So, here's the review:
Imagine trying to explain your life - good, bad, inconsistent, embarrassments - everything.
That's pretty much what Frank Schaeffer has done in “Crazy for God.”
Having read many of the criticisms from those who can't seem to come to grips with the concept of Francis and Edith Schaeffer being less than models of perfection, I have to question whether those individuals finished reading this memoir. I find a Frank Schaeffer who painstakingly tries to share his struggles, doubts, shortcomings, regrets, failures, and - finally - his coming to terms with his father, mother, wife, children, and faith. I find Mr. Schaeffer to be much harder on himself (and his work) in this book than on anyone else.
Schaeffer does something else - he allows us to get the perspectives of his friends, siblings, and children. He seems to give them all the room they need to share their memories and offer their slants on the events in their shared experiences.
Chapter 25 is a must read for everyone who has ever attended a prayer meeting.
Having more than a passing familiarity with at least two of the worlds Mr. Schaeffer exposes (the political and the evangelical), I find his accounts to ring with more truth than most in either camp would care to admit.
In the end, we find a man who is more interested in dealing with life in all of its inconsistencies and nuances than in defining everything in a simplistic “black/white - us/them” fashion.
I would recommend this book for anyone who is ready to wrestle with some of their own preconceived notions about themselves and their beliefs.
UPDATE: While Amazon wouldn't work with me -- Barnes and Noble did, click here to see the site.
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