How Shall We Then Live?

As one of the foremost evangelical thinkers of the twentieth century, Francis Schaeffer long pondered the fate of declining Western culture. In this brilliant book he analyzed the reasons for modern society's state of affairs and presented the only viable alternative: living by the Christian ethic, acceptance of God's revelation, and total affirmation of the Bible's morals, values, and meaning.

This book gives an historical account of western society and its evolution over time through the lens of Christianity. Schaeffer examines philosophical thinking from humanism to nihilism and beyond, and how it's reflected in art and music. In all this he depicts a gradual move away from Christianity, and dire warning of the capability of authoritarian power when the Christian voice is no longer heard or influential.

Many secular people dismiss the Bible as an aged text that isn't relevant to today's world (which is a shame, as the Bible beautifully and terrifyingly depicts the capabilities of human nature...again and again). If you live in western society and do not identify with Judeo-Christian values, please understand you live in a society that has been structured around such values. As those values disappear, external control will increase accordingly.

This book is worth reading for the secular and the religious alike.