Francis Schaeffer (1912–1984) was a Presbyterian pastor, theologian, and Christian philosopher whose influence shaped a generation of believers to think deeply about faith, culture, and truth. With his distinctive goatee, knickers, and thoughtful gaze, Schaeffer became a prophetic voice to a church drifting toward superficiality and cultural irrelevance.
He founded L’Abri (“The Shelter”) in the Swiss Alps, not as a lecture hall but as a home. Students and seekers from around the world would live there, join in daily chores, and engage in conversations around the dinner table and in cozy chalets warmed by firelight. Schaeffer treated no one as a “project”—he listened, asked questions, shared Scripture, and prayed. His approach was intensely relational, deeply theological, and unfailingly respectful.
Schaeffer’s Apologetic Method: Tearing off the Roof
Francis Schaeffer’s apologetic method centered on meeting people where they were and helping them examine the logical consequences of their worldview. He often used a strategy he described as “taking the roof off.” That is, he would ask penetrating questions until a person realized their belief system, when carried to its logical end, could not account for reality. This tension would often lead the person to a “line of despair”—the recognition that without biblical truth, nothing in life ultimately makes sense.
At that critical moment, Schaeffer would offer the biblical alternative: a worldview grounded in the infinite-personal God, the historical reality of Jesus Christ, and the hope of salvation by grace through faith. He didn’t pressure people to convert. He prayed. He loved. He waited—and he spoke the truth.
The Worldview of Modern Judaism
Modern Judaism is a monotheistic religion rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Tanakh) and enriched by Rabbinic tradition. It affirms one transcendent, personal God (YHWH), who entered into covenant with Israel and gave His laws through Moses. Salvation is viewed more communally than individually, grounded in God’s covenantal faithfulness and one’s obedience to Torah. Sin is real but not universally depraved, and atonement comes through repentance (teshuva), good deeds (mitzvot), and Yom Kippur prayers—not a substitutionary sacrifice.
Judaism rejects Jesus as the Messiah, seeing Him as a failed claimant who did not fulfill Messianic expectations such as restoring Israel or bringing universal peace. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is perceived as incompatible with Jewish monotheism. The New Testament is not accepted as divinely inspired, and Christians are seen as having departed from the original covenant.
Yet Christianity responds by affirming that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 53), and that the New Covenant was foretold by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Christianity maintains that the Mosaic Covenant was preparatory and has been fulfilled in Christ, who offers a better priesthood, a better sacrifice, and eternal reconciliation with God (Hebrews 8–10).
Setting the Scene: A Young Jewish Seeker at L’Abri
Daniel (a common name among Jewish families for generations) is a 20-year-old university student who has spent two years deeply immersed in Jewish philosophy and tradition. His family is Conservative Jewish, and he has studied at a yeshiva during a gap year in Israel. He arrives at L’Abri not to argue, but to explore. A professor recommended Schaeffer’s writings, and now, having read The God Who Is There, Daniel wants to talk.
He’s bright, articulate, and deeply committed to his heritage—but something is missing. “I feel like I know a lot about God,” he told Schaeffer, “but I don’t know God.”
Fictitious Dialogue: Francis Schaeffer and Daniel
Schaeffer: Daniel, I’m glad you’re here. You’ve clearly thought deeply about your faith. What drew you to L’Abri?
Daniel: I’ve read your book, The God Who Is There, and it unsettled me—in a good way. I’ve always loved my Jewish faith. I love Torah, the rhythm of the Sabbath, the sense of being part of a people. But I feel like I’m striving all the time. I want to know if I’m close to God, but I never feel assurance. My rabbi says it’s about the journey, not arrival. But is God really that unknowable?
Schaeffer: That’s a profound question. Judaism has a high view of God’s transcendence. But does it offer you a way to truly know Him personally?
Daniel: Well, we know Him through the Law—through keeping mitzvot. That’s how we draw near. But yes, sometimes it feels… mechanical. Or like a test I might be failing.
Schaeffer: Let me ask you this, Daniel. What do you do with guilt?
Daniel: Yom Kippur. I fast, pray, confess. We believe that God is merciful.
Schaeffer: Yes, the God of Abraham is merciful. But where is the blood?
Daniel: The blood?
Schaeffer: The Torah says that atonement is made through blood (Leviticus 17:11). That’s why the Temple existed. That’s why animals were sacrificed. But the Temple is gone. No priesthood. No altar. No blood. How can your sins be atoned for?
Daniel: We believe prayer and repentance have replaced the sacrifices.
Schaeffer: But where in the Torah does God say that blood can be replaced by words? Isn’t this a change in the system?
Daniel (after a pause): That’s something we wrestle with. We’ve had to adapt since the Temple fell.
Schaeffer: But what if God didn’t intend for you to adapt it? What if the Temple’s destruction pointed to something greater? What if the blood was pointing to a perfect sacrifice that could cleanse not just the hands, but the heart?
Daniel: Are you saying Jesus?
Schaeffer: I’m asking: What if He is what your scriptures prepared you for? Isaiah spoke of a Servant who would bear our iniquities (Isaiah 53). Psalm 22 describes a man pierced and mocked. Daniel 9:26 says the Messiah would be “cut off” before the Second Temple fell. Jesus came before its destruction. What if He was the Lamb your people were waiting for?
Daniel: That’s hard to accept. I’ve been taught to reject that. Christianity feels… foreign. And honestly, I’ve seen a lot of antisemitism from Christians.
Schaeffer: Yes, and that grieves me. But those were false Christians. Jesus Himself was Jewish. His first followers were Jewish. The gospel began in Jerusalem. And you’re right—it is hard. But you’ve said you want to know God. Would you be willing to read the New Testament with Jewish eyes?
Daniel: Maybe. But it would feel like betraying my heritage.
Schaeffer: No. It would be fulfilling it. Jesus didn’t come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. He’s the completion, not the contradiction.
Daniel: Then what about keeping the Law?
Schaeffer: The Law shows us our need. But we can’t keep it perfectly. Only One has. And He offers His righteousness to those who believe. Not as a reward for effort, but as a gift of grace.
Daniel: That’s very different from what I’ve always believed.
Schaeffer: Yes. But does it not speak to your deepest need—peace with God? A clean conscience? Not striving, but resting?
Daniel (quietly): I want that.
Reflection: Hope Beyond the Law
This conversation illustrates Francis Schaeffer’s method at its best. He listened, asked, probed, and pointed. He took Daniel’s beliefs seriously, honored his heritage, but also pressed into the weaknesses of a system that lacks a final sacrifice for sin. He led Daniel not by ridicule but by reason and compassion, exposing the “point of tension” between Daniel’s lived guilt and Judaism’s insufficient remedy.
And when the ground beneath Daniel’s feet began to shake, Schaeffer offered Christ—not as a foreign figure, but as the fulfillment of every promise.
This is what Schaeffer called Christians to do. Not to win arguments, but to love the lost. Not to shout down falsehood, but to uncover it with truth and light.
A Final Word: Pray for the Seeker
If you’re a believer, imagine Francis Schaeffer on his knees each morning, asking God to open the eyes of his guests. He knew that no argument alone could save. It takes the Spirit of God.
So if you engage someone like Daniel, don’t just sharpen your logic. Soften your heart. Pray that God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not (Romans 4:17), would grant the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8–10).
And remember—every worldview without Christ leaves people striving, never arriving. But the gospel offers what no law, no effort, no tradition can give: rest.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
rob@basedchristianity.org
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