How Should We Then Live? by Francis A. Schaeffer
Week 13: Review & Reflection — How Should We Then Live?
Review your notes and journal entries from all chapters of How Should We Then Live? by Francis A. Schaeffer.
Previewing Week 13 of How Should We Then Live?
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
We have walked together through centuries of Western history and across every domain of human life — now it is time to ask what it has all meant for you personally, and what comes next.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Looking back across all twelve chapters, which single chapter or idea had the most significant impact on how you see the world? What changed in your thinking, and why did that particular idea land so powerfully?
2.Schaeffer's central thesis is that a society built on anything other than the infinite, personal God of the Bible will ultimately collapse into relativism, chaos, or authoritarian control. Having worked through the historical and philosophical evidence he presents, do you find this thesis convincing? What would you push back on, and what feels irrefutable?
3.Schaeffer traces the 'line of despair' across philosophy, art, science, law, and theology. In which of these domains do you see the descent below the line of despair most clearly in contemporary culture? What gives you the most concern, and why?