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The God Who Is There, 30th Anniversary Edition
Francis A. Schaeffer
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The God Who Is There was first published in 1968. Thirty years and 400,000 copies later, its still going strong. When Francis Schaeffer wrote The God Who Is There, his analysis of society shocked the evangelical community with its clarity and understanding. Today, his words seem prophetic, as postmodernism, and its inherent relativism, have taken hold of society with a relentless grip.

The God Who Is There is a full, deep, penetrating look at society and its relation to the church (and vice versa), but it can be summarized in five basic passions, according to author and editor James Sire, in the foreword. One, a passion for the God who is there, the God who directly engages with his people. Two, a passion for truth. Schaeffer felt that the conflict seen in society stemmed from differing concepts of truth, and he calls us to return to the truth of Scripture. Three, a compassion for people. As Schaeffer states in the book, "As I push the man off his false balance, he must be able to feel that I care for him. Otherwise I will only end up destroying him..." Four, a passion for culture. Without a deep, full understanding of what the world is thinking about and chasing after, the church cannot speak the truth of the Gospel effectively to it. Five, a passion for relevant and honest communication. Schaeffer brilliantly focuses on how many in our society use words to mask the real meanings and to hide reality. He calls us to unmask the meanings, and to face reality squarely.

Thirty years ago, Schaeffer spoke out against rational humanism and relativism because they dehumanize people and because they lead to despair. And now, in a culture that prides itself on individualism and relativism, we see the continuing death of human dignity and personality that Schaeffer spoke about. The God Who Is There is at least as relevant now as when it was first published, if not more relevant. The issues first highlighted in 1968 have become much more central in our culture in the 21st century. So join with Schaeffer in calling people back to a relationship with the God who is there.

Acknowledgments		11



Foreword by James W. Sire		13





Section I: The Intellectual & Cultural Climate of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century



1	The Gulf is Fixed	25



Before the Chasm



Presuppositional Apologetics Would Have Stopped the Decay



The Line of Despair



Unity and Disunity in Rationalism



Tendency Towards a Uniform Culture

2	The First Step in the Line of Despair: Philosophy	33



Hegel, the Doorway



Kierkegaard, the First Man Below



The Existentialism of Jaspers, Sartre and Heidegger



The Antiphilosophy of the Anglo-Saxon World



The Use of Drugs



What Does and Does Not Happen in These Experiences



3	The Second Step: Art	46



Van Gogh and Gaugin



Cézanne and Picasso



Mondrian



Dada, Marcel Duchamp, the Happenings and the Environments

4	The Third and Fourth Steps: Music & the General Culture	55



Musique Concrète



Henry Miller



Philosophic Homosexuality



John Osborne



Dylan Thomas



Modern Cinema, the Mass Media and the Beatles



5	The Unifying Factor in the Steps of Despair	63



Romanticism is Dead: Christianity's Opportunity If Antithesis is Maintained





Section II: The Relationship of the New Theology to the Intellectual Climate



1	The Fifth Step: Theology	71



Departure from Biblical Christianity



2	Modern Mysticism: Despair Beyond Despair	76



Theology and Semantic Mysticism



The Use of Words and Symbols



The Origins of Semantic Mysticism--Leonardo Da Vinci



Nature and Grace



3	Modern Mysticism in Action: Art & Language	86



The Tension of Being Man



Mysticism in Art: Paul Klee and Salvador Dali



Mysticism in Language: Martin Heidegger

4	Modern Mysticism in Action: Music & Literature	94



Mysticism in Music--Leonard Bernstein and John Cage



Mysticism in Literature--Henry Miller



5	The Next Phase of Modern Theology	103



God Is Dead--Or Almost So!



A Quest by the Upper-Story Men



Today's Opportunity for the New Theology





Section III: How Historic Christianity Differs from the New Theology



1	Personality or a Devilish Din	113



The Logical End of Denying Personality



2	Verifiable Facts & Knowing	118



Personality As Such Cannot Imply Limitedness



Divine and Human Communication



Love Is More Than a Word



3	The Dilemma of Man	127



The Scandal of the Cross



Historic Christianity and Man's Dilemma



4	God's Answer to Man's Dilemma	133



There Need Be No Either-Or in La Peste

5	How Do We Know It Is True?	137



The Nature of Proof



True Rationality but Not Only Rationality







Section IV: Speaking Historic Christianity into the Twentieth-Century Climate



1	Finding the Point of Tension	147



Communicating to One of My Kind



Logical Conclusions



Torn by Two Consistencies



The Tensions Are Felt in Differing Strengths



2	From the Point of Tension to the Gospel	155



Why There Is a Place for Conversation



Giving and Taking Blows



Taking the Roof Off

3	Applying the Gospel	161



How Dare We Do It?



Faith in the Biblical Sense




Section V: Pre-evangelism is No Soft Option



1	Commending the Christian Faith to our Generation	171



Defense of the Faith



Communication of the Faith



2	The Importance of Truth	175



Truth Stands Before Conversion



Truth and Spirituality



The God Behind Truth





Section VI: Personal & Corporate Living into the Twentieth-Century Climate



1	Demonstrating the Character of God	183



Salvation Does Not End with the Individual



The Visible Quality



Realism in Exhibition



Personality Is Central



2	The Legal, but Not Only the Legal	191



Human People in Our Culture





Appendix A. The Question of Apologetics		196



Appendix B. The Problem of the Middle-Class Church in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century		208



Appendix C. Practice of Truth		213



Glossary		215



Notes		219



Index		225