"Schaeffer showed that orthodox Christianity, uncompromised and undiluted, is strong enough to challenge secularist thought in its own territory."
—Dr. Gene Edward Veith, WORLD Magazine
Dr. Francis Schaeffer was indisputably one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the 20th century; some would argue in any century. In this rare, recently rediscovered 1982 presentation made at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, he expounds on his classic, best-selling book, The Christian Manifesto, and demonstrates how secular humanism has displaced the Judeo-Christian consensus that once defined our nation's moral boundaries. Law, education, and medicine have all been refashioned in the image of man rather than God. As a result, Schaeffer argues, the treasures of Christendom and Western Civilization have been stolen.
Schaeffer charges that this worldview shift happened while the Christians weren't looking. "Where have the Bible-believing Christians been in the last 40 years?" asks Schaeffer. "Where have we been as we have changed to this other consensus and all the horrors and stupidity of the present moment have come down on our culture?"
Schaeffer lists two reasons for evangelical indifference: a false concept of spirituality and the love of "personal peace and affluence." He calls on believers to stand against the tyranny and moral chaos that come when humanism reigns—and warns that believers may, at some point, be forced to make the hard choice between obeying God or Caesar.
A Christian Manifesto is a thought-provoking and bracing Christian analysis of Western culture and the obligation Christians have to engage their world with the claims of the absolute lordship of Christ.
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