How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture

Book cover was ripped upon arrival as if it had gone through the cover chopping machine incorrectly

Having never actually read anything by Schaeffer, I took the opportunity of Crossway’s republication of his 1976 book How Should We Then Live? as an opportunity to do so. Having been familiar with the title beforehand, I had long assumed it was a book largely about ethics – whereas it’s more a history of Western thought which includes some ethical observations and predictions. The subtitle is more of a helpful guide to what the book is about: ‘The Rise and Decline of Western Thought & Culture’.The book flows chronologically from Ancient Rome to the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment etc. And while you can read it straight through, it also seems like it will be very useful as a reference work to look up key figures: philosophers, artists, etc.One of the questions with a republication like this is whether the work is really so prophetic that it can speak to someone who wasn’t even born when Schaeffer died – or if those who think it’s worthy of republication are just remembering the impact it had on them at the time.And yet despite my mild scepticism, Schaeffer’s conclusions are frighteningly up-to-date. ‘Will men stand for their liberties? Will they not give up their liberties step by step, inch by inch, as long as their own personal peace and prosperity is sustained?’ – he asked decades before lockdowns.Then there are the 5 attributes that Edward Gibbon (1737-94) said marked Rome at its end: ‘first, a mounting love of show and luxury (that is, affluence); second, a widening gap between the very rich and the very poor (this could be among countries in the family of nations as well as in a single nation); third, an obsession with sex; fourth, freakishness in the arts, masquerading as originality, and enthusiasms pretending to be creativity; fifth, an increased desire to live off the state. It all sounds so familiar. We have come a long road since our first chapter, and we are back in Rome.’In a world (and a church) where people love conspiracy theories he writes: ‘One may discuss if planned collusion exists at times, but to be looking only for the possibility of a clandestine plot opens the way for failing to see a much greater danger: that many of those who are in the most prominent places of influence and many of those who decide what is news do have the common, modern, humanist worldview we have described at length in this book. It is natural that they act upon this viewpoint, with varying degrees of consciousness of what they are doing, and even varying degrees of consciousness of who is using whom. Their worldview is the grid which determines their presentation’.Then there’s his observation that ‘Many who talk of civil liberties are also committed to the concept of the state’s responsibility to solve all problems’.And finally, in words that could have been written this afternoon, he talks about the twin threats of ‘War or the serious threat of war—between the expansionist, imperialistic, communistic countries and the West‘ – and ‘economic breakdown’ as a result of inflation.Overall, he makes a strong case that only the freedom brought by Christianity brings true hope. All other ‘freedom’ leads to chaos.

Chronicles the movement in the 20th century away from the one true God.

断片的な西洋文化の歴史を一つの視点から見ることのできる「それでは如何に生きるべきか」の原著

I loved the book! It helped me expand my understanding of Western history while also broadening my viewpoint. The book shows how the reality of truth from the Bible can be used to view history through a different lens and thus, see the importance of truth in a secular society

Stay away if new convert. But if a seasoned Christian with an interest in epistemology. This works.

This is an old book. Older than me. I won’t comment on the content- but on this particular edition. This edition by Crossway is good. The pictures are printed well, though some of the originals are a bit grainy. The paper is thin enough you can see the picture through the page, but just barely, it doesn’t affect readability at all. The font seems bigger than many theology books- at least a 12 if not 12.5 or even 13. This makes the physical act of reading easier. The cover includes two flaps you can use to mark your place, like you can with the dust jacket of a traditional hard cover, but this is a soft cover.There’s a reason this work has been released in a new edition. It’s still relevant, and this is an excellent edition to use.