"What is Evolutionary Creationism?" A PowerPoint Presentation by Denis Lamoureux

 

"I'm very comfortable with the concept of theistic evolution. I'm deeply convinced of God's

authorship, but I've never expected Scripture to give me a scientific explanation of the

entire process of creation. I expect science to do that. Scripture, in every form and genre,

testifies to the nature and character of God and to the dream of God; science describes

how the dream of God moves and breathes and coheres." - Jon Middendorf

 

 

Thankfully the term Evolutionary Creation is beginning to "catch on" and replace the outmoded descriptive title of Theistic Creation, placing the emphasis on how creation came into being and away from its older, non-specific twin that simply referred to God as creation's author without implicitly telling us by what process God created creation (by implication evolution was its means).

Certainly God is creation's divine Author, but what we wish to see acknowledged is by what means, or by what process, had God divinely chosen to create. Because of the insight science has given to us we now understand that creation resulted by an evolutionary process. And for the Christian it is a process that was mediated and sustained by God. An omnipotent God that directed its process, and is now sustaining this very same process (because, as a principal, evolutionary development does not cease, but is an ongoing process). Who has given to creation its purpose and identity (its teleology and nature), even while He has directed its very complex creation.

And unlike the bible's more ancient biblical authors, prophets, priests, and people in general, we now know through science a lot more about the evolutionary process of creation than those ancient peoples knew themselves (nor could they wildly imagine based in ancient societies that were deeply augmented around universal ideas of mythology and ancient cultural folklores). A process that was directive, mediated, and initiated by God Himself. A process that involved a phenomenal level of complexity using chaos and randomness as its natural means. A means that shares with us God's phenomenal level of sovereignty even as He guided its chaotic, random, evolution from pure energy, to living systems, unto the level of humanity we now observe today.

Moreover, the idea of Evolutionary Creationism affects many classical Christian doctrines requiring a level of sophistication previously unthought through the church's 2000 year history (or 4000 year history should we include Israel's historical progression). During these past two years of writing I have attempted to describe, and reposition, many of these doctrinal developments in detail, thus providing to the theological student, and general Christian worshipper, a biblical guide to detailed examination and discussion by theme and by topic. Hence, I would encourage each reader to make use of this site's very helpful sidebars as they have grown and accumulated through my own personal journey of questions and amazement.

Below, Denis Lamoureux gives a brief 12 minute PowerPoint sketch of what is meant by Evolutionary Creationism. To which Peter Enns reviews Denis' book, "I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution." Afterwhich I provide several Amazon reviews to both of Denis' published books on this subject, along with a chart from his latest book (apologies for its smallness - even when clicked upon! Its the best I could do).

May God bless your study even as you consider this subject's depth and interconnectedness with the Creator God Himself, and those ancient Scriptural references that He has preserved in recording His redemptive work and witness, mission and salvation through Jesus. It has been a phenomenal journey of encouragement and biblical insight providing thanksgiving for God's goodness, love, and wisdom so high above that of our own thoughts and religion. Enjoy.

 

R.E. Slater

April 16, 2013

Video PowerPoint of Book

by Denis Lamoureux

Episode 1 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj1/index.html

Episode 2 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj_2/index.html

Episode 3 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj3/index.html

Episode 4 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj4/index.html

Episode 5 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj5/index.html

Episode 6 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj6/index.html

Episode 7 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj7/index.html

Episode 8 - http://www.ualberta.ca/~dlamoure/ilj8/index.html
      

Home Return               Web Lectures   Beyond the "Evolution" vs. "Creation" Debate   An introduction to the origins debate.     Beyond the "Evolution" vs. "Creation" Debate          Public High School Version of the lecture above.   Coming to Terms with Evolution: A Personal Story   My story of wrestling with origins for well over twenty years.     Scientific Predictions of the Christian Positions on Origins     Fossil predictions of anti-evolutionary positions & evolutionary creation.   Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution   Summaries of the 10 chapters in my 2008 book.     Ancient Science in the Bible   An examination of Biblical verses that indicate an ancient view of nature.     Human Evolution: An Evolutionary Creationist Approach     Various views for relating human evolution to Christianity.   Was Adam a Real Person?     The most challenging issue in the origins debate.   Intelligent Design in Nature   Does beauty, complexity & functionality in nature point to a Mind?

    

 

What is “Evolutionary Creation”?

Let Denis Lamoureux Tell You (he wrote the book)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/04/what-is-evolutionary-creation-let-denis-lamoureux-tell-you-he-wrote-the-book/

 by Peter Enns

April 15, 2013

Comments

 

Today’s post is more a 12 minute guest slide show (link below) by Denis Lamoureux, associate professor of science and religion at St. Joseph’s College in the University of Alberta (full bio here).

 

I asked him if he would consider explaining the content of his book I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution, which is a great introduction to his view of origins called “evolutionary creation,” a term he will explain in this series, and which he prefers to the more common “theistic evolution.” (The idea is letting the right noun dominate the phrase.) Lamoureux covers chapters 1 and 2 today and I will get the other chapters up very soon.

 

Lamoureux holds three earned doctoral degrees—dentistry, theology, and biology–which uniquely qualifies him to speak to the issue of human origins and Christian faith. He gets the science, he gets the hermeneutics, and he articulates both clearly for non-specialists.

 

A couple of introductory comments about the 12 minute PowerPoint. First, he says some very nice things about me at the beginning, which I attribute to a brain frozen from the long Canadian winter and a truncated hockey season. Second, as I just mentioned, Lamoureux is Canadian, so keep your ears open for an “aboot” or the like. Third, as you’ll see, Lamoureux is no fan of the Intelligent Design movement. Fourth, for those of you who are beyond the beginner’s stage, you can read his much thicker book Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution.

* * * * * * * * *

 

Amazon Review by John Lang

This book is a condensed (184 pages vs. 493 pages) and much more affordable version of Lamoureux's 2008 book, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. Because it is more concise, this new book is much more accessible to its target audience; namely, conservative Christians who are wrestling with the Creation/Evolution controversy. I believe it fills a much needed gap in the popular literature aimed at the same audience. Specifically, I believe it delivers the hermeneutical guidance that is lacking in most of the other books addressing evolution from a Christian perspective.

 

I could personally relate to the "journey" that the author and many other conservative Christians have made in wrestling with the creation/evolution controversy. I abandoned the "young earth creationist" position in the 1980's after observing evidence I considered conclusive regarding the age of the earth and the universe. For Christians who may still be pondering that issue, I believe The Bible, Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth is probably the definitive text for reconciling scripture with an "Old Earth" (4.5+/- billion years).

 

For over twenty years, I embraced "Progressive (Old Earth) Creationism". I did not consider evolution to be compatible with the Christian faith. As a result, I never seriously considered the possibility that secular authors might actually be right about evolution. It was not until I read The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins that I encountered what I considered to be conclusive evidence for Common Descent. The fact that Collins was writing from a Christian perspective made this realization somewhat less traumatic.

 

I read several other books by Christian authors such as Coming to Peace With Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology by Darrel Falk, Random Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with the Creator by Richard Colling, etc. These only served to solidify the reality of evolution in my mind. There have been a number of books like these that I believe have been very helpful in demonstrating the evidence for evolution in a manner that is sensitive to Christian concerns.

 

Yet I don't believe there are many books that practically guide conservative Christians as to how they can reconcile acknowledgement of evolution with their convictions about the message of the Bible. Gordon Glover's book, Beyond the Firmament: Understanding Science and the Theology of Creation provides an excellent start to this task, but even he acknowledges in his review of Evolutionary Creation that Lamoureux takes the hermeneutical issue to a much deeper level.

 

In I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution , Lamoureux addresses the key issues in a much more concise manner. The significance of this is that he provides practical direction as to how conservative Christians can retain their evangelical convictions while maintaining their integrity with regard to the "Book of God's Works" (nature) and the "Book of God's Words" (scripture). In view of the overwhelming evidence for evolution, coupled with the relative scarcity of credible books addressing the hermeneutical issues that are relevant to the creation/evolution controversy, I consider this book to be a very valuable resource for the conservative Christian community. I can't recommend it highly enough!

 

 

* * * * * * * * *

 

Amazon Review

 

I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution is a condensed read (184 pages vs. 493 pages) and much more affordable version of Lamoureux's 2008 book, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution.

 

In this provocative book, evolutionist and evangelical Christian Denis O. Lamoureux proposes an approach to origins that moves beyond the 'evolution-versus-creation' debate. Arguing for an intimate relationship between the Book of God's Words and the Book of God's Works, he presents evolutionary creation a position that asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe and life through an ordained and sustained evolutionary process.

 

This view of origins affirms an evolutionary understanding of the concept of intelligent design and the belief that beauty, complexity, and functionality in nature reflect the mind of God. Lamoureux also challenges the popular Christian assumption that the Holy Spirit revealed scientific and historical facts in the opening chapters of the Bible. He contends that Scripture features an ancient understanding of origins that functions as a vessel to deliver inerrant and infallible messages of faith.

 

The book closes with the two most important issues in the origins controversy: pastoral and pedagogical implications. How should churches approach this volatile topic? And what should Christians teach their children about origins?

Click to Expand



Double Clicking on Link Below will provide a clearer picture -
http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/31115493.png




From Episode 4 -





 

Adam, Evolution, and Inerrancy

Framing the Evangelical Discussion of

Adam and Evolution

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/04/framing-the-evangelical-discussion-of-adam-and-evolution/

 

by Peter Enns

April 8, 2013

Comments

 

This past Saturday, I gave a paper at the northeast regional meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, which met on the campus of Alliance Theological Seminary, Nyack, NY. I was asked to talk about my book The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins. It’s no surprise that how I answer this question (Adam is not a historical person) is not in step with how mainstream evangelicalism tends to handle it (Adam definitely is, in some sense, historical). Still, I had a wonderful time, and the discussion afterwards was honest and cordial.

 

I decided to approach this paper by simply laying out what I think and why I think it–sort of a “here’s where I’m coming from” vibe rather than laying out a position that others should come to. Below, for those interested, are the bullet points of the paper.

 

• My starting point for how I handle this issue of Adam is twofold: (1) I accept the overwhelming scientific consensus concerning evolution, and (2) our considerable knowledge of how ancient stories of origins functioned. These factors affect how we read the Adam story and they cannot be dismissed or marginalized.
 
• It strains credulity to think that, of all ancient peoples with origins stories, Israel alone escaped this story-telling mentality and gave us something approximating “history” or “science” in the modern sense.
 
• The tensions between evolution and evangelicalism are real and cannot be “fixed” by simply “grafting” evolution onto evangelicalism. The two most common ways of doing that are by (1) making Adam and Eve into a pair of hominids chosen by God to be the “first,” and (2) making Adam and Eve a “gene pool” of the earliest hominid group, according to genetic studies.
 
• Both of these options fail because they are ad hoc, i.e., made up to support a position once wishes to maintain. A more spiritually and intellectually satisfying way forward is to leave aside ad hoc explanations and take a more exploratory, dialogical approach to solving the issue.
 
• Neither literalism nor inerrancy should be given the status of default positions of orthodoxy. They are themselves theories of how the Bible works that are as open to scrutiny as any.
 
• Inerrancy in particular has a difficult time accounting for how the Bible looks so “untended” and “misbehaved” by inerrantist standards.
 
• An incarnational model of Scripture, though hardly the last word, is a better way of accounting for how the Bible behaves than an inerrantist model (and C. S. Lewis wasn’t an inerrantist).
 
• A well-rounded approach to addressing the Adam issue is the metaphor of a trialogue of three voices: historical context, canonical context, and Christian tradition. None of these voices is dominant or the judge over the others, including “Christian tradition.”
 
• The historical context includes ancient origins stories that “calibrate” how Genesis and Paul should be read. The canonical context is three levels: exegetical, Old Testament, and New Testament, and each adds its own complex of issues to the discussion. Christian tradition refers to the various Christian iterations of the gospel, all of which are provisional, not the final word on the gospel. (Fleshing out the “trialogue” metaphor was probably the longest section of the paper and it brought in a lot of issues I discuss in my book.)
 
• Theological discomfort should never be the reason for failing to follow through with where the evidence leads.
 
• I ended with three underlying big-picture theological issues that evangelicalism will need to address more deliberately in coming to terms about Adam: (1) the role that extra-biblical information can and should play in biblical interpretation; (2) whether inerrancy, regardless of how it is nuanced, is set up to handle this issue; (3) evangelicalism’s willingness to be self-critical and accept criticism or seek guidance from Christian traditions who handle the Adam issue differently.

 

Two things were clear to me as the day progressed: (1) Evangelicalism has a number of big questions ahead of it for addressing evolution, and I am not sure the evangelical system is designed to move forward without a lot of soul searching and discomfort; (2) Already among their ranks is a critical mass of thoughtful, yet quiet, people who are eager to find ways to move beyond the current impasse. Time will tell how this will pan out.

 

97% of scientists accept some form of evolution

(there must be something wrong with them)

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/04/97-of-scientists-accept-some-form-of-evolution-there-must-be-something-wrong-with-them/

by Peter Enns

April 12, 2013

Comments

 

A few days ago I posted the main bullet points for the lecture I gave at the Evangelical Theological Society on April 6. Some of the responses perpetuate common yet unconvincing lines of defense.

 

For example, I began my talk by saying that I accept the scientific consensus as a staring point when discussing the question of human origins.

 

A response I have heard–more times than I care to recall, and that I knew would likely come again even though I think I was super clear in my lecture–is, “Aha. See! If you start with science, of course you’re going to end up with evolution. And that’s your problem. You put too much faith in science instead of in the Bible.”

 

“Faith in science” suggests that one’s view of scientific matters is on the same sort of playing field as “faith in the Bible,” which then gives a sort of rhetorical oomph to the posed choice. But I don’t have ”faith in science.” I have made a conscious, intellectual decision to accept the overwhelming consensus of demonstrably knowledgable and trained scientists across the world and for several generations.

 

I have done this not by ignoring my faith, but by working out my faith. I am not ignoring the Bible and it’s “plain teachings,” but interpreting the Bible as responsibly as I know how.

 

As I see it, the real question isn’t, “Why do you choose science over God?” but, “On what basis do you think you have the right to dismiss the scientific consensus?”

 

A ready response to this question is some variation on the following: “I reject evolution on the basis of Scripture.”

 

I’ve been around this block a few times, and this response baffles me more and more each time I hear it. For one thing, it assumes as settled the very issue that is on the table, that Genesis is prepared to speak to scientific matters. Also, havoc would result if this response were applied consistently to other well-established truths that lie outside of the Bible’s line of sight (outer space, galaxies, round earth, a temple in Turkey that predates the biblical Adam by 5,000 years, beer making that predates Adam, by 1000 years, etc., etc).

 

 

 

 

I understand the drive to “choose the Bible over science” to protect one’s faith, especially if that is the only way one knows how to pose the problem.

 

But that leaves another question, a very serious one, unaddressed: “What exactly do you think is the deal with all these biologists, bio-chemists, physicists, anthropologists, etc., across the world who make up this consensus?”

 

I see three options for answering that question (either in isolation or in combination):

 

1. They are all conspiring against us.

2. The are all grossly incompetent.

3. They are blinded by sin from seeing the truth.

 

Those who reject evolution need to say more than “I’d rather follow the BIble.” They also need to give some account for why they think the consensus exists.

 

I’m not prepared to accept any of those options. To do so would mean leaving a world where knowledge can be pursued and ideas vetted, for if this line of defense can be applied to one issue, it can be applied just as easily to any other one might find unacceptable.

 

 

 

Frank Schaeffer (son of Francis) Speaks to the Destructiveness of Religious Legalism

 

 

The Real Francis Schaeffer

http://www.redletterchristians.org/the-real-francis-schaeffer/

 

by Frank Schaeffer

January 16, 2013

Comments

 

As I wrote about the real Francis Schaeffer in my memoir Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back and received many wonderful emails and letters. I also got some rather nasty ad hominem criticism from some of my father’s evangelical followers and especially from several evangelical leaders who have made their “professional” religious careers by associating themselves with his reputation. But most people beginning with my editor (who like most of my secular readers had never heard of Dad until I wrote about him) believed that I’d folded a tribute to Dad into my memoir about the rise of the religious right and my family’s part in it.

 

However the most wonderful tribute to Dad and to my book in many years came last Sunday, long after it was published when I got this email (used by permission of the writer) that really speaks to who Dad was and to the man I knew and loved. I’ve reproduce it here unedited.

“From: Steven Gabbard
Sun, Jan 13, 2013 1:31 am

I saw your recent articles on Alternet and ordered Crazy For God on my Kindle. I stayed up and finished it last night. I really enjoyed it. I admit I read it for the juicy insider bits about American evangelicals. But the parts I ended up enjoying the most were the parts about your father during the sixties. It was like ‘wow, I would’ve like to have met that guy’. His not being racist or homophobic was refreshing. I found myself thinking that if I had known someone like that when I was younger and searching, I might have taken Christianity more seriously than I did. 

It was because of the bigotry and anti-intellectualism that I saw practiced by the Christians in my family that I dismissed Christianity when I was an adult. I am an atheist now and quite content to remain one. But if things had been different 30 years ago and I had met someone who was charming, intelligent, and socially enlightened like your father was during the sixties, I could see that it was possible that I might have taken a different path than the one I walked. That thought is an uncomfortable one. We like to think that we arrive at our deepest convictions through logic and much soul searching. But happenstance plays a larger role than we like to admit. I had to put the book down at one point and face the fact, ‘things could have been different’. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that so clearly before.

Anyway, that was what I got when I read your book. Wanted to share it. I’ll pick up another one of your books soon. It’ll probably be Portofino, that one sounds interesting.

Your new fan,
Steven Gabbard”

 

Frank Schaeffer is a writer and author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. To book Frank Schaeffer to speak at your college, church or group contact him at Frankschaeffer.com

Amazon Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2008

 

 
By the time he was nineteen, Frank Schaeffer’s parents, Francis and Edith Schaeffer, had achieved global fame as bestselling evangelical authors and speakers, and Frank had joined his father on the evangelical circuit. He would go on to speak before thousands in arenas around America, publish his own evangelical bestseller, and work with such figures as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Dr. James Dobson. But all the while Schaeffer felt increasingly alienated, precipitating a crisis of faith that would ultimately lead to his departure—even if it meant losing everything.
 
With honesty, empathy, and humor, Schaeffer delivers “a brave and important book” (Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog)—both a fascinating insider’s look at the American evangelical movement and a deeply affecting personal odyssey of faith.

Helpful Customer Reviews

 

"Shock and awe" iconoclasm

 By Erik Olson VINE™ VOICE

April 3, 2008

I became an evangelical Christian in 1984, and one of the first heavy-hitter apologetic authors I discovered was Francis Schaeffer. His son, known at the time as "Franky," was also writing books, and as my first Christian mentor said to me, "Franky's a bit more radical than his father." I liked both authors, since at the time I was big on Christian conspiracies and rigid theology as promulgated by such fundamentalist luminaries as Jack Chick and Bill Gothard. I dove deep into the evangelical world, attending various churches, serving in many ministries, and even graduating from seminary with a Pastoral Studies MA degree in 2002.

 

However, during the last year it all came crashing down, ironically after walking the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in Spain. During my trek I had plenty of time to think about the last two decades, and in the end I came to a decision. Yes, as an evangelical I'd made a few good friends and had some positive experiences. But the bad far outweighed the good. I'd had enough of trying to jam theological square pegs into the round holes of rationality. Plus, I could take no more cult-of-personality pastors, egotistical theologians, holier-than-thou legalisms, guilt trips, and plain goofiness. So when reality intruded on my faith, I either had to acknowledge it or shut my eyes even tighter. I chose the former option and abandoned evangelicalism.

 

As part of my journey I read the "new atheist" books by Hitchens, Dawkins, Stenger, and so forth. Although I found them challenging and relevant (along with abrasive and polemic), these authors have probably never bought into any religious belief. I wanted a story written by an intelligent, high-level Christian, someone who had originally dedicated their life to the evangelical church but ended up leaving for conscience's sake. With "Crazy for God" I found exactly what I was looking for. Here was fundamentalist firebrand Franky Schaeffer, now reborn as Frank, telling his fascinating story of living, as the cover blurb says, to "take it all (or almost all) of it back." I could barely put it down.

 

Mr. Schaeffer pulls no punches when it comes to evangelicals, family, and even himself. The most sympathetic figure is his father Francis, who seemed trapped in a joyless fundamentalist world he didn't create or desire. As for the author, it appears that his biggest problems with Christianity was its failure to overcome the baser instincts of human nature, and the ever-present stifling legalism he endured: witness the pious evangelical leaders who used the Schaeffers to advance their ministries (and themselves), his three sisters, who put up false fronts of stability while burning out and breaking down under Mrs. Schaeffer's relentless perfectionism, and young Frank, who goofed off, partied hard, and fornicated with abandon in plain sight at L'Abri, the family ministry center in Switzerland.

 

As one might expect in such a context, parts of this book are quite harsh - it's plain that the author is still nursing past wounds. Mr. Schaeffer is brutally transparent about everything from the voracious sensual appetites of his youth to the familial abuse within his household. In addition, he spares none of the evangelical royalty that his family encountered, including the "power-crazed" Dr. James Dobson, the "very weird" Billy Graham, and Pat Robertson, whose wacky exploits get more airtime than I can quote. He even rakes his radical "Franky" persona over the coals, offering a mea culpa for his entire ministry and political activist period.

 

One glaring omission: despite some tantalizing glimpses, he doesn't seem to delve into whatever specific theological problems he had with evangelical Christianity. I struggled with doctrines like eternal damnation and predestination, and I'd hoped to get Mr. Schaeffer's insights on these and other troublesome topics. No such luck.

 

After such a wild ride, it's nice to see that Mr. Schaeffer has come to a calmer and more stable place in life. However, he inadvertently demonstrates that we can never entirely escape ourselves. He has transferred his evangelical zeal to patriotism, exemplified by his devotion to United States Marine Corps where his son honorably served in harm's way. I'm glad he's pro-America, and the USMC deserves good publicity. But as one who spent six years as a jarhead, I'd like to caution the author that the storied Corps, much like the Church he now eschews, is an imperfect institution where high ideals are limited by human frailties. As for Christianity, given the tone of this book I found it surprising that Mr. Schaeffer still bothers with God at all. However, awhile back he joined the Greek Orthodox Church and has found a semblance of peace within its walls. But as for the evangelical camp, he and his house are staying far away, thank you very much.

 

As a former evangelical, I heartily recommend "Crazy for God." Be forewarned that it's rough on evangelicalism, and a person of faith will certainly struggle with the author's profanity, sensuality, and negative conclusions about evangelical Christianity and some of its glitterati. But it is Christians who need to read this book the most, so that they can engage with the uncomfortable revelations of a former evangelical star, and either come to a clearer-eyed place in their faith - or leave it altogether for their own sake.
 

 

 

* * * * * * * * *

 

 

An Honest and Surprising Book

 By Jim Forest

March 15, 2008

 

Frank Schaeffer doesn't really fit into a brief description. An American, he grew up in rural Switzerland. His parents were fervent Calvinist missionaries living in a Catholic culture which they regarded as barely Christian. Their chalet, known as L'Abri, became a house of hospitality in which a never-ending seminar on culture and Christianity was the main event. Though an Evangelical, a strain of Protestantism usually hostile to the arts, Frank's father was an avid lover of art done in earlier centuries by, in most cases, Catholic artists -- an enthusiasm that in time inspired his son to become an artist. Later Frank gave up the easel to makes films, first documentaries in which his father was the central figure, then more general evangelical films, and finally several unsuccessful non-religious films aimed at a general audience.

 

Eventually -- profoundly disenchanted with the form of Christianity his parents had embraced, and still more alienated from the shrill varieties of right wing Evangelical Christianity that both he and his parents had helped create, Frank joined the Orthodox Church, where he still remains, though no longer in what he refers to as the stage of "convert zeal." After his son, John, became a Marine, Frank became something of a missionary for the Marine Corps, and the military in general, at the same time avidly supporting the war in Iraq in which his son was a participant. A statement I helped to write that urged George Bush not to attack Iraq was the target of a widely-published column Schaeffer wrote in the early days of that war. Now he regards the Iraq War as a disaster and has become an outspoken critic of George Bush.

 

"Crazy for God" is a gripping read, both candid and engaging. More than anything else, I was touched by Schaeffer's unrelenting honesty. There are pages in which you feel as if you are overhearing a confession. Yet it's a very freeing confession to overhear, in the sense that it allows the reader to make deeper contact with painful or embarrassed areas of his own wounded memory. The book also serves as an admonition not to create a self for public display which is hardly connected to one's actual self.

 

Being raised in a hothouse of Calvinist missionary zeal, in which Schaeffer and his three sisters became Exhibit A (especially whenever their mother wrote or spoke about Christian Family Life) is not something I would wish on any child. I expect Frank Schaeffer will always be in recovery from that aspect of his childhood.

 

Those -- and they are many -- who still revere his parents (or for that matter Schaeffer's earlier self, in the period of his life when he was a hot voice packing in the evangelical/Christian Right crowds) are furious at this lifting of the curtain.

 

Yet I found Schaeffer much harder on himself than on his parents, whom he sees as having been damaged, in some ways made crazy, by the burden of a harsh Calvinist theology. Nonetheless his parents emerge as real Christians whose loving care for others, including people whom many Christians would cross the street to avoid, was absolutely genuine. (I was impressed by the book's account of his parents' response to homosexuals who came to visit L'Abri. They were as warmly received as any other guest.)

 

While objecting to his parents' theology and the distortions that it created in their lives and in the lives of many influenced by them, clearly he loves them passionately and deeply respects the actual Christian content of their lives -- their "grace, generosity, love and unconditional support."

 

Schaeffer's book also reminds me that it's one of the recurring tragedies of US history that, from time to time, various movements of self-righteous, ideology-driven Christians decide it's time to try to impose their ideas on society at large. Schaeffer has to live with the painful memory of having been one of the key figures helping to create one of the constituencies that did the most to put George Bush in the White House in their one-issue hope that he would find ways to make abortion, if not illegal, at least less frequent. After eight years in the Oval Office, in fact abortion is no less deeply embedded in American life than it was before Bush's election. Little if anything was done by his administration to help women who felt they had no option but abortion find alternatives.

 

I was touched by Schaeffer's comments about the powerful influence children can have on their parents, far more than the children usually realize. As Schaeffer has come to understand, in reflecting on his relationship with his father, that influence is sometimes far from positive.

 

Schaeffer -- now far more caring about the quandaries others face than he was earlier in his life -- has in the process become aware that self-righteousness is often the hallmark of each and every "movement," whether religious or secular, and whether for the unborn, for peace, for those on death row, for animal welfare, for the environment, etc., etc.

 

In putting the book down, I find myself profoundly grateful for where Frank Schaeffer's journey has taken him so far, yet hope for further evolution in his views in regard to the military and how those in the armed forces are used. I take it as a given that he is aware there are men and women who died or live crippled lives in part because of the impact on their lives of several of Schaeffer's earlier books which viewed the military uncritically and seemed unaware of how often those sent into battle -- because of accidents, misinformation, panic, bad orders, or even the passion for vengeance -- kill innocent people. Nor does he seem aware of the damage, often unhealable, done to those who bear responsibility for such deaths. I hope Schaeffer will give more thought to why the early Church took such a radical stand in regard to warfare and other forms of killing, accidental or intentional, and what that might mean for any Christian in our own day.

 

Also I would have been glad to hear more about what drew him to the Orthodox Church and what keeps him there, now that he is past what he calls the "zealous convert" stage. In his autobiography, being Orthodox is a minor topic.

 

As "Crazy for God" bears witness, life is mainly shaped by one's parents and family, peer group pressure, and -- not least -- the white water of ambition. Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. I was reminded several times of one of Kurt Vonnegut's insights: "Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be."

 

It's something of a miracle that Frank Schaeffer escaped from the highly profitable world of the Television Church. "Crazy for God" reminds me of what a dangerous vocation it is, more perilous than mountain climbing, when one becomes a professional Christian, writing or speaking about the Gospel, Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, making some or all of your living doing this. It's a danger I live with too.

 

-- Jim Forest

 

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An Apostasy Full of Grace and Truth

 By Timothy M. Ervolina

December 4, 2007

 

He was once the fair-haired boy wonder of evangelicalism, there at the creation of the American Religious Right. He helped define the culture war, especially over abortion. He helped create the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, the Republican majority, the conservative Supreme Court and the New Evangelicals. Now, he's an apostate, a unborn-again seeker, a member of an Eastern Orthodox church, and a a self-acknowledged failure. Which means that, strangely, he's a finally a success.

 

Frank Schaeffer, the son of evangelical theologians Francis and Edith Schaeffer has, in his memoir Crazy for God, provided a beautiful, touching, and painfully honest story of growing up in the evangelical sub-culture in the age before it emerged as the culture. His portrait of his famous (at least in some circles) parents, and their Swiss Christian community, L'Abri, will anger those evangelicals who regard the Schaeffers (especially Francis) as saints. But, if you're looking for a Daddy Dearest, you'll be mightly disappointed. There is no scandal here, other than the scandal of evangelical Christianity in America once it got itself fitted into Constantine's vestments.

 

Frank paints his father as an art-loving historian, a free-thinker more at home in the Florentine Accademia than on the radio with Dr. Dobson. The elder Schaeffer apparently detested the power-hungry theo-politicians like Dobson, Falwell and Robertson, and was far more concerned with reaching young people in search of life's big questions than in reaching the halls of power. Still he allowed himself to be manipulated by the theo-politicians, to become the most sought after evangelical teacher of the 1980's. Francis Schaeffer is revered in evangelical circles, where his books and film series (produced by Frank) are still best-sellers two decades after his death. He created the intellectual underpinnings of the Religious Right (yes, Virginia, there is such a thing) and did more than any other theologian to gain evangelicalism its entry onto the political stage.

 

Edith is considerably more God-crazy than her husband, but her son clearly adores her. Beautiful, stylish, and fiercely intelligent, she is the fire in L'Abri's stove, warming everything with her presence, all the while irritating the living hell out of her family with twenty minute sermons masquerading as prayers, and her passion to "save" every living being in earshot.

 

Frank Schaeffer is honest about the dysfunction of his family, his sister's mental illness, his own sexual coming of age (sometimes uncomfortably so--the man apparently was a world-class wanker as a teen), the family fights over theology (which nearly wrecked L'Abri), and his parents' love affair with art, music and literature. He's also painfully honest about his failed career as a secular film maker, and genuinely regretful at giving up his early and promising career as an artist to chase the big evangelical donors who were underwriting the Schaeffer phenomenon.

 

Where he's at his best is also where's at his angriest: about the destructive role he played in American political life and the unleashing of the monster that ate the Republican Party. These days, he's a post-evangelical who rejects "what the evangelical community became. It was the merging of the entertainment business with faith, the flippant lightweight kitsch ugliness of American Christianity, the sheer stupidity, the paranoia of the American right-wing enterprise, the platitudes married to pop culture." He also considerably more nuanced about abortion, though calling him "pro-choice" would be a stretch.

 

In this he taps into that ironic vein that has created most of us evangelical apostates: the very success of evangelicalism, its emergence as the dominant religious influence in America, and its naked lust for power have driven us far from our home. One of Francis Schaeffer's most famous works is a film series about abortion and euthaniasia entitled, Whatever Happened to the Human Race? His son wants to know: Whatever Happened to the Evangelical Church?

 

Frank Schaeffer's apostasy is full of grace and truth. But what else would you expect from Francis and Edith Schaeffer's boy?