Francis Schaeffer’s August 11, 1968 Counsel

On August 11, 1968, Francis A. Schaeffer wrote to a correspondent, “We live in an abnormal world and all kinds of things do exist, but this does not make them right.” The sentence distilled a moral realism he believed Scripture requires: the world is fallen, yet God’s standards remain unchanged. To acknowledge what exists—brokenness, temptation, injustice, confusion—is not to baptize it as good. Schaeffer’s point was pastoral as well as doctrinal: people burdened by guilt or bewildered by cultural noise need both truth and hope.

The late 1960s were marked by upheaval across Europe and America—political unrest, public skepticism toward authority, and rapidly shifting moral assumptions. Schaeffer viewed the decade’s turbulence as a revealing test: would Christians simply mirror the spirit of the age, or would they stand with humble courage? His counsel called believers to face realities without surrendering their conscience, and to resist both naïve optimism and cynical despair.

L’Abri Fellowship and the Healing of Conscience

Schaeffer and his wife, Edith, served in the Swiss Alps at L’Abri (“the shelter”), based in Huémoz near Villars-sur-Ollon. Seekers arrived with hard questions about suffering, truth, sexuality, politics, and meaning—often carrying wounded consciences and fractured family stories. L’Abri’s work was not merely intellectual defense; it was a community practice of listening, praying, studying, and living out Christian love in ordinary hospitality.

Heroism at L’Abri was rarely dramatic. It was the steady courage to tell the truth without crushing the bruised, to offer repentance without contempt, and to keep welcoming people when their questions threatened easy answers.

Sin’s Presence Is Not Sin’s Permission

Schaeffer’s sentence echoed the biblical distinction between description and approval. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Christians are called to clarity that does not compromise, and compassion that does not condone. “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16) stands beside the call to speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

His witness urged the church toward courageous holiness: anchored in God’s truth, honest about the abnormality of a fallen world, and confident that grace can cleanse and restore.