, despite some genuine revival movements along with some holy pushback against the growing cultural insanity. But two recent examples confirm that we are now in moral freefall. The first is Pres. Biden’s proclamation that March 31, which this year falls on Resurrection (Easter) Sunday, is now “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

Francis Schaeffer was a Christian thinker and author whom I have benefitted much from. In the 1980’s I read his book “the Church at The End of the Twentieth Century”and benefitted from the points he raised. Schaeffer pointed out that if the Church is to thrive in the ever changing world we live in, we must know the distinction between Form and Freedom. What is essential to the structure of the church (Form)? And what in church life is fluid, as regards organization , liturgy, practices, services, etc. ? Schaeffer taught that the true Church is structured around eight essential,...

Half a century on from the publication of Schaeffer’s seminal books The God Who Is There and Escape from Reason (1968), our culture spins ever faster into irrationality. Schaeffer predicted that plunging below the “line of despair” would lead to social collapse just as surely as the Roman Empire collapsed amid decadence, self-indulgence, and immorality. Others (both Christian and non-Christian) sounded alarms as well. Philip Rieff warned in The Triumph of the Therapeutic (1966) that a society released from all restraints would implode. Christopher Lasch argued in The Culture of Narcissism (1979) that no community can flourish where every individual...

This is an excerpt from Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live? Published in 1976, Schaeffer draws parallels between ancient Rome's hatred of Christianity and what we're seeing in modern times. No totalitarian authority nor authoritarian state can tolerate those who have an absolute by which to judge that state and its actions. The Christians had that absolute in God's revelation. Because the Christians had an absolute, universal standard by which to judge not only personal morals but the state, they were counted as enemies of totalitarian Rome and were thrown to the beasts. Amazing the number of similarities between...

I think the examination of the emphasis upon sexuality and hedonism in the late Roman Empire and Modern Western society is both fascinating and scary. These are somewhat dry productions but contain a lot of truth.

I grew up in a fundamentalist environment. The church I was baptized in believed it was inappropriate for Christians to go to a movie theater. To this day, my grandparents maintain this standard as a bulwark against worldliness. The library at my Christian school had a variety of books for children, sanitized for Christian consumption. Encyclopedia Brown made the cut, but all the “goshes” and “gee whizzes” were marked out with a heavy black pen. No second-hand cursing allowed. Films without anything objectionable were allowed at school, but looking back, I see how this analysis was applied simplistically. I still...

Evangelical leader Edith Schaeffer, who co-founded L'Abri, a Christian ministry, with her husband, prolific evangelical author Francis Schaeffer, passed away quietly in her sleep early Saturday. L'Abri was founded in Switzerland in 1955 as a Christian retreat center where people of any faith, or no faith, could come to learn and discuss theological and philosophical issues. During the 1960s, it became popular among some of the counter-cultural, or "hippie," movements of the time. "What a lovely person Edith is – and how thankful we are that she has gone at last to her eternal rest. One wonders, too, with her...

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- Many evangelical scholars agree Francis Schaeffer was the single greatest force that propelled evangelicals into political action -- ultimately putting George W. Bush in the White House. But some question whether he is rightly described as a fundamentalist. While some scholars think Schaeffer, the popular author and theologian who helped a generation of evangelicals move toward the public square, left fundamentalism behind during his lifetime, Baylor University professor Barry Hankins is reticent to concede that point. "Historians have defined fundamentalism as the militaristic defense of orthodoxy," Hankins told more than 1,000 theologians who gathered Nov. 15 for...

PRAYERS FOR EDITH SCHAEFFER: Udo, Dan and several others have informed me.... "We just recieved word that Edith is in very poor in health and may be near passing. Also, in the interest of being mindful of the family and their privacy we will withhold releasing anything more news right now until we confirm what information we have. Please pray for Edith and the family, and for traveling mercies for those who may require travel in this time. If others are at more liberty to post additional information I invite you to do so as you feel comfortable. To all:...

Francis Schaeffer—100? Who can believe it?! Schaeffer (1912-1984) was born 100 years ago on January 30th. On this special occasion, it’s worth taking a few minutes to remember his important legacy. Many of us were greatly blessed by his life. Schaeffer was a Presbyterian pastor, then missionary, then apologist, prolific author, evangelist, film maker and activist . He was one of six evangelical leaders (along with Billy Graham, John Stott, J.I. Packer, Carl F. H. Henry, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones) who profoundly shaped the evangelical movement in the second half of the 20th century. His life Francis Schaeffer was born in...

VANCOUVER, November 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Sunday morning a break-away faction of the Occupy Vancouver movement tried to occupy the city’s Holy Rosary Cathedral during morning Mass. Several dozen protesters, calling themselves ‘Occupy the Vatican’, were halted when Archbishop Michael Miller requested a police presence, and were stopped again later in the day by police and members of the Knights of Columbus. The incident highlights a trend by some in the anti-corporate protest movement to use it as a launching pad for attacks on Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular. Most infamously, on October 15th, members of the...

Once a self-identified founding member of the American “religious right,” Franky Schaeffer now says that “religion is dumb” and “man made.” Although Schaeffer grew up among some of the most influential evangelicals of the twentieth century, and worked as one of them during much of his adult life, he now believes the Bible is a fraud and that Christianity teaches “misogynistic” practices. Schaeffer, the son of the late evangelical theologian, philosopher, and founder of the L’Abri Fellowship, Francis Schaeffer, discussed his newest book at the Kansas City Public Library on September 27, 2011. His recent book, Sex, Mom, and God:...

A few not to be missed articles or blogs have appeared in the past few days. The first is by the conservative New York Times columnist, Ross Douthat. Most people, especially those who still buy the print edition, see his regular featured column. But fewer people read his blog, which appears only on the paperÂ’s website, and for that, one usually has to search to find. Two days ago, Douthat wrote about the myth spread by many Democrats and liberals: that conservatives and Republicans want to institute a theocracy in America. As Douthat points out, [A] spate of recent articles...

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — In every line of work, there are family businesses. But no business is more defined by dynasties and nepotism than evangelical preaching. Lyman Beecher, Bob Jones, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Robert H. Schuller, Jim Bakker: all had sons who became ministers. It is never easy stepping into Dad’s shoes, of course. But when the family business is religion, it is especially perilous. That is one of the central laments, anyway, of “Sex, Mom, & God,” a new memoir by Frank Schaeffer. To secular Americans, the name Frank Schaeffer means nothing. But to millions of evangelical Christians, the...

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is one of the several pro-life advocates seeking the Republican nomination to face pro-abortion President Barack Obama and she cites Christian writer Francis Schaeffer as an influence on her pro-life views. In a campaign stop to speak to local residents at a church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bachmann shared her testimony and talked about the Christian faith she and her husband share. That faith, which has matured thanks to the writings of Schaeffer, has led Bachman to a pro-life view that has seen her compile a 100% pro-life voting record in Congress and adopt dozens of foster...

Best-selling author and former Republican Frank Schaeffer lets Rush Limbaugh and his Republican mates have it at HuffPo, in a piece called, "An Open Letter to the Republican Traitors (from a former Republican)": I have to say, love him or hate him, the Republicans have got to appreciate Schaeffer's helpful inclusion of related content. He's like their own personal AOL Dashboard.....

Here's Frank Schaeffer, the David Brock of the religious right, on Rachel Maddow characterizing all conservatives as dangerous nutjobs. Rachel Maddow guest, author Frank Schaeffer, summarizes The Right Wing

The moral bankruptcy of the Left – epitomized by its backing of Islamic dictators and extremists over moderate Muslims – saw it defeated across Europe in recent EU elections. From what I read yesterday, the Huffington Post, and American liberals, might want to take a lesson from that. In one op-ed piece, Frank Schaeffer tells us that “the real lesson of Iran” actually has nothing to do with Iran, and everything to do with American conservatives. Neoconservatives and the religious-Right are – so we’re told – trying their best to establish a Christian, pro-Israel dictatorship, replete with Old Testament law....

As we watch the horrors in Iran, it makes us wonder if anything like that could happen in America. In Iran, the mullahs control everything and feel justified in any injustice they commit because of a belief in the rightness of their own actions. Is there anyone like that here? In an answer to that question, Frank Schaeffer wrote a column for the Huffington Post entitled “The Real Lesson of Iran — Beware America’s Republican Mullahs.” Reading it and the comments to it, I came to a realization: people who think the religious right are just like Iranian mullahs are...

The earth bursts with life. Far right exclusionary religion bursts with death. If there is a creator of life He/She/It must hate fundamentalist religion. The countries in the world that are the most fundamentalist and religious, and/or those whose identity is most religion-based, are the world's greatest troublemakers. Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Vatican City and the state of Israel come to mind. Just take one example of religion’s baleful influence: President Woodrow Wilson’s messianic religion-inspired intervention in World War One. "My life would not be worth living” Wilson wrote, “if it were not for the driving power of...