Unfortunately, not unheard of.
Posted on 08/21/2011 5:29:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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 Schaeffer name is royal, and Frank is the reluctant, wayward, traitorous prince. His crime is not financial profligacy, like some pastors’ sons, but turning his back on Christian conservatives.
Mr. Schaeffer, who is now 59 and lives north of Boston, grew up in L’Abri, a Christian community in Switzerland founded by his parents, Francis and Edith Schaeffer. In the 1960s, L’Abri was known in Christian circles as a drop-by haven for intellectually curious evangelicals, who could live in the mountains for a few days or even a few years, talking with Francis and Edith about the Bible, Christian art or existentialism. Mr. Schaeffer grew up surrounded by heady talk and, as he discusses in his memoir, tempted by the young women who passed through. He got one of them pregnant when he was 17, then married her.
In the 1970s, Mr. Schaeffer’s eccentric, relatively obscure family became wealthy and influential. Books like “The God Who Is There,” published in 1968, made his father a hero to American evangelicals, including future political activists like Jerry Falwell.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Every 4 or 5 years, Frank Schaeffer comes up with some hateful screed against the religion of his father, and the anti-religious media suck it up...
Frank somehow thinks he is relevant. He isn’t. He merely provides an echo chamber for those leftists who already hate evangelicals.
Secular leftist Jews are trying to drive a wedge between Jews and evangelicals. A support of Israel unites them and this makes leftists crazy.
By the way, I was speaking of Francis Schaeffer as the author of “How then shall we Live,” and not this goof ball of a son of his.
The son has become a lefty. That is his main problem. He had a son fight in Iraq and he almost turned a corner. Almost. He wrote a book and I saw him on C-span. He was trying to talk about patriotism and his son and his support of the War and the military. But he did not make the turn. He just touched it and has since got caught by his hate of Christianity unless it is the lefty dribble kind of social gospel. It says something, something not good about a child who makes headline news running down his parents. Sad.
Unfortunately, not unheard of.
Sounds like you were right on target.
Like your handle. In the series by Lawhorn, too. Has he done anything lately?
Read also, "Total Truth" by Nancy Pearcey, one of the many who studied with him.
Fair enough, and I will grant that I should know better than to accept any sentence in the NYT as truth.
Ron and Frankie, two creepy, jealous, hypocritical little punks. The real problem is that they can’t measure up to their dads!
I watch an episode of How Shall We Then Live? every Friday night. Narrated by Francis Schaeffer, the series is from like 1977. 10 episodes, they rotate down the line each week. It is an EXCELLENT series that can fit totally into your life today. Timeless.
He did not “rail” against these. I have seen his series on it.
He points out clearly that the Renaissance/Enlightenment in Southern Europe was based in humanism, which ultimately could not answer the big questions and because man is its foundation, moral relativism makes everything ultimately meaningless. The Reformation in the North was based in Christianity and produced far different results.
I always liked “How Shall We Then Live?”
Oh my...I have cherished the writings of Francis Schaeffer. One day I stumbled upon a “Frankie Schaeffer” book and eagerly started to read to see the next generation’s thoughts. Immediately I knew this was a son who did not know Christ. Prayers for Frankie that he will some day come to know Jesus and see the truth that his mother and father saw and lived so clearly
My wife just turned 75 this past Friday (8-19-11), we celebrated our 53rd anniversay last March 8. We met at church in Indianapolis (her home town).
Her testimony, at the age of about 13, her parents sent her to a summer church Bible camp in southern Indiana. She did not want to go.
The Schaffers were not known at that time, but they were teachers at the camp. Linda accepted Christ as her Lord & Saviour while attending the Bible camp.
Over the years we received letters from and about their work, and their family. They were a blessing to both of us and our children.
We both read most of his writings and loved them, I guess its time to re-read them.(Especially:”The Mark of a Christian” and “How Then Should We Live?”
As to the left media: They are a dying breed, they would delight in a making a hero of the first man born into this world, Cain,some would try to prove: “Judus never got a fair shake!”
Thanks for listing their writings. My memory is refreshed on the years our family read those books, and attended the movies related these books and booklets.
The other night I heard one of the sons (I really can’t remember who it was), describe it not as nepotism but “generational leverage.” If it wasn’t a sin I’d swear to it.
I have been a Christian for quit a while and I have never heard of them.
Amen! You got that right. Thanks for the post
I know other L’Abri visitors from that era and they say the same thing about Franky. He had, shall we say, “issues” even then. He does not deserve the time of day today—he is off-the-wall crazy. His apologetics for Eastern Orthodoxy are embarrassingly over-the-top vicious.
That the NYTimes gives the time of day to him when it won’t deign to pay attention to other serious Christian thinkers only proves how shallow, stoooooopppppiiiid and mendaciously bigoted toward Christians the NYTimes is.
And the content of this article is years old. This is not news—that Franky Schaeffer is dumping on the memory of his father who cannot defend himself—that is not news.
NYTimes is a piece ‘o work, for sure.
You wrote:
“anybody who rails against the first two or thinks the world prior to the Renaissance and Enlightment was a better place is completely insane.”
The Age of Faith was a better time in some ways.
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