04.17.09
Is This THE Francis Schaeffer’s Son?
While surfing the net recently, I came across some info of and by Frank Schaeffer. While I may not have been too familiar with Frank Schaeffer other than that he was Francis Schaeffer’s son, I did hold Francis Schaeffer in high regard as a Christian leader with a good head on his shoulders like James Dobson. So when I stumbled upon Frank’s interviews, I had to take a peek. I will say that I don’t agree with Frank on everything like his belief that Obama’s education and health plan would result in fewer abortions, I did find that I agreed with much of the rest of what he said regarding the direction the Republican party has taken and how the types of people Palin attracted were quite disturbing particularly because although they were claiming to be right wing conservatives, they seemed to be strangely against what the right used to be like. Frank offers Pastor Jeremiah Wright as an example. As we all know, Wright was being labeled by the Republicans as anti-American because of his statement, “God Damn American.” Which, by the way, was only a tiny snippet of his full message. A fuller view of the context of Wright’s comments can be viewed here and here. Wright’s message was actually the type of thing that the right wing (like Frank’s father, Francis) used to preach about. Sure it’s disturbing to hear about all the “bad” things the U.S. government has been involved with, but the truth is the truth. Wright spoke of the U.S. using atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. True. The U.S. had black slaves, of which many had virtually no rights. True. The government has been known to have involvement with drug trafficking. True. And other such issues. These were not falsehoods. Wright claimed, “God Damn America” for those things that she’s [America] done–that is suppressing and hurting the poor and innocent. Or should God “bless” America for all those horrific things? They were true and a call for humbleness and self-reflection, and for that Palin and her followers accused Wright of being “un-American” or “anti-American.” I could see why McCain was adamant that Wright be “off limits” for their attack because that would have really opened a can of worms. Frank Schaeffer pointed this out in his article, Obama’s Minister Committed Treason, but When My Father Said the Same Thing, He was a Republican Hero. Below is taken from part of the article:
“Consider a few passages from my father’s [Francis Schaeffer] immensely influential America-bashing book A Christian Manifesto. It sailed under the radar of the major media who, back when it was published in 1980, were not paying particular attention to best-selling religious books. Nevertheless it sold more than a million copies.
Here’s Dad writing in his chapter on civil disobedience:
If there is a legitimate reason for the use of force [against the US government]… then at a certain point force is justifiable.
And this:
In the United States the materialistic, humanistic world view is being taught exclusively in most state schools… There is an obvious parallel between this and the situation in Russia [the USSR]. And we really must not be blind to the fact that indeed in the public schools in the United States all religious influence is as forcibly forbidden as in the Soviet Union….
Then this:
There does come a time when force, even physical force, is appropriate… A true Christian in Hitler’s Germany and in the occupied countries should have defied the false and counterfeit state. This brings us to a current issue that is crucial for the future of the church in the United States, the issue of abortion… It is time we consciously realize that when any office commands what is contrary to God’s law it abrogates it’s authority. And our loyalty to the God who gave this law then requires that we make the appropriate response in that situation…
Was any conservative political leader associated with Dad running for cover? Far from it. Dad was a frequent guest of the Kemps, had lunch with the Fords, stayed in the White House as their guest, he met with Reagan, helped Dr. C. Everett Koop become Surgeon General. (I went on the 700 Club several times to generate support for Koop).
Dad became a hero to the evangelical community and a leading political instigator. When Dad died in 1984 everyone from Reagan to Kemp to Billy Graham lamented his passing publicly as the loss of a great American. Not one Republican leader was ever asked to denounce my dad or distanced himself from Dad’s statements.
Take Dad’s words and put them in the mouth of Obama’s preacher (or in the mouth of any black American preacher) and people would be accusing that preacher of treason. Yet when we of the white Religious Right denounced America white conservative Americans and top political leaders, called our words “godly” and “prophetic” and a “call to repentance.”
Full article can be viewed here.
Since I don’t normally watch regular TV, I’m a bit late on seeing this interview, which appears to have aired about a couple months ago. Nevertheless, I found it interesting and do agree with it to a certain extent. I’m familiar with Francis Schaeffer’s older writings and even have his complete works here at home. So when Frank states that the right wing movement is not like what it used to be, I agree. I did not like what I saw during the latest Presidential elections and hated to associate myself with the “religious right wing.” But I still remember at least how well McCain’s final presentation went, and how surprised I was that McCain ended it well after all, with respect. Anyway, here’s Frank iinterviewed by D.L. Hughley.
Below are a couple more links to Frank’s interview back in October 2008 on Democracy Now regarding his formal letter to McCain. I had not seen this during that time, so found it a bit interesting and surprising. While I did have the same sentiments with the direction that the elections seemed to be taking, I don’t think I went as far as Frank to call Palin and her ilks “nut wingers.” (Although after watching some of the videos and the reactions of the crowd, it did cross my mind. . . )
Democracy Now Part 1
Finally, and I think I may have to do a second post regarding this, is that Frank has evidently “changed” his religion from, I “think” Calvinist to Eastern or Greek Orthodox. Hmmm. That one had me very curious especially in light of the fact that he’s “Francis Schaeffer’s” son, so have tried to do a little more searching on that to find out what that’s all about. Obvious there’s a problem somewhere, and I’m curious to know more. And of course, I already have some comments on that, but will reserve them until I know a bit more about Frank.
Marlakins
