Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back by Frank Schaeffer

May 04, 2008

Jeff Sharlet rated it

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Reviewed this for the British New Statesman:

When, in 1997, Christianity Today, the flagship magazine of American evangelicalism, decided to pay tribute to the late Francis Schaeffer, the theologian and popular writer must have seemed like an odd choice to those not familiar with the twists and turns of the evangelical world. Most of Schaeffer's work and life was at sharp odds with American-style evangelicalism.

Raised in Pennsylvania, Schaeffer lived much of his life as an...moreReviewed this for the British New Statesman:

When, in 1997, Christianity Today, the flagship magazine of American evangelicalism, decided to pay tribute to the late Francis Schaeffer, the theologian and popular writer must have seemed like an odd choice to those not familiar with the twists and turns of the evangelical world. Most of Schaeffer's work and life was at sharp odds with American-style evangelicalism.

Raised in Pennsylvania, Schaeffer lived much of his life as an expatriate in a Swiss chalet. His early books in the 1960s struck out against American evangelicalism's know-nothingism. When he lectured in the US, he would discuss the films of Bergman and Fellini on Christian campuses that wouldn't allow screenings of Bambi. He welcomed seekers from all faiths at his Swiss retreat, and didn't worry about the baggage they brought with them. "Backpacking private pharmacies," as Frank Schaeffer, son of Francis, characterises his father's disciples. L'Abri (or "the shelter"), as his father called the home they opened to all-comers, was in the 1960s and 1970s - the height of Schaeffer's intellectual production - a place of blasting music at all hours, drugs, sex and rock'n'roll. When a young Frank Schaeffer happened to meet Jimmy Page in 1969, Led Zeppelin's guitarist pulled a copy of one of Schaeffer Sr's early books, Escape From Reason, from his pocket and declared it "very cool". He said Clapton had given it to him.

And yet here Schaeffer was, filling pages in Christianity Today. To make the case for his relevance, the magazine noted the heirs to his legacy, the men who had carried his counter cultural theology into the world: among them Jerry Falwell; Pat Robertson; Randall Terry, founder of the militant anti-abortion crusade Operation Rescue; and Tim LaHaye, founder of the ultra-right Council for National Policy and co-author of the Left Behind series of apocalyptic novels that have sold 65 million copies around the world. These men claimed Schaeffer not just as a major influence, but as one of the most important thinkers of conservative evangelicalism of the 20th century. Indeed, one of its only "thinkers": Christian right leaders have long been aware of their movement's relative lack of gravitas. "From the mid-1970s until he died," recalls Frank, "Dad was drafted . . . by the Missouri Synod Lutherans, Southern Baptists and other conservative denominations as a kind of intellectual heavy-gun-for-hire."

What happened? How did Francis Schaeffer's work go from Jimmy Page's back pocket to the hate-filled pulp of LaHaye, the spittle of Falwell? In 1969, Eric Clapton recorded a song called "Do What You Like" with a band called Blind Faith; almost three decades later, another Schaeffer fan, James Kopp, with Schaeffer's ideas swirling around his head in a toxic stew of bad theology, shot an abortion provider, Dr Barnett Slepian, to death. Who got Schaeffer wrong? The hippies who flocked to L'Abri, or Falwell? Clapton, or Kopp?

That question haunts Frank Schaeffer's new memoir of being Francis Schaeffer's son, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up As One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. (My pre-publication copy sports a blunter subtitle: How I Helped Found the Religious Right and Ruin America.) It's a brilliant book, a portrait of fundamentalism painted in broad strokes with streaks of nuance, the twinned coming-of-age story of Frank and the Christian right. But this story moves in more than one direction: both coming-of-age narratives are pulled against the current by the tragedy of Francis Schaeffer, a man who let his children, biological and ideo logical, guide him down a path from which he'd spent his whole life struggling to get off.

"Fran" Schaeffer grew up working-class in Germantown, Pennsylvania, a short, muscular boy abandoned by his father at age 12, berated by his mother his whole life, and born again in a tent revival at age 17...(less)

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Jul 28, 2008

Becca rated it

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Feeling guilty about enjoying this...

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Feb 16, 2008

Matt rated it

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Shelves: religion

As I made my way though the first two hundred pages of this book, I found the story of Frank's childhood interesting and revealing. But when he began to talk about his involvement in the founding of the religious right, all he and his father did you contribute to something they were truly hesitant about, and his subsequent rejection of all that he had done, I was hooked.

Frank is brutally honest, and sometimes very brutal indeed, but you do get the sense that he is giving everyone a f...more

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Feb 16, 2009

Jim Coughenour rated it

Recommends it for: anyone below the line of despair

Shelves: memoir

I had hopes for Frank Schaeffer's memoir for a couple reasons: Like him, I grew up in a "crazy" conservative, evangelical milieu (although his was far more colorful). Second, it was his father's early books who liberated me from that milieu, even though (as his son documents) Francis Schaeffer was sucked back into the worst aspects of the religious right. Frank's father was a genuine paradox – a man in love with art and ideas, the passion of humanism, yet who for complicated personal r...more

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Nov 20, 2007

Michelle rated it

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I haltingly recommend this book, and so far only to two people (adults) on my goodreads list! It's somewhat shocking due to brutal honesty, but I was reading it to gain perspective, and that I did. The insights I consider invaluable, and only serve to bolster a growing conviction that there are no perfect people, families, marriages, relationships, or churches. Besides that, Frank Schaeffer aptly uncovers the unlikely origin of so much of what we take for granted today as the Christian's evang...more

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Sep 22, 2008

Cody rated it

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Shelves: religion

I enjoyed reading about Frank Schaeffer's journey as he examines both his faith and upbringing in a very right wing evangelical family. I enjoyed his comments and openness about his family and personal struggles. He can come across at times very bitter, but this is to be expected and is part of his struggle. I was most interested as to the effects all of this had on his own family and the steps he was willing to take to build a relationship with his children.

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Dec 20, 2008

Carol Howard rated it

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It's a really interesting book, an honest insider reflecting on a significant religious/political movement.

It's awfully funny at times, a bit of an evangelical kiss-and-tell, and I marveled how Schaeffer could remember what each woman was wearing 30+ years ago.

But, there are some poignant struggles, too. I was touched by his admiration for his dad, and I felt that his love for his mom came through, along with the (understandable) irritation.

I appreciate that...more

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Dec 12, 2008

Mary rated it

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I heard Frank Schaeffer interviewed by Terry Gross and went right out and got this book at the library. I was intrigued to find out how someone who had been a right-wing Christian could throw it all out. I was also intrigued because he grew up in a Christian community in Switzerland called L'Abri, which one of my brothers visited around 1980.
Schaeffer is a very good writer, and he makes his memories of growing up easy to "see" and "feel." He's entertaining. I get the fe...more

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Mar 01, 2009

Allison rated it

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Maybe you can judge a book by its cover; or at least its title. Yes, Frank Schaeffer is long winded and doesn’t know when to stop writing.

As a former evangelical I was very interested in this book since I also left the movement and had to deal with family members who still do not agree with my decision. I thought Schaeffer, being a pastor’s son, might have stories even crazier than my own. My need for drama was not satisfied. I still feel that I have even bigger “fish” stories ...moreMaybe you can judge a book by its cover; or at least its title. Yes, Frank Schaeffer is long winded and doesn’t know when to stop writing.

As a former evangelical I was very interested in this book since I also left the movement and had to deal with family members who still do not agree with my decision. I thought Schaeffer, being a pastor’s son, might have stories even crazier than my own. My need for drama was not satisfied. I still feel that I have even bigger “fish” stories than the ones Schaeffer relates, and there were only a few pages of low down dirt on the big name evangelical leaders. Unfortunately, I had to wade through pages upon pages of extraneous material just to get to the little bit of juice. Schaeffer loves adjectives, but to his readers’ dissatisfaction he can’t ever find one he is satisfied with so he just uses them all. I don’t know who his editor is, but he/she works hard to earn that salary. Or maybe not. The book really could have been condensed down to 150 pages if redundant material had been cut.

I must compliment Mr. Schaeffer however. After having very little formal education it is an amazing feat to become a published author. He has overcome much to get to where he is now so maybe some of his grammatical blunders and run-on sentences are permissible. Looking past these, the book did give me a clear view of how much the evangelical world has changed. If I had grown up when Schaeffer did, I would not be nearly as ashamed to have belonged to this movement as I am now. There has been a snowball effect.

Although I did gain a small amount of insight, Schaeffer's writing is similar to the ranting of a teenage girl. He is still too emotionally affected by it all to give the world a clear picture of the issues that anger him. Just like a fifteen year old girl who has recently been dumped by her boyfriend, Schaeffer has not yet distanced himself emotionally and feels the need to include every little detail of his life that is interesting to him. While the premise of the book is a good one, I really would not recommend it to anyone. But if you are curious, read from page 300 on (I have the hardback edition). Those last 15 chapters contain most of what Schaeffer is trying to say, and you won’t feel that you have missed out on anything. (less)

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Aug 05, 2008

Karen rated it

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Recommends it for: Those not easily offended who enjoy reading about others' journeys

Recommended to Karen by: Brandon H.

The author Frank is the youngest child and only son of Francis Schaeffer, Fundamental Presbyterian minister, then missionary to Switzerland, Christian theologian and writer, and eventually founder of the religious right. As an adult, Frank joined his father in founding the religious right in America, but he soon departed from the evangelical circle and joined the Greek Orthodox Church. The book is a memoir, personal and seemingly sincere and honest. He seems to be very fair in the way he desc...more

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Jan 07, 2009

Valerie rated it

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I loved this book. Many reviewers say it's vitriolic spewing. I don't agree. I think he presented a fair description of his family. He told the good, bad, and ugly. Obviously his love for them goes deep and I really appreciated that. I loved his ending comments about needing to cleanse and rid himself of some of his guilt and anguish related to his part in the beginnings of the religious right. I can identify. Not of the "religious right" stuff, but life issues in general. It's healing...more

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Oct 01, 2008

Julia rated it

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This is a memoir written by the son of the late Francis Schaeffer, the famous Christian writer and thinker of the 60s and 70s. It's a compelling personal story, and I have a hard time picking the section that was most interesting and absorbing. Frank Schaeffer's childhood growing up in Switzerland with his cultured, brilliant, kind-of-crazy parents was so interesting, as were the stories of the later influx of hippies and thinkers into L'Abri, the Schaeffers' educational center. Schaeffer's...more

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Apr 22, 2008

Ruth rated it

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Shelves: recently-read

Not only did Frank Schaeffer's parents loom large in the intellectual & faith development of many I was close to as I grew up, but it turns out, not surprisingly, that his upbringing & mine have some eerie parallels. My parents weren't nearly so famous, thank God, but they were pretty big fish in a smaller pond, & I identify with some key elements of Schaeffer's experiences growing up as the privileged child of expatriate parents who were idealized for their insight & dedication to God.

...more

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Jun 06, 2008

Mark rated it

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Recommends it for: no one

Well-written but mean-spirited memoir by the son of Francis Schaeffer... he takes a number of potshots at evangelical & fundamentalist figures without really substantiating his claims - or writing them off based on one incident.

Oddly enough, it's not his "loss" of faith that bothers me about the book - those parts seem to be honestly & forthrightly told. It's the "I love my parents but let's see if I can find more ways to besmirch their memories & ministry" attit...more

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Jan 23, 2009

Susan rated it

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Francis Schaeffer was a force in the Christian world when I was a young adult. I admired his ability to look at the way Christianity impacts culture - he often seemed ahead of his time. His son, Frankie, however, feels that he was given the short end of the stick. While I don't really doubt the story put forth in this memoir, I did grow weary of the angry tone and descriptions that seemed designed to shock the reader. Frankie's earlier novels, such as Portofino and Saving Grandma, were evide...more

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Sep 03, 2011

John At Hella Sound rated it

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I purchased this before the 2008 presidential elections to try to get a handle on the whole Religious Right thing. As an atheist, the whole worldview I saw represented in the media just did not compute for me. My Catholic upbringing maintained more than an arms-length from the evangelicals—I never saw a superchurch until I moved to the west coast.

I guess I was looking for some insight, and admittedly a little venom from the author. Fundies and the like are, like I said, outside my worl...more

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Mar 07, 2011

Jack rated it

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I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Frank Schaeffer grew up in of one of the most well-known Evangelical families in the 60-70s. Francis Schaeffer, his father was a well-known apologist/teacher, as was his wife Edith Schaeffer. They founded L'Abri fellowship in Switzerland. 'Franky' as he's known chronicles life growing up in the Schaeffer household--surviving the "Jesus" movement, evangelical 'celebrities' that were frequent guests at L'Abri, and the expectation that he...moreI really wanted to like this book more than I did. Frank Schaeffer grew up in of one of the most well-known Evangelical families in the 60-70s. Francis Schaeffer, his father was a well-known apologist/teacher, as was his wife Edith Schaeffer. They founded L'Abri fellowship in Switzerland. 'Franky' as he's known chronicles life growing up in the Schaeffer household--surviving the "Jesus" movement, evangelical 'celebrities' that were frequent guests at L'Abri, and the expectation that he would follow in his father's footsteps as writer/film maker. He worked closely on several films that were watched by the evangelical fold during the 70s/80s (How should We then live).

Franky eventually tires of his inherited stardom and life inside the evangelical elite. His father, who once showed an openness and tolerance that's rarely found in side Christian fundamentalism, grew more conservative and co-opted the anti-abortion movement, which catipulted him to a new notoriety in the early 80s.

This book reads an awful lot like a rebellious pastor's kid's expose. Franky benefitted from his namesake and his ability to write books. From his father's violent outbursts, battling his own internal demons and rebellion(which inclded way too many descriptions of his constant pursuits of various women who came to L'Abri), and his mother's perfectionism-this book has it all.

Franky makes some very valid observations about the flaws of the Roe v. Wade decision (it's a 'one-size fits all solution to a complex issue--one that can't be solved by allowing unfettered abortions in all circumstances). He takes a few swipes at leaders in the Evangelical movement and how 'ministry' is often really 'power' and revenue.

His use of constant profanity turned me off a bit, and I think distracts from the story. I don't know if he's just trying to come off as edgy or just his east coast brashness coming through. As far as memoirs go, it was well written and all in all a fascinating book if you can forgive its flaws. (less)

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Oct 27, 2010

Joy rated it

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Shelves: memoir, religion

Back in the 1970s/early 1980s as a child I remember hearing some things about "Franky Schaeffer" and knowing he was some sort of religious figure. 30 years later it's interesting to read his memoir and learn about his interesting and wildly varied life.

This book is a memoir of Frank Schaeffer's life--growing up in the counter-cultural--first strict and then hippie evangelical commune his parents founded in Switzerland, his parents' faith and interests. As a child, Schaeffer ...more

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Sep 30, 2010

Donna rated it

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Shelves: biography

Crazy for God is a remarkably frank, nuanced autobiography by a sensitive, artistic man whose experiences in growing up were, to say the least, unusual. Much has been said about his role in promoting right-wing religious extremism in America, not to mention its tragic impact on American government. He now speaks eloquently about that topic, and his interviews on the subject (many of which are available as video clips online) are worth a listen.

One aspect of Schaeffer's life story tha...moreCrazy for God is a remarkably frank, nuanced autobiography by a sensitive, artistic man whose experiences in growing up were, to say the least, unusual. Much has been said about his role in promoting right-wing religious extremism in America, not to mention its tragic impact on American government. He now speaks eloquently about that topic, and his interviews on the subject (many of which are available as video clips online) are worth a listen.

One aspect of Schaeffer's life story that deserves more attention than it's gotten so far is his unorthodox education. Home schooled in the way all too many children are today (which is to say un-schooled), as well as suffering from severe dyslexia, Schaeffer emerged as an articulate, erudite speaker and writer. His parents, obsessed with their perceived "mission" in life, neglected to pay much attention to their youngest child and provided him with little in the way of formal education for the first ten years of his life.

However, Schaeffer's parents were both were highly intelligent, well-spoken people who were continually surrounded by others with rich and interesting life experiences. His adult sisters gave him the extra attention that often gives only children an educational edge over their counterparts from larger families. As an American raised in the Swiss Alps, Schaeffer grew up bilingual in English and French. Gregarious by nature, he was free to roam l'Abri, the religious compound established by his parents, which drew some of the most accomplished people in the world—an opera singer, artists and rock musicians, politicians and religious leaders. Schaeffer "hung out" with all of them, absorbing from each whatever he or she had to teach him. He toured Europe and (later) America with his parents, learning about art, history, and sociology in ways that could never be acquired merely from books.

With the intense curiosity of a remarkably gifted child, Schaeffer set about taking advantage of all his many opportunities to be instructed in the laboratory of life. As a result, he is a learned man. He also appears to be a mercurial personality—the kind of sensitive soul that takes everything to heart, holds it all in his memory, and then shares his experience through art. "Crazy for God" is an artistic achievement, as well as a personal statement, that deserves attention.
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May 04, 2010

Kacie rated it

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This book was fascinating for me, though it is controversial and very much a book written about life within the evangelical sub-culture. Frankie Schaeffer has written a tell-all memoir about his famous parents, Francis and Edith Schaeffer, growing up in the famed L'Abri community in Switzerland, being involved in the beginning and growth of the Religious Right, and growing bitter and angry and moving out of the community entirely. If you know much about these topics, reading his insider perspect...more

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Sep 22, 2009

Jonathan rated it

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When I picked this up in the bookstore, I was expecting an autobiographical Prodigal Son story, in the manner of Franklin Graham (the “Rebel With a Cause“). Children of superstar evangelists seem almost inexorably drawn to life outside their parents’ fame and faith, and just as drawn back to the fold after they’ve strayed. Then they write a book about it.

It’s possible, though unlikely, that you haven’t heard of Francis Schaeffer. He was one of the few men of God who successfully bro...moreWhen I picked this up in the bookstore, I was expecting an autobiographical Prodigal Son story, in the manner of Franklin Graham (the “Rebel With a Cause“). Children of superstar evangelists seem almost inexorably drawn to life outside their parents’ fame and faith, and just as drawn back to the fold after they’ve strayed. Then they write a book about it.

It’s possible, though unlikely, that you haven’t heard of Francis Schaeffer. He was one of the few men of God who successfully brought the Gospel to the “hippie generation.” In the late 50’s, he founded a little place in Switzerland called L’Abri where students could come to study and ask questions about spirituality. His approach to theology and apologetics was conversational, down-to-earth, practical and completely free of the stuffy organized religion that was understandably unpopular with free-thinking types. He consequently became famous as an author, then a speaker and eventually was propelled to evangelical superstardom.

About two-thirds of the book covers the story of Frank’s childhood and coming-of-age: the family vacations to Portofino; his parents’ rocky relationship and flawed personalities; his escapades in boarding school; how he met his wife; the love of art and culture that eclipsed anything else his parents taught him. We learn about what L’Abri was like behind the scenes and exactly how invisible he felt when his parents were consumed with “the Lord’s work.” (Frank always puts Christian-ese phrases like that one in quotes in his writing.)

The remaining third covers Frank’s part in his father’s rise in the evangelical Christian world, and Frank’s struggle to reconcile himself with the increasingly powerful evangelical right-wing movement forming around the political activism he and his father had stirred up. Frank is deeply critical of the men that spearheaded the movement and even more critical of himself for allowing what was for him a simple issue–abortion–to become a rallying cry for a group with whom he shared almost nothing else. He describes the events that unfolded with a kind of dispassionate disgust for the people he worked for and with.

Crazy for God is a supremely misleading title. I don’t think it spoils the ending to tell you that Frank never was “crazy for God,” and still isn’t now. But, with his father’s gift for words, Frank’s description of his struggle with faith is compelling, and his self-critical look at the ugly underbelly of the evangelical movement is a good gut-check for anyone who’s ever been part of it.

It’s a book worth reading, for the stories and the honesty and the questions it’ll generate. Just take my advice and queue up a more upbeat book to read afterwards. You’ll thank me later.(less)

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Aug 27, 2009

Mike Jensen rated it

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Francis A. Schaeffer was a Christian apologist who led a colony in Switzerland called L’Abri for much of the last half of the twentieth century. He had hundreds of thousands of followers who eagerly consumed his books, audio tapes, the films made by his son Franky, and made the pilgrimage to L’Abri. Many of us thought of him as a philosopher because he spent so much time debunking philosophies that differed from Christian Evangelicalism, but those of us who did had not read much real philosophy....more

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Jul 13, 2009

Jackson rated it

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This is the autobiography of Frank Schaeffer, the son of Francis Schaeffer, one of the most well known and well respected evangelical leaders and thinkers of the twentieth century. Schaeffer himself was a prominent evangelical leader in the eighties before he realized the sham that his life had become and the sham that evangelicalism is in general. While this book is the story of Schaeffer's life, it offers a much broader narrative of the history of evangelicalism in America, the founding of the...more

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Jul 08, 2009

Esme Pie rated it

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Shelves: religion

Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. He's not a great writer--very simple sentences, lots of exclamation points and he interjects reminiscences/memories of others as they relate to the story that don't really add to the story and interupt the flow of the author's own story.

All that said, I found this to be a very compelling and nuanced read. The story of the author's early life with his parents at a Christian mission they founded in Switzerland was very interesting. As was the autho...more

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Dec 16, 2008

Cathy Campbell rated it

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Crazy for God is a very interesting memoir. The book was quite funny in places. The author, Frank Schaeffer is the son of Francis Schaeffer who was considered a major intellectual influence on Christianity and Edith Schaeffer a prolific Christian author. Edith and Francis knew many of the movers and shakers from the highest levels of religious, political and entertainment communities. Many of these important people were influenced by the Schaeffers.
In this memoir Frank talks abo...more

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May 05, 2011

Sarah Jean rated it

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Shelves: biography-autobiography

Frank Schaeffer is the son of Francis Schaeffer, a popular 20th century theologian. I grew up in a household where watching his father's videotapes, that compared the depravity of modern society to ancient Rome, was standard fare. Apparantly the Schaeffers also had an influential role in the politicization of the American Christian right, something the son at least later came to regret. That's the hook for this book, but it's really more like Frank's personal memoir. It was very interesting ...more

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Jul 22, 2011

SB rated it

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I didn't much care for this book at all. Schaeffer is not a terribly talented writer for one. He's one of those authors that approaches an autobiography as "this happened, and then this happened, and then..." without much of a theme tying it togetherr. The main problem I had with the book though, is that the book is definitely not what the cover page proclaims it to be about. This book is definitely NOT about how the author "helped found the religious right and lived to take i...more

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Apr 09, 2010

Elaine rated it

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This book resonated strongly with me, since I was an evangelical Christian from 1987-2002 and Francis Schaeffer (the author's father) was venerated among religious-right leaders. What's ironic is how Schaeffer Sr. adopted a much more ecumenical stance regarding Christianity during the 1960s and 1970s, which paid off well for his family. Whereas his hard-line fundamentalist stance had alienated his three daughters (considerably older than Frank), his later more liberal outlook not only made the...moreThis book resonated strongly with me, since I was an evangelical Christian from 1987-2002 and Francis Schaeffer (the author's father) was venerated among religious-right leaders. What's ironic is how Schaeffer Sr. adopted a much more ecumenical stance regarding Christianity during the 1960s and 1970s, which paid off well for his family. Whereas his hard-line fundamentalist stance had alienated his three daughters (considerably older than Frank), his later more liberal outlook not only made them feel welcome again but also made L'Abri what it was. The welcome toward people of all backgrounds (including unwed mothers, gays, drug users, etc.) was genuine -- something that can't be faked. It was Francis Schaeffer's love of art and intellectual pursuits that put him head and shoulders above those who later became his contemporaries.

Those contemporaries include James Dobson, Gary North, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham.

Frank Schaeffer, who unflinchingly admits to being the main influence toward his father's "backsliding" into a rigid fundamentalism, describes these religious-right luminaries in colorful terms:

Pat Robertson...would have a hard time finding work in any job where hearing voices is not a requirement.

Jerry Falwell: ...unreconstructed bigot reactionar[y:] who tossed his hatred out there the way gang members throw down hand signals.

Gary North: ...one of the Twilight-Zone religious strategists ... someone Dad felt was a nutty gold-standard fruitcake

It's easy to criticize Frank Schaeffer, first, for having goaded his father into becoming the intellectual voice of a very anti-intellectual movement, but also for having made impressive amounts of money from it before walking away. But he did walk away, and that counts for a lot. He went back to his core values of honesty, intellectual exploration, true faith, and respect for art and culture, even if that doesn't lead someone directly back to some prepackaged religious conclusion.

Like Vyckie Garrison, formerly a member of the Quiverfull movement, Frank Schaeffer immersed himself fully in these fanatical times, and came out of it with a warning for those who would be similarly seduced.(less)

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Oct 07, 2009

Judy rated it

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This memoir/history of the religious right tries to cover a multitude of topics--Frank Schaeffer's childhood in an idealistic Christian community--L'Abri in Switzerland, his rebellion, his making the 1974 evangelical documentary "How Should We Live?" with his father, and then his falling away from the Christian faith in which he was raised. I found the most interesting portions of the book were those depicting the childhood of the Schaeffer children and their family life as opposed to...more

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Jan 03, 2008

Jonathan rated it

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Shelves: contemporary-america, christian-intellectuals, 20th-century-america

The book is intense, particularly for those of us familiar with Francis Schaeffer IV's work. But it is not as splenetic as I suspected it might be. And in any case, nobody from now on should assess the Francis/Edith Schaeffer legacy without taking this book into account.

In particular, the book should be required reading for anyone interested in the nexus of evangelical intellectual life and evangelical politics.

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Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back

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