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No Final Conflict The Bible without error in all that it affirms
48 page pamphlet on the reliability of the Bible; a L'Abri pamphlet
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1975
2 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Francis A. Schaeffer
95 books801 followersFrancis August Schaeffer was an American Evangelical Christian theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He is most famous for his writings and his establishment of the L'Abri community in Switzerland. Opposed to theological modernism, Schaeffer promoted a more historic Protestant faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics which he believed would answer the questions of the age.
Wife: Edith Schaeffer
children: Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
Wife: Edith Schaeffer
children: Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 13, 2019
Excelente!
March 5, 2017
Muito bom. Futuro lançamento da Monergismo (2017).
January 31, 2024
A David recommendation
I was grateful for Schaefer’s ponding on genealogy and where does creation fit into science. It’s good to know what’s worth fighting about and what’s not.
Although I didn’t feel like this addressed anything new for me, it was concise and well articulated, so I’m into that.
I was grateful for Schaefer’s ponding on genealogy and where does creation fit into science. It’s good to know what’s worth fighting about and what’s not.
Although I didn’t feel like this addressed anything new for me, it was concise and well articulated, so I’m into that.
January 31, 2019
Um texto muito bom!
February 1, 2020
This is a fitting companion to his *Genesis In Space and Time* (as he says it is meant to be). In the Genesis book, Schaeffer focuses on the historicity of the Genesis account, specifically on the ramifications of it for history, the world, and us. He shows that without the historicity of the first 11 chapters of Genesis, Christianity doesn’t have the answers it does. But with them, it has the best answers in the world.
In that work, he dove a little bit into details—for example, concerning the word *day* and how to take the genealogies. But overall, he was more focused on the story, the text, and the ramifications. In this book, however, he gets more details. Hence, it’s a perfect companion to the Genesis book.
The book is less cohesive than *Genesis In Space and Time*, as it’s merely a gathering of lectures and essays he has written elsewhere. But here he digs into more specifics that were omitted in the previous book: about taking the Bible as history; about 7 possibilities that we must be open to from Genesis, talking about the flood, the word for *day*, the word for *create*, how we should view evolution, etc.; and about the importance of defining our terms when discussing infallibility and inerrancy.
As a result, although this is a short work, it’s helpful to hear Schaeffer address with detail these specific debates and issues. I wouldn’t recommend reading it without reading *Genesis in Space and Time*, but if you do read the Genesis book, I’d definitely take the time to read this short one along with it.
In that work, he dove a little bit into details—for example, concerning the word *day* and how to take the genealogies. But overall, he was more focused on the story, the text, and the ramifications. In this book, however, he gets more details. Hence, it’s a perfect companion to the Genesis book.
The book is less cohesive than *Genesis In Space and Time*, as it’s merely a gathering of lectures and essays he has written elsewhere. But here he digs into more specifics that were omitted in the previous book: about taking the Bible as history; about 7 possibilities that we must be open to from Genesis, talking about the flood, the word for *day*, the word for *create*, how we should view evolution, etc.; and about the importance of defining our terms when discussing infallibility and inerrancy.
As a result, although this is a short work, it’s helpful to hear Schaeffer address with detail these specific debates and issues. I wouldn’t recommend reading it without reading *Genesis in Space and Time*, but if you do read the Genesis book, I’d definitely take the time to read this short one along with it.
September 4, 2024
SCHAEFFER REPUBLISHES SEVERAL TEXTS DEALING WITH "PROBLEM" AREAS
Francis August Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an American Christian theologian, philosopher, apologist, and Presbyterian pastor, as well as the founder of the L'Abri community in Switzerland. He wrote the famed "trilogy": 'The God Who Is There,' 'Escape from Reason,' and 'He is There & He is not Silent.' He has also written many other books such as 'How Then should We then Live,' 'Genesis in Space and Time,' 'The Church At the End of the 20th Century,' 'Death in the City,' etc.
He also turned to politics with Whatever happened to the human race, which was influenced by his filmmaker son Frank (who later regretted it; see his book, 'Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect').
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1975 booklet, "It is my conviction that the crucial area of discussion for evangelicalism in the next several years will be the Scripture. At stake is whether evangelicalism will remain evangelical. The issue is whether the Bible is God's verbalized communication to men giving propositional true truth where it touches the cosmos and history or whether it is only in some sense 'revelational' when it touches matters of religion...
"To deal with these crucial questions in this small book, I bring four things together: 1. The section dealing with the Bible from the speech I gave at the Lausanne Congress in 1974 [see 2 Contents, 2 Realities for the rest]... 2. A lecture entitled 'The Freedom and Limitation in Cosmogony as Set by the Bible'... It deals with the POSSIBILITIES open to us where the Bible touches science in the first chapters of Genesis... 3. A restating of the studies in 'Genesis in Space and Time' ... regarding the genealogies in the book of Genesis. 4. The two long footnotes from 'Genesis in Space and Time' which I fear were largely lost because they were used as footnotes rather than incorporated in the text." (Pg. 9-10)
He says, "God has given two revelations to man. The first two are general revelation, the second two, special revelation. The general revelations are, first, the universe and its form, and second, man and his mannishness. It should be noted that Paul stresses both of these in Romans 1. The two special revelations are the verbalized communication from God to man in the Bible, and second, the revelation of God in Christ. Rightly understood, these four revelations will always compose one revelation." (Pg. 23-24)
He argues, "We come now to the possible freedoms which the Bible gives us as we consider the cosmos... I am speaking of freedoms which MAY be possible, and nothing beyond that. 1. There is a possibility that God created a 'grown-up' universe... 2. There is a possibility that there is a break between verses one and two, or verses two and three, of Genesis 1... Satan ruled the earth, and, by his revolt, he caused the death of the animals... 3. There is a possibility of a 'long day' in Genesis 1... 4. There is a possibility that the flood affected the geological data... 5. ... there would have been changes beyond little horses becoming big horses. Specifically, it is conceivable that changes could have occurred in the range of the species themselves without conflicting with this word 'kind.' 6... the possibility of the death of animals before the Fall... 7. Only the word 'bara' must mean an abolute new beginning..." (Pg. 25-32)
He clarifies, "I urge you again to remember that I am not saying that any of these positions are my own or that they will prove to be the case. I am simply stating theoretical possibilities... I will now mention two limits that seem to me to be absolute. The first is that the use of the word 'bara' insists that at the original creation, at the creation of conscious life and at the creation of man there was specific discontinuity with what preceded. One other limitation is that Adam was historic and was the first man and that Eve was made from Adam." (Pg. 33)
The publications included in this booklet are very helpful clarifications of Schaeffer's own positions---or in some cases, of positions that he considered "possible." This booklet is very helpful for anyone wanting a fuller understanding of Schaeffer's thought in these "problem" areas.
Francis August Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an American Christian theologian, philosopher, apologist, and Presbyterian pastor, as well as the founder of the L'Abri community in Switzerland. He wrote the famed "trilogy": 'The God Who Is There,' 'Escape from Reason,' and 'He is There & He is not Silent.' He has also written many other books such as 'How Then should We then Live,' 'Genesis in Space and Time,' 'The Church At the End of the 20th Century,' 'Death in the City,' etc.
He also turned to politics with Whatever happened to the human race, which was influenced by his filmmaker son Frank (who later regretted it; see his book, 'Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect').
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1975 booklet, "It is my conviction that the crucial area of discussion for evangelicalism in the next several years will be the Scripture. At stake is whether evangelicalism will remain evangelical. The issue is whether the Bible is God's verbalized communication to men giving propositional true truth where it touches the cosmos and history or whether it is only in some sense 'revelational' when it touches matters of religion...
"To deal with these crucial questions in this small book, I bring four things together: 1. The section dealing with the Bible from the speech I gave at the Lausanne Congress in 1974 [see 2 Contents, 2 Realities for the rest]... 2. A lecture entitled 'The Freedom and Limitation in Cosmogony as Set by the Bible'... It deals with the POSSIBILITIES open to us where the Bible touches science in the first chapters of Genesis... 3. A restating of the studies in 'Genesis in Space and Time' ... regarding the genealogies in the book of Genesis. 4. The two long footnotes from 'Genesis in Space and Time' which I fear were largely lost because they were used as footnotes rather than incorporated in the text." (Pg. 9-10)
He says, "God has given two revelations to man. The first two are general revelation, the second two, special revelation. The general revelations are, first, the universe and its form, and second, man and his mannishness. It should be noted that Paul stresses both of these in Romans 1. The two special revelations are the verbalized communication from God to man in the Bible, and second, the revelation of God in Christ. Rightly understood, these four revelations will always compose one revelation." (Pg. 23-24)
He argues, "We come now to the possible freedoms which the Bible gives us as we consider the cosmos... I am speaking of freedoms which MAY be possible, and nothing beyond that. 1. There is a possibility that God created a 'grown-up' universe... 2. There is a possibility that there is a break between verses one and two, or verses two and three, of Genesis 1... Satan ruled the earth, and, by his revolt, he caused the death of the animals... 3. There is a possibility of a 'long day' in Genesis 1... 4. There is a possibility that the flood affected the geological data... 5. ... there would have been changes beyond little horses becoming big horses. Specifically, it is conceivable that changes could have occurred in the range of the species themselves without conflicting with this word 'kind.' 6... the possibility of the death of animals before the Fall... 7. Only the word 'bara' must mean an abolute new beginning..." (Pg. 25-32)
He clarifies, "I urge you again to remember that I am not saying that any of these positions are my own or that they will prove to be the case. I am simply stating theoretical possibilities... I will now mention two limits that seem to me to be absolute. The first is that the use of the word 'bara' insists that at the original creation, at the creation of conscious life and at the creation of man there was specific discontinuity with what preceded. One other limitation is that Adam was historic and was the first man and that Eve was made from Adam." (Pg. 33)
The publications included in this booklet are very helpful clarifications of Schaeffer's own positions---or in some cases, of positions that he considered "possible." This booklet is very helpful for anyone wanting a fuller understanding of Schaeffer's thought in these "problem" areas.
February 10, 2024
In many ways, this book reminds me of Machen’s classic “Christianity and Liberalism.” The difference between the two is that Schaeffer isn’t as thorough but he is more precise in that he pinpoints what he believes the long-term attack on Christianity will come from those who deny the authority and inerrancy of Scripture. It is interesting that he then goes on to say that there are multiple understandings of ways to interpret the cosmological theology of Genesis 1-3. Schaeffer does not endorse those interpretations, but does allow for them as plausible interpretations of Scripture, such as gap theory, second creation theory, death of animals before the fall, and other things pertaining to the Genesis account. Shorter than I would have liked, but still filled to the brim with things to consider.
July 24, 2022
Recently I led a series of Bible studies looking at the early chapters of Genesis and someone suggested that I seek out this short booklet. I didn't but recently came across it among others given to me many years ago by my uncle. I'm glad I didn't read it at the time as I may have been sidetracked into seeking to debunk it. It largely owes its origin to Schaeffer's address to the Lausanne Congress, which on the one hand, laudibly, reintegrated social action with evangelism in the evangelical mindset, but also, largely off the back of this presentation, lit the blue-touchpaper under the pseudo-scientific "Creation Science" movement, which has damaged Christian credibility in the scientific world and fractured the trust of some conservative evangelicals in mainstream science, with recent deadly consequences. This is sad given that Schaeffer was such an influence on me in my youth, encouraging the use of intelligence and the integration of the arts and faith. Sadly here he fails on both counts. He does not see the logical inconsistencies of demanding rigorous literalism in reading how Genesis is understood in the New Testament with an evasion of such literalism in looking at the genealogical inconsistencies. Nor does he employ any appreciation of the ancient art of storytelling to appreciate that what we are looking at in Genesis 1-11 is not science or history as we now understand these forms but something much more profound which must be understood within the context in which they were composed and compiled... a context he doesn't even acknowledge
February 1, 2012
This book demonstrates the freedom and limitation we have in interpreting the book of Genesis. I like that he lists a range of possibilities.
Personally, I could not agree with his conclusion about Genesis 5 (and 11) being a-chronological. A simple reading of them does not give one the impression of anything other than a genealogy and chronology, although he makes a good point a la Warfield, that chronology itself has little or no bearing on theology itself.
Still, the book of Genesis is a fascinating study for me, and I would like to see more writing such as Schaeffer's here which is a great deal more objective than almost anything out there on the book of Genesis. He makes some great points and I am glad that he wrote this booklet.
Personally, I could not agree with his conclusion about Genesis 5 (and 11) being a-chronological. A simple reading of them does not give one the impression of anything other than a genealogy and chronology, although he makes a good point a la Warfield, that chronology itself has little or no bearing on theology itself.
Still, the book of Genesis is a fascinating study for me, and I would like to see more writing such as Schaeffer's here which is a great deal more objective than almost anything out there on the book of Genesis. He makes some great points and I am glad that he wrote this booklet.
January 30, 2021
É um bom texto sobre a questão do conflito do relato de Gênesis ser histórico ou não. O livro é o resultado de uma palestra do Schaeffer no Congresso de Lausanne. O livro é bom, sucinto mas bom. São interessantes os pontos nos quis ele mostra sobre como o NT mostra que Gênesis é histórico e a parte na qual ele defende que as genealogias não são cronológicas. Ele também ataca essa visão da primazia da ciência sobre a revelação de Deus que muitos cristãos (principalmente teologia liberais) assumem. Eu só não gostei do preço. Acho que pelo livro deveria ser mais barato.
May 26, 2020
Esperava mais. Fiquei meio decepcionado. Estava achando que teria uma explanação mais aprofundada, mas o livro levanta alguns tópicos com argumentos que, até certo ponto, no meu leigo ponto de vista, poderiam ser tratados de forma mais abrangente.
August 24, 2019
Basically solid, pitched at the intelligent layman.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews