Francis Schaeffer's "taking the roof off" method of apologetics

"Every man has built a roof over his head to shield himself at the point of tension… The Christian lovingly, must remove the shelter and allow the truth of the external world and of what man is to beat upon him.” - Francis Schaeffer

See also: Responding to atheists

Evan Lenow wrote about the Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer:

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One key element of Schaeffer’s work that I found especially influential was his apologetic method of “taking the roof off.” Schaeffer argued that a person’s worldview is similar to a house; however, there is only one blueprint that can effectively explain all aspects of life and be lived out consistently—a Christian worldview. All other worldviews are defective in one way or another. Taking off someone’s roof involves exposing the weaknesses and inconsistencies of his worldview. This is a necessary but dangerous task. When a roof is removed, Schaeffer states that “each man must stand naked and wounded before the truth of what is.” The reality of the world in which we live comes flooding in. Therefore, we must carefully deconstruct the roof so that the house can be rebuilt with truth. Once the roof is carefully removed and the individual has encountered reality, it is time to reconstruct his house. This is where the transformative power of the gospel comes into play. Schaeffer writes, “The truth that we let in first is not a dogmatic statement of the truth of the Scriptures, but the truth of the external world and the truth of what man himself is. This is what shows him his need. The Scriptures then show him the real nature of his lostness and the answer to it.” No longer must one live according to the course of the world. The true truth of the gospel allows us to see the world as God created it. We recognize the influence of the fall and the impact of sin upon our lives, but the believer now has the Holy Spirit to help him make sense of it all.

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Specifically, Francis Schaeffer wrote:

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Every man has built a roof over his head to shield himself at the point of tension… The Christian lovingly, must remove the shelter and allow the truth of the external world and of what man is to beat upon him. When the roof is off, each man must stand naked and wounded before the truth of what is…He must come to know that his roof is a false protection from the storm of what is.”

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Got Questions Ministries says about Schaeffer's "tear the roof" method of apologetics:

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Schaeffer’s apologetic was midway between evidentialism and presuppositional apologetics; he called his approach “taking the roof off.” His goal was to have people look at the logical conclusions of their belief systems. He also recognized the importance of speaking the language of non-Christians in order to engage with them and help them examine their own thoughts and beliefs. Rather than separate from culture, he believed Christians should understand the culture and genuinely love others through communicating the truth in a way that would be received.

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Schaeffer also indicated about the "taking the roof" method of Christian apologetics: "The more comprehending we are as we take the roof off, the worse the man will feel if he rejects the Christian answer. In a fallen world we must be willing to face the fact that however lovingly we preach the gospel, if a man rejects it he will be miserable. It is dark out there….”

Martin Luther in 1529, painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Furthermore, Schaeffer said:

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There is no romanticism as one seeks to move a man in the direction of honesty. On the basis of his system you are pushing him further and further towards that which is not only totally against God, but also against himself... Of course it hurts; of course it is dark in the place where a man, in order to be consistent in his non-Christian presuppositions, must deny what is there in this life and in the next. Often it takes much more time to press him towards the logical conclusion of his position than it does later to give him the answer. Luther spoke of the Law and the Gospel; and the Law, the need, must always be adequately clear first. Then one can give the Christian answer because he knows his need for something; and one can tell him what his deadness really is, and the solution in the total structure of truth. But if we do not take sufficient time to take the roof off, the twentieth-century man will not comprehend what we are trying to communicate, either what his death is caused by, or the solution. We must never forget that the first part of the gospel is not ‘Accept Christ as Savior’ but ‘God is there.’ Only then are we ready to hear God’s solution for man’s moral dilemma in the substitutionary work of Christ.

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Dr. Bryan A. Follis in his article entitled Truth With Love: The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer wrote:

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Schaeffer argued that since we are made in God's image and dwell in God's world, we cannot totally suppress the objective truths of our unique humanity ("the mannishness of man," as he put it). This includes our conscience and our desire for real love and significance. But insomuch as the unbeliever is consistent with his nonChristian worldview, he must deny one or more of these truths and put himself into a position of tension between the logic of his presuppositions and what he really takes the world to be like. Schaeffer aimed to highlight this by "taking the roof off" of the nonChristian worldview. This was preliminary to presenting the Christian message. Once one understands the inadequacies of one's worldview, the Christian message will look far more credible, especially if it answers questions otherwise unanswerable. Schaeffer was particularly adept at this form of negative apologetics, but never practiced it in a combative or insensitive manner. In fact, he strictly warned against engaging in apologetics as a game. He always affirmed that Christianity must be lovingly presented as objectively true, rational, and meaningful to all of life.

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See also

• Rebuttals to atheist arguments
• Responding to atheists
• Atheists and cognitive dissonance
• Classical apologetics
• Integrated apologetics

External links

• Practical Evangelism: Taking the Roof Off by Creation Ministries International
• Francis Schaeffer: Leaping Across the Chasm, Christian Library website
• Why Francis Schaeffer Matters: His Approach to Apologetics by Dr. David S. Steele
• Tactics - Taking The Roof Off - video