His writing aims squarely at the Christian mind but always impacts the heart. And whenever the mind and heart are inflamed by Christian truth, the hands and feet are quick to follow. Schaeffer’s proposition in this piece is simple. The culture is getting increasingly more secular and ungodly. There are two contents and two realities.
Sometimes the best things come in small packages. Case in point: Two Contents, Two Realities by Francis Schaeffer. To call it a booklet would be inaccurate. To call it a pamphlet would be insulting. The worst accusation one could hurl at this work is irrelevant or outdated. Originally published in 1974 as a position paper that was presented at the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, Schaeffer’s work (as usual) is prophetic, timely, and challenging. His writing aims squarely at the Christian mind but always impacts the heart. And whenever the mind and heart are inflamed by Christian truth, the hands and feet are quick to follow.
Schaeffer’s proposition in this piece is simple. The culture is getting increasingly more secular and ungodly. There are two contents and two realities:
Content # 1: Sound Doctrine
Content # 2: Honest Answers to Honest Questions
Reality # 1: True Spirituality
Reality # 2: The Beauty of Human Relationships
The First Content: Sound Doctrine
Schaeffer argues, “We must have the courage to make no compromise with liberal theology and especially neo-orthodox existential theology.” He argues strenuously against any system that abandons the role of the intellect which is tantamount to rejecting propositional revelation. In regards to the doctrinal content, Schaeffer maintains there are three things we must recognize:
1) There must be a strong emphasis on content.
2) There must be a strong emphasis on the propositional nature of the Bible, especially the early chapters of Genesis.
3) There must be a strong emphasis on the practice of truth.
Anyone who takes a serious look at the church in the 21st century must admit that we have clearly moved away from these important components in Schaeffer’s system. Theology is marginalized in most churches. Propositional truth is relegated to modernity and cast aside in favor of mysticism and existentialism. And while practicing the truth may be in vogue, one wonders which truth is being practiced given the shaky epistemological groundwork.
