Frank Schaeffer (not to be confused with his father Francis) titled his memoir Crazy for God with the helpful subtitle How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back.
His writing is engaging and thought-provoking, especially for myself as a Christian father and pastor. His father, Francis Schaeffer, was a much-beloved Christian thinker who utilised contemporary music, art history, and philosophy to answer the questions of his day. He was truly countercultural in the way he wrote and lived.
I began studying Francis Schaeffer for my Masters dissertation with Moorlands College. As a former atheist discovering Christianity, I found Francis’ early writings so helpful, but was surprised by his later work. It was jarring to see the person-centred preacher become a figure in the culture wars and a member of the Religious Right. Through my studies, I wanted to discover the reasons for this change and what lessons I could learn for myself and my church context today. I hoped his son Frank could help me understand and so I requested an interview and he kindly responded.
Taking the blame
Frank told me the change was largely his fault. Frank’s perceived influence on his father’s life and work has since motivated him to pen multiple books seeking to undo the damage he did in his youth. He believes he is partly responsible for the weight ascribed to the abortion issue today which lies at the heart of the white American evangelical voter base, and so he takes responsibility, in small part, for the election of Donald Trump. I wanted to know how Frank believed he influenced his father, and so he told me his timeline of events.
Francis had originally chosen the abortion issue to illustrate his conclusion in his film and book How Should We Then Live? but was pressured to make the issue more prevalent in the last episode. The initial aim was to wake up evangelical America to the issue, many of whom were pro-choice at the time. But Frank, supported by C. Everett Koop (future Surgeon General), pressured his father to record a second series pushing the issue further. This became Whatever Happened to the Human Race. According to Frank, his father never wanted to record the series, but three things persuaded him. Firstly, Frank knew his father genuinely believed in the issue. Secondly, Frank was an aspiring filmmaker who wanted a steady income and more directing experience. Thirdly, and most crucially, Frank and his wife Genie had been teen parents themselves. Frank believed that if they had lived in America, and hadn’t received the support that they had, they may well have chosen abortion as an option for themselves. It was a deeply personal issue for the Schaeffers and so Francis, despite his ill health, was persuaded into committing to the project. The rest is history, as Francis Schaeffer became a figure within the Christian sub-culture he had spent most of his life fighting against.
Hypocrisy and materialism
What began as an illustration became the fight for a Christian America and Frank became the heir-apparent to the Schaeffer ministry. Frank would eventually leave his father’s path, and Christianity, behind and I was fascinated to hear why. Tragically, he recalled that it was the hypocrisy and materialism in the church, the same issues his father attacked in his youth, which led to his disillusionment. The Christian money-making machine had taken the Schaeffers in and put them to work. Unlike his original writings, such as The God Who is There, which came after careful consideration, Francis’ books were churned out in response to the fast-moving current of the culture wars. Sadly, the evangelical sub-culture remains as dangerous as ever and continues to put people off Christianity today.
God gives meaning
When speaking to Frank I found great love and respect for his father and mother, but also a sadness as he recalls their service to what Frank describes as the Christian propaganda machine. He lamented being born into evangelicalism and especially growing up with the constant pressure to make everything useful to the Christian message. In his new book, Fall in Love, Have Children, Stay Put, Save the Planet, Be Happy, Frank tries to simplify life by removing any need for an agenda. For Frank, life is beautiful enough without the need to smuggle in Jesus. I found myself agreeing that sometimes Christians forget that everything has intrinsic value to God, and not everything needs to be overtly missional. But I was saddened to hear that Frank seems to have lost the abiding value of his Father’s work; God is the one who gives life meaning.
