Authentic Christianity
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 53, No. 2 – Spring 2011
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Barry Hankins. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. 272 pages. Softcover, $20.00.
In this volume Barry Hankins, Professor of History and Church-State Studies at Baylor University, delivers a concise yet thorough biography of Francis Schaffer, situating him as a central figure in the evangelical movement of mid- twentieth century America. In describing Schaeffer’s life and work, Hankins argues that Schaeffer was often on the leading edge of major developments in American evangelicalism and that Schaeffer’s greatest and most lasting contribution is not found in his reasoned apologetic arguments but rather in his call for cultural engagement among evangelicals, an appeal which helped shift the movement away from the separatist ideals of an earlier fundamentalism and toward positive interaction with culture.
The opening chapters present the first five decades of Schaeffer’s life in an engaging narrative style. Hankins recounts Schaeffer’s conversion as a teenager and his subsequent education at Westminster and Faith Seminaries—experiences that ensured that young Schaeffer, coming of age in the midst of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy, would land firmly in the fundamentalist camp, displaying a bent for militant separation from anything remotely resembling modernism. He then traces the striking changes in Schaeffer’s attitude during his time working in Europe, as his interaction with the many non-Christian perspectives on the Continent caused Schaeffer to realize that stringent separatism was far less effective in evangelism and ministry than engaging people in rational discussion about their cultural worldviews and presuppositions. This transformation in Schaeffer’s philosophy of ministry is most clearly seen in chapter three, which details Schaeffer’s work and ministry at L’Abri. Drawing particularly on interviews with former workers and guests at L’Abri, Hankins includes numerous insightful and heart-warming anecdotes about this period of Schaeffer’s ministry, stressing his emphasis on love as the “final apologetic” (72). This is the best chapter of the book, because Hankins considers L’Abri to be the embodiment of what he most admires about Schaffer’s ministry: cultural engagement and the apologetic of love.
In his remaining five chapters Hankins takes a notably different tack. Diverging from his earlier narrative style he investigates the balance of Schaeffer’s life in a more thematic manner, exploring Schaeffer’s worldview largely through the lens of his books and films. Chapter four, for example, launches into an extended discussion on “The Trilogy,” three books which laid out Schaffer’s basic arguments for Christianity. Although perhaps too long, this chapter does provide a helpful overview of Schaeffer’s views of history and philosophy. The succeeding chapters are similarly structured, alternately emphasizing Schaeffer’s role as a progressive voice in American evangelicalism, his deep involvement in the battle for biblical inerrancy, his philosophy as expressed through his films, and his later gravitation toward Christian Right political activism.
The strengths of this volume are numerous. First, Hankins provides a great depth and breadth to his presentation of Schaeffer by drawing on an array of sources including Schaeffer’s own works, the accounts of those close to him, lectures, correspondences, and interviews. Second, Hankins’ prose, , makes this book an engaging read. Third, although his account is often laudatory, Hankins does not shy away from critical evaluation; for instance, he often notes Schaeffer’s rather shallow grasp of the details of history and particular philosophies. He also discusses at some length Schaeffer’s bristling indignation at criticism he received from historians George Marsden and Mark Noll.
While Hankins’ writing is excellent, his abrupt switch from narrative style to a thematic one is somewhat jarring, and the second half of the book lacks much of the flow present in the early chapters. As a result the latter chapters, while still well-written, are a bit drier. They are also at times repetitive, though this is partially a reflection of Schaeffer’s own tendency to revisit the same themes in his various books and films. Hankins also overreaches in his attempt to create a symmetrical framework for Schaeffer’s life and thought when he asserts that Schaeffer’s European ministry was not indicative of a massive shift in perspective from his earlier fundamentalism but was instead merely a temporary interlude between the earlier and latter fundamentalist tendencies that bookended his life (159). Such a claim seems to dismiss the possibility that Schaeffer was capable of changing and developing his views, and simply ignores the human tendency to maintain numerous competing attitudes simultaneously. Nevertheless, these few drawbacks pale in comparison to the book’s contribution to understanding a key figure in evangelical history.
In the final analysis, Hankins’ work provides an excellent evaluation of Schaeffer’s intellectual and philosophical legacies and their immense impact on evangelicalism. Moreover, it paints a memorable picture of the man himself, warts and all. This volume is accessible for any educated reader, and should be equally at home in a graduate or undergraduate classroom and in the personal library of anyone interested in the shape of mid-twentieth century evangelicalism.
