- Over 400,000 Sold

For over fifty years The God Who Is There has been a landmark work that has changed the way the church sees the world. Francis Schaeffer's first book presents a wide-ranging analysis of the intellectual and cultural climate of the second half of the twentieth century, from philosophy to art to liberal theology. Arguing that Christians must constantly engage the questions being asked by their own—and the next—generation, he envisions an apologetics and spirituality both grounded in absolute truth and engaging the whole of reality.

"If we are unexcited Christians, we should go back and see what is wrong," Schaeffer writes. "We are surrounded by a generation that can find 'no one home' in the universe. . . . In contrast to this, as a Christian I know who I am; and I know the personal God who is there." In every age, this God continues to provide the anchor of truth and the power of love to meet the world's deepest problems.

Named by Christianity Today as one of the "Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals" (October 2006), this redesigned classic is now available as part of the IVP Signature Collection.



Steven Garber is professor of marketplace theology and leadership at Regent College, Vancouver, and the principal of The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation & Culture. A consultant to foundations, corporations, and schools, he is a teacher of many people in many places. His books include Visions of Vocation and The Fabric of Faithfulness, and he is a contributor to the books Faith Goes to Work: Reflections from the Marketplace and Get Up Off Your Knees:Preaching the U2 Catalogue. He is married to Meg. They have five grown children and several grandchildren.



Francis A. Schaeffer (1912–1984) was a pastor, theologian, and speaker with an international ministry who became one of the most influential figures in American evangelicalism during his lifetime. With his wife, Edith, he founded the L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. He was the author of many books, including Escape from Reason and How Should We Then Live?, which have sold millions of copies worldwide.



James W. Sire (1933–2018) was a widely respected apologist, author, and lecturer who served for more than thirty years as senior editor at InterVarsity Press. He is the author of over twenty books, including the seminal apologetics title The Universe Next Door, Apologetics Beyond Reason, and Discipleship of the Mind.



Foreword by Steven Garber



Introduction by James W. Sire

Section I: The Intellectual and Cultural Climate of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century



1. The Gulf Is Fixed



2. The First Step in the Line of Despair: Philosophy



3. The Second Step: Art



4. The Third and Fourth Steps: Music and the General Culture



5. The Unifying Factor in the Steps of Despair

Section II: The Relationship of the New Theology to the Intellectual Climate



1. The Fifth Step: Theology



2. Modern Mysticism: Despair Beyond Despair



3. Modern Mysticism in Action: Art and Language



4. Modern Mysticism in Action: Music and Literature



5. The Next Phase of Modern Theology

Section III: How Historic Christianity Differs from the New Theology



1. Personality or a Devilish Din



2. Verifiable Facts and Knowing



3. The Dilemma of Man



4. God's Answer to Man's Dilemma



5.How Do We Know It Is True?

Section IV: Speaking Historic Christianity into the Twentieth-Century Climate



1. Finding the Point of Tension



2. From the Point of Tension to the Gospel



3. Applying the Gospel

Section V: Pre-evangelism Is No Soft Option



1. Commending the Christian Faith to Our Generation



2. The Importance of Truth

Section VI: Personal and Corporate Living into the Twentieth-Century Climate



1. Demonstrating the Character of God



2. The Legal, but Not Only the Legal



Appendix A. The Question of Apologetics



Appendix B. The Problem of the Middle-Class Church in the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century



Appendix C. The Practice of Truth



Glossary



Notes



Index



"I have known Francis Schaeffer in all the phases of his remarkable ministry. Where he was most unique was in his interaction with young men and women out of tune with our society or theirs. He patiently would allow them to state their case, go as far out on a limb as they wished, and then would gently reconstruct their thinking and eventually their lives according to the principles established so well in The God Who Is There."



"Francis Schaeffer was the philosopher-prophet of the twentieth century. He was one of the first to recognize that the real issues in this secular humanist–dominated day were God, life, moral values and freedom."



"Francis Schaeffer was a reading, listening, thinking man. He had his finger on the pulse of ongoing cultural trends and had an unusual gift for communicating key ideas at a nontechnical level. In this postmodern era his approach to evangelism and discipling remains supremely relevant."



"The God Who Is There is the most influential book I have never read. Simply hearing Francis Schaeffer give its message across lecture halls and living rooms of Europe and the United States in the mid-sixties changed my direction forever."



"This classic book needs to be read by a new generation that may not know of Schaeffer, and re-read by those who have been influenced by him."



"In The God Who Is There Francis Schaeffer awakened an entire generation of Christians to the root causes for the eclipse of God in the age of secularism. It remains a contemporary commentary on our times."



"This book, and its companion volumes, accomplished something startling and necessary: It made intellectual history a vital part of the evangelical landscape, opening up the worlds particularly of art and philosophy to a subculture that was suspicious and ignorant of both."