How Should We Then Live? by Francis A. Schaeffer
Week 5: Chapter 5 — The Enlightenment
Read Chapter 5 of How Should We Then Live? Key figures discussed: Voltaire, Rousseau, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson; the French Revolution as a case study in humanist idealism.
Previewing Week 5 of How Should We Then Live?
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
The Enlightenment promised that human reason alone, freed from the authority of church and Scripture, could deliver truth, freedom, and happiness — Schaeffer shows why that promise could never be kept.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.The Enlightenment thinkers saw themselves as liberating humanity from superstition and religious authority, using reason as the new foundation. What was right about their critique of abusive religious institutions? And what was fatally wrong about the solution they proposed?
2.Schaeffer draws a sharp contrast between the English and American revolutions (influenced by a more Reformation-shaped view of human nature and the need for checks on power) and the French Revolution (influenced by Enlightenment optimism about autonomous human reason). What were the practical differences between these revolutions, and why does Schaeffer regard this distinction as so important?
3.Voltaire and the French philosophes believed that once reason replaced religion, a utopia of tolerance and freedom would follow. What actually happened in the French Revolution, and what does Schaeffer conclude from it? Does history bear out his analysis?