Framing Francis Schaeffer: Apologetics and Personal Integrity

The title of this book is not meant to announce a plot to make an innocent person look guilty. Framing Francis Schaeffer reflects a double-meaning combining the idea of a supporting or surrounding framework and the personal name of John Frame. The purpose of this book, then, is to frame the apologetic of Francis Schaeffer in light of John Frame’s triperspectival theory of knowing, giving special attention to the existential perspective evident throughout Schaeffer’s apologetic trilogy. By framing Francis Schaeffer, a clear picture of his apologetic approach comes into view, especially as he developed this in terms of personal integrity. Framing Francis Schaeffer is really a story about two evangelical apologists who are known for their perspectival outlook and commitment to personal integrity in apologetics. While Schaeffer is the intuitive apologist and Frame the systematic apologist, both recognized that Christian knowledge is best understood in terms of multiple perspectives and the human need for integrity at the heart of religious belief. These insights capture the essence of evangelical apologetics.