Book Talk

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     The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century is the newest book by Francis A. Schaeffer. It should be read by every preacher, every teacher on the college campus, every worker with young people, and especially by the college and university students themselves. Chapters are titled: The Roots of the Student Revolution; The International Student Revolution; The Church in A Dying Culture; Form and Freedom in the Church: The Practice of Community and Freedom; The Threat of Silence; Modern Man the Manipulator; Revolutionary Christianity; Adultery and Apostasy; The Bride and Bridegroom Theme; and The Mark of the Christian. This is the most objective analysis of the institutional church I have ever read. If you want to understand what is happening and what is behind it, we urge you to read it without delay. It is only $3.95.

     Perhaps by now all of you have heeded our recommendation that you read two other important books by Dr. Schaeffer. They are Escape from Reason, which is in paperback at $1.25; and The God Who is There, which sells for $2.50. It is possible that no one else in our day has his finger on the pulse of our human predicament in Western culture like the author. If you expect to engage in confrontation on the university campus you need to read all of these.

     Those who have not investigated the 120-page booklets called Facing the Issues are missing something. These are "tops" for sparking discussion in small group sessions, or college-age and adult classes whose members want to get with it. There are three of the books thus far: Facing the Issues 1; Facing the Issues 2; Facing the Issues 3. They deal openly and honestly with the subject under consideration, giving the scriptures appropriate to it, and furnishing questions on the topic. Here are the themes in Number 3, for example: Should Christians Support the "Women's Revolution"?; Where Is Space Exploration Taking Us? Interracial Marriage--Good or Bad?; Does the "Medium" Have a Message?; Should Science Tamper With Human Genes?; How Free are we to do "Our Own Thing"?; Is Your Church Responsible for Crime Prevention? Sex Education--Why Not?; Do We Need New Concepts of Missionary Outreach; How Should Christians View the Use of Drugs?; Are Demons Real Today?; More Leisure--How Should We Use It?; Are "Christian" Funerals Christian? These books are only $1.25 each and if you want to spark some fire in a dead class, have each member purchase one to use as a guide, and I predict you'll have a time turning them off again!