How Should We Then Live

Subtitle: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture

by: Francis A. Schaeffer

I just finished this book. To be honest I found it terribly frightening, especially since it was written in 1976.

I was anticipating some ending encouragement, some words that would hold out hope. Instead Schaeffer brings Christ's followers full circle, right back to Imperial Rome watching the final contortions of a doomed society about to plunge headlong into a new Dark Ages. Schaeffer does not believe there will be a similar period of Christian martyrdom for us, we have already sold out to the dual gods of "personal peace" and "affluence". Our end is more prolonged and torturous.

Not a good book for a nation of feel good

Do you believe that our end will be more prolonged and torturous?

I have found this book very enlightening. If one is looking for feel good, you may have to look for quite awhile.

Quantrill

Yes I believe that is possible. Prolonged as our dissent into darkness may be slow and gradual, loosing our humanity inch by inch. (This has already begun). Orwell's 1984 was off by just a few short years.

I hope it's a no, but incase if the answer is a yes, ...

you know how during suffering the instinctual reflex of the flesh can make things worse

even though the flesh can help prevent the hand from being more damaged, when the reflex can wince the hand away from a hot stove

we need to somehow fix the flesh and reprogram the flesh somehow, and we know that we fail miserably at that kind of goal (to reprogram the flesh), we underestimate the reflex of the flesh, overestimate methods of self-control, etc.

Our cell may be softer and the threats we face something other than a rat in an open ended cage, but the pressure to surrender our values are building to that same end. The book illustrates this much better than I.

Schaeffer reminds us of the causes of the fall of Rome; a mounting love of luxury, widening gap between rich and poor, an obsession with sex, freakish arts and the increasing dependence on the state. He then leads the reader through the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment up to modern America, all from a Christian viewpoint. In the end we are right back in Rome where the blame for it's problems were placed on the head of Christians.

Your GIF is a perfect bookend to a poem I posted several weeks ago in the POETRY forum. :

We pass them, majestic;
Towering above everything near,
Hardly noting their existence,
Despite their enormity.

They stand for years,
More than a century witness,
To seasons and change,
Older than memory.

They spring from tiny seed,
That floats for miles on a breath of breeze,
Lighter than a wish, delicate as hope,
Cast out to abide in faith and trust.

Yet they speak, clear and sure,
The quite sound of disturbed surf,
Or of a great storm far off, just now within hearing,
While a thousand hands are waving, clapping, joyous.

But pray hear, God speaks from trees.

...And a sad Amen.....

The moment I posted by first reply I knew I was in error. Ours is not to say a sad "Amen" even though it looks like that is the proper response, ours is to speak up more loudly still against the things that draw us away from the truth. We may have lost the culture war here in the west (Has Christianity ever won against the world?) but as those who spoke out before, our voices of praise should ring even louder. I forgot for a moment who has the ultimate victory, for that I ask forgiveness.

I kind of forgot this scripture in Hosea. This is why it is important to read the word. I believe it is the inspired word of the Lord, as the HOly Spirit brings scripture to mind, the good word, the good words. This scripture popped into my spirit today. Wait upon the Lord, and be of good courage. bv. One would say, good courage of what? discouragement is not good. The rest of it says, "and he will strengthen thy heart. " Hosea 4 sounds like a very harsh sentence. But, a Loving God, and FAther, Creator, knows what's best for the human race. He dosn't want any one to perish. We can not play games with an Almighty God.

Thank you for the post of the gif. Every thing designed , and created by God, is good, and probably within everything are secrets. But, fall is over, and I might post a gif of Winter.

I havn't read that book, but the title, the decline in thought and culture, is very provokinly honestly [truthful] or (([[hurtful]]))

There is nothing new under the sun?
Are we just repeating history.
This is a ten part series of the book.

I agree. And I LOVE that snow falling in your signature. It's so pretty!!

I can’t see your sig Kaylena

I did not know this 10 part series existed. Thank you for sharing!

My pleasure. Thank you for introducing the book to our community members first. Blessings.

1984 was a great year! That was the year I graduated from high school. Our society is so much worse now than it was in 1984.