Quotes of the Week
Quote of the Week: August 3, 2007
by Jimmy Hopper
Below you will find the quote of the week. This quote is from a favorite author of many of us, Francis Schaeffer, whose L’Abri Fellowship was the first ministry I remember that sought to engage the culture. This is from Dr. Schaeffer’s book, Death in the City. It speaks to an essential fact of our existence, that we, despite our fallenness, are made in the image of God. Give us your comments and discussion about this topic.
I am convinced that one of the great weaknesses in evangelicalism is that we have lost sight of the biblical fact that man is wonderful. We have seen the unbiblical humanism that surrounds us, and, to resist this in our emphasis on man’s lostness, we have tended to reduce man to a zero. Man is indeed lost, but this does not mean that he is nothing. We must resist humanism, but to make man a zero is neither the right way nor the best way to resist it. You can emphasize that man is totally lost and still have the biblical answer that man is really great. In fact, only the biblical position produces a real and proper humanism. Naturalistic humanism leads to a diminishing of man and eventually to a zeroing of man. But the Christian position is that man is made in the image of God and, even though he is now a sinner, he can do those things that are tremendous – he can influence history for this life and the life to come, for himself and for others.
Let us hear from you.
Posted by Jimmy Hopper at August 3, 2007 08:06 PM
Jimmy, I like this quote a lot. It reminds me that we are precious despite our fallen nature. I really need to hear this message, because I seem to be falling into the same petty habits over and over.
I thought the communion yesterday also emphasized the sweetness of God’s covenant with us and His love for us when we received a personal message as we took it. I wasn’t sure what to think until I received it personally…that was special.