[N]o critic or enemy of Francis Schaeffer has done more damage to his life's work than his son Frank . . .Another commenter was Orthodox layman George Michalopulos, who referred me to his own June editorial about Schaeffer:
With such a son, who needs enemies?
[During] the years 2000-2002 . . . [Schaeffer] traveled the country barnstorming Orthodox Churches, telling them that America was going to hell in a hand-basket. One of his bugbears was abortion and the degradation of man. The other was the threat of Islamo-fascism. I first heard the term "Islamo-fascism" in 2002 and it was from his lips. Schaeffer’s grave disappointment in President Bush actually started then, when he rightly saw Bush's phrase that Islam was as a "religion of peace" as a sham. I got the impression sitting in the pews at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma that in Schaeffer's mind, Bush should have taken up the Cross instead of placating the Islamic masses who were "an implacable enemy" of our civilization. . . .Read the whole thing. Considering how Michalopulos describes Schaeffer's discourse circa 2002, the resemblance to certain other erstwhile anti-jihadists is remarkable, is it not? This thought provokes the multiple-choice question: (a) sincerity, (b) opportunism, (c) sincere opportunism, or (d) unbalanced emotional gyroscope? Maybe (e) all of the above.
My father was a loyal lifelong Democrat and, toward the end of his life, it got to where we simply couldn't talk about politics. Yet neither our political disagreements, nor any of his human shortcomings, could ever diminish my filial duty of respect for Old No. 27, whose many excellent qualities and wise teachings I have had occasion to cite.
Some people have "father issues." If they can't work through them, it poisons their souls. Sin is a disease, and sick people deserve our pity, even as the twisted fruit of their illnesses deserve our contempt.
No comments:
Post a Comment