more Schaeffer

In Crazy for God Schaeffer's son Frank presents a portrait of his father that is far more nuanced and multi-dimensional than was suggested by his public persona. He states, for example, that Schaffer's primary passions in life were not the Bible and theology but rather art and culture. "And what moved him was not theology but beauty"(p.140). Schaeffer's son claims he had frequent bouts with depression and a verbally and physically abusive relationship with his wife, Edith. Those in the inner circle at L'Abri challenge Frank's account. Os Guinness, who lived with the Schaeffers and was a close friend of both the younger and elder Schaeffer, described Crazy for God as a "scurrilous caricature" and said, "[N]o one should take Frank's allegations at face value."

At home, Schaeffer was quite open about his temper problem -- noting a family joke about a certain plant that grew so well because it had been so often re-potted.

Today, roughly twenty-five years after his death, his teachings continue in the same informal setting at The Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation in Gryon, Switzerland. It is led by one of his daughters and sons-in-law as a small-scale alternative to the original L'Abri Fellowship International which is still operating in nearby Huemoz-sur-Ollon and other places in the world. On the other hand, Schaeffer's son Frank Schaeffer initially supported his father's ideas and political program, but has since distanced himself from many of those views and has converted to the Greek Orthodox Church.