The God Who Is There

Rating:
Summary: The Line Of Despair
Review: A great compendium of 20th century thought as viewed through orthodox Christian eyes. Schaeffer traces what he calls the Line Of Despair which begins with Philosophy and extends through Art, General Culture, Music and eventually Theology. He shows how the "Line Of Despair" is the direct result of dethroning God and demonstrates the consequeces of the proclaimation, "God is Dead." As a Christian, this book really challenged me to treat the unbeliever with great love and sincerity and to present the Gospel in a relatable, non-Christian cliched manner.

Rating:
Summary: Intellectual Rigor and Postmodern Thought
Review: Clearly one of the negatives expressed concerning this book was its varied realms of art, culture, etc. to prove its point. No, this was never meant to be an intellectual textbook, and yet the clarity of thought and insipient understanding of postmodern culture continues to make this book a classic. If you are a fan of the Colsonesque writer, then you will love Schaeffer because Colson restates much of what Schaeffer was speaking about 30 years ago. This book will challenge you to come to grasps with why you believe and if your belief is authentic at all. Great read.

Rating:
Summary: Almost Five Stars
Review: I picked up this book after seeing F.S. referenced many times in the works of Chuck Colson. For those of you familiar with the apologetic work of Colson, FS runs in the same vein; namely, that Christianity has reasonable foundations and more importantly, it is the worldview most compatible with reality. My main problem with the book is that FS did not spend enough time in the first 2 parts of the book elucidating his propositions, thus the 4 star rating. By the middle of the book I figured out what he was doing.
The Book Itself:
Several of his theses are: postmodern man lives "below the line of despair". Following that, he is forced into a dichotomy of existential despair or Christian Truth. His primary thesis is that of the anithesis: if one thing is true, then its opposite is not true. He then shows how a denial of this has pervaded modern culture, especially that of art.

Final Analysis:
I found the book interesting, even it written too fast. I wished he would have clarified many things early on. Nevertheless, this has moved me to read more of his works

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Work
Review: I would say that this book is a classic. Francis Schaeffer doesn't mince any words, this is a potent response to postmodernism. I found the book to be very helpful, especially the diagrams he provides. His descriptions of the "line of despair" and other concepts are very helpful in understanding postmodernism.

This book is just what you need if you want to understand more about worldviews and their relation to apologetics.

I would recommend this book as it is a captivating read and is very informative also.

Rating:
Summary: The gleam of hope
Review: In a world engulfed in hopelessness and under what Dr. Schaeffer very aptly calls "the line of despair," this book provides the first gleam of light to the soul searching for truth and hope. His amazing intellectuality and profound knowledge of the widely varied subject matter truly astonish me. Dr. Schaeffer, though, does not only write from a brilliant intellect, but a life that has found peace in the Christian worldview. No amount of namecalling or substanceless criticism can combat the Truth of this work.

This book is not at all a summer reading type; you must be prepared to think and be challenged, and perhaps do some background research into basic philosophy and theology of the modern and postmodern era. Once these hurdles are jumped, prepare to be challenged and inspired by Dr. Schaeffer.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for People with Questions!
Review: In a world engulfed in hopelessness and under what Dr. Schaeffer very aptly calls "the line of despair," this book provides the first gleam of light to the soul searching for truth and hope. His amazing intellectuality and profound knowledge of the widely varied subject matter truly astonish me. Dr. Schaeffer, though, does not only write from a brilliant intellect, but a life that has found peace in the Christian worldview. No amount of namecalling or substanceless criticism can combat the Truth of this work.

This book is not at all a summer reading type; you must be prepared to think and be challenged, and perhaps do some background research into basic philosophy and theology of the modern and postmodern era. Once these hurdles are jumped, prepare to be challenged and inspired by Dr. Schaeffer.

Rating:
Summary: Good and Adequate Reasons to Believe
Review: Schaeffer shows there are good reasons to believe there is "true truth." We do not have to make a leap of faith, but the God who is there has given us such a nature that we can base our faith on the world around us. The strength of this book is that it attempts to present Christianity as world view or life system, which makes sense of all of life for the believer. Weaknesses are that he is redundant and repeats often what has already been said. Generalizations tend to be great and one will quickly get lost if you are not somewhat informed on the history of philosophy, general culture, and theology in the modernist and postmodernist eras.

Rating:
Summary: Good and Adequate Reasons to Believe
Review: Schaeffer shows there are good reasons to believe there is "true truth." We do not have to make a leap of faith, but the God who is there has given us such a nature that we can base our faith on the world around us. The strength of this book is that it attempts to present Christianity as a world view or life system, which makes sense of all of life for the believer. The weaknesses of this book are that he is redundant and repeats often what has already been said. Generalizations tend to be great. One will quickly get lost if you are not somewhat informed on the history of philosophy, general culture, and theology in the modernist and postmodernist eras.

Rating:
Summary: Knowledge, Not Belief
Review: Schaeffer's book has changed my life and many around me. Using a historical-cultural approach, Schaeffer explains the development in ideology and practice of what he calls "the line of despair," the divide between the physical realm and the metaphysical realm that prevents humanity from knowing about transcendent things. But he is not only able to identify the line, he also explains how to get beyond it.

I have lived for years in a society that has told me that such things are unknowable, that they must be a matter of belief only, but Schaeffer's book dispells all such misconceptions. "The God Who is There" provides a solid intellectual foundation for faith in a world of shifting sand.

If you read and like this book, I would recommend reading Schaeffer's book "He is There and He is Not Silent" immediately afterward.

ALong

Rating:
Summary: Knowledge, Not Belief
Review: Schaeffer's book has changed my life and many around me. Using a historical-cultural approach, Schaeffer explains the development in ideology and practice of what he calls "the line of despair," the divide between the physical realm and the metaphysical realm that prevents humanity from knowing about transcendent things. But he is not only able to identify the line, he also explains how to get beyond it.

I have lived for years in a society that has told me that such things are unknowable, that they must be a matter of belief only, but Schaeffer's book dispells all such misconceptions. "The God Who is There" provides a solid intellectual foundation for faith in a world of shifting sand.

If you read and like this book, I would recommend reading Schaeffer's book "He is There and He is Not Silent" immediately afterward.

ALong