Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a missionary to American intellectuals, founded L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland to address life's philosophical questions. He emphasized the importance of historic Christianity in solving modern dilemmas, highlighting the shift from a Christian to a humanistic worldview as the root cause of societal issues. Schaeffer warned about the consequences of a materialistic, humanistic worldview on morality, law, and freedom, particularly in the context of public institutions like schools and courts.

22 years ago, Time Magazine called Dr. Francis Schaeffer a missionary to American intellectuals. He and his wife, Edith, founded Le Brie Fellowship in Switzerland to help searching students and adults find answers to life's basic philosophical problems. Dr. Schaeffer graduated in 1935 at the top of his class from Hampton-Sydney College, just about 50 miles from right here. In 1968, when he spoke at Harvard University, Christian students there advertised his appearance by saying this, and I want to read it carefully. I don't know how it could be articulated more correctly. Dr. Francis Schaeffer, philosopher, critic, theologian, organizer of a community in Switzerland where scholars and students gather to analyze and discuss topics of major contemporary importance, frequent lecturer at major universities of Europe and Britain. His field is the analysis of contemporary thought and culture from a specifically Christian viewpoint, but directed beyond the Christian community. He is concerned about the world in which we live and is sensitive to the despair which blights our achievements. He argues that only historic Christianity, rightly understood and fearlessly applied, can solve the dilemma of modern man. His answers may not be the ones modern man expects or even welcomes, but clearly they cannot be ignored." What a delight to have Dr. Francis Schaeffer here today. And as Dr. Schaeffer comes, David Randall, I'd like for us all to stand and sing happy birthday to Dr. Schaeffer with 4,000 people participating here and a few million out there watching by television. He just might hear you if you sing loudly enough. 70 years old yesterday, from the Swiss Alps, Dr. Schaeffer. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, Dr. Schaeffer, happy birthday to you. You may be seated. Dr. Schaeffer, I notice you're wearing a solidarity button here on your lapel. I think everybody would be interested in knowing what that means. Yes, I just want to say that one of my great son-in-laws and another young man from L'Abri drove an eight-ton truck into Poland filled with food to a church that we had contacted through a young Polish teacher, a girl, who's come to L'Abri and studied for many, many times. And they got out at great danger to their lives, really, just two days before the crackdown. And this dear girl that Edith and I and the L'Abri people love very, very much, sent me this solidarity pin from Poland. It's a real Polish solidarity pin. I have a longing, and I hope I can wear it everywhere I go until I can send it back to her and she can wear it freely again. That's my longing. When the apostles stood before the Sanhedrin and they were commanded to stop speaking, that which was disturbing the situation and the culture of that particular time, they had one single sentence to answer. We must obey God rather than man. That's my text for this morning. Christians in the last 80 years or so have seen things in bits and pieces instead of seeing the things which are gradually troubling Christians and other people of goodwill, such as over-permissiveness, pornography, the public schools, the breakdown in the family, abortions, and the killing of newborn children. They've seen these in bits and pieces instead of understanding that they're only the natural outcome, the inevitable outcome of the change from a Christian viewpoint to a humanistic one. That is, instead of the final reality, the base of all reality, being a personal, infinite God who is the creator of all else, instead of that, now the dominant worldview is that the final reality is only material energy shaped by pure chance into its present form. This change explains everything that is troubling our culture. The word humanism, as it should be used, and as the Enlightenment used it, where the word came forth like an explosion, the French Enlightenment, the word humanism means that man is the center of all things and the measure of all things. We're not talking about the humanities and all these things that we as Christians should have a great interest in because they are the product of human creativity and that comes because they're made in the image of God who is the great creator. So we're not talking about the humanities, we're talking about humanism as it is properly described. Humanism means that man is the center of all things and the measure of all things. Now this means that he has no knowledge and will accept no knowledge, except what people can find out for themselves even though they're finite and limited. Now that is there is no revelation from God. It also means that the only values that exist and the only basis for law is what people decide is the case at the given moment. It makes everything relative. This is the real reason for the breakdown in morals, values, and the reason law is now only arbitrarily decided by a few people on what they think is good for society at that given moment. The whole basis of law has shifted. Law is today only that which a few people decide is for the good of society at the given moment and it can be changed. The world view of the final reality being only material or energy shaped by pure chance inevitably, that's the word I want you to get, it's the operative word, inevitably, with mathematical certainty, inevitably brings forth the results which our country and our society, which the breakdown and the sorrow which we now face. This view cannot bring forth any other view just intrinsically in saying that the final reality is only material energy shaped by pure chance and this final reality is absolutely silent about any meaning to life, any value to life, or any basis for law. Consequently its results are absolutely inevitable in the direction of which I've spoken. It's brought forth the breakdown and the sorrows which our society and our country faces. It should be noted that this new dominant world view is the very opposite to that which the founding fathers of this country held. You should understand it's the very opposite to the base that the founding fathers held. Now this doesn't mean that they were all personally Christians, some of them unhappily were not, but that nevertheless does not change the fact that they founded the country on the base that there is a God who is the creator and that God gave them inalienable rights. Don't you understand the term inalienable rights is absolute folly if there isn't somebody there to give you the rights? If the state gives you the rights they're not inalienable, they can take them away. No, the founding fathers founded this country on a simple base, a solid base, even the ones that were not personally Christian and that is there is a God who is the creator of all else and he gives the inalienable rights and that was upon that which that which was upon our country was built and which gave us the freedoms which we have and everyone has including the people who are now destroying the culture and the country. It was that base that gained the form, freedom, balance and the balance in government that gave us the freedoms which we today have. The new world view, the new reality being only material energy which has existed forever in some form, I've now added a note to what they hold, this form, this material or energy has existed in some form forever, never could have brought forth the freedoms which we now have. It's mathematically certain and inevitable that you cannot have the freedoms if it only rests upon the arbitrary choice of a few people at a given time. There is no way in that setting to have freedom without the freedom beating the society to pieces because it has nothing to contain it. With a Christian consensus the freedom is contained. Without the freedom, without the Christian consensus the very freedoms would beat the country to pieces just as they now are that the thing has shift. Though now we're losing that freedom as this new world view becomes increasingly dominant and has taken over totally the public schools, the public television paid for by tax money, as this world view has taken over these things paid for by tax money and most of all as this world view has now taken over the courts in this country. And as this world view has taken these things over you can may be sure that it is inevitable that the freedoms which we have enjoyed which was built on the totally other base will be diminished and if we're not careful totally lost. I want you to listen with care to the next sentence. Especially the government and especially the courts have become the vehicle to force this anti-God, anti-religious view on the total population. The courts holding this view, law based on this view is forcing, this view is the vehicle for forcing this view on the total population. For example, the abortion ruling of the Supreme Court annulled the abortion laws in all 50 states and they made this form of the killing of human life not only lawful but for many people they also made it ethical as well. This country's changed tremendously in its view toward human life since that arbitrary medically and legally abortion ruling went into effect. Along with this is the fact that the courts are increasingly making arbitrary law cut loose not only from God's law but cut loose from a strict meaning of the constitution and this diminishes the legislature's powers. So the powers are shifting. The pro-abortion people so and so on use the courts rather than the legislatures because the courts are not subject to the people's will and the people's desire through election and especially through re-election. Consequently they have deliberately used the courts rather than the legislatures which are open to the will of the people and the desires of the people. The result is a relativistic value system and a lack of any final meaning to life and a system of law that is not only arbitrary but which forces the materialistic humanistic view of final reality on the total population and especially on the children and the older people in the public schools. It's been deliberate it is clever and the courts have forced this on those studying in the public schools and that's true from the lowest grades right up through university. Now this is done this view is forced on the youngsters in the public schools regardless of what the parents and those who pay the taxes to keep the schools going desire. Even though it may be the overwhelming viewpoint of the parents and those who are and the people but the ones who parents who pay the taxes to keep the schools going that doesn't matter. The courts force an absolutely contrary view upon them with absolutely tyrannical force. I use the word tyrannical with great care.