A History of Western Philosophy and Theology

Christians should evaluate philosophy by biblical criteria. This will shed greater light on the developments in the history of philosophy and better prepare us for the intellectual challenges of our time. The fall of Adam brought intellectual as well as moral corruption on the human race, and the effects of the fall can be seen in the work of philosophers, most of whom try to understand the world autonomously—through reasoning apart from God’s revelation. Some philosophers have appealed to God’s revelation, but their work has often been compromised with the wisdom of the world. Revelation should inform reason, and not the other way round. In the past, even Christian theology was corrupted by the movement toward intellectual autonomy, creating the tradition of liberalism, which has unhappily dominated academic theology down to the present day. But there is hope—a new generation of Christian thinkers take God’s Word seriously. Frame’s unique new contribution augments that process.

Endorsements

“John Frame has done it again! In the lucid and comprehensive style of his Theology of Lordship volumes, he here presents a full overview of Western thought about knowledge of God as it must appear to all who receive Holy Scripture, as he does, as the record, product, and present reality of God speaking. And the solid brilliance of the narrative makes it a most effective advocacy for the Kuyper-Van Til perspective that in a well-digested form it represents. It is a further outstanding achievement by John Frame. The book deserves wide use as a textbook, and I hope it will achieve that. My admiration for John’s work grows and grows.”
—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia

“Few in our day champion a vision of God that is as massive, magnificent, and biblical as John Frame’s. For decades, he has given himself to the church, to his students, and to meticulous thinking and the rigorous study of the Bible. He has winsomely, patiently, and persuasively contended for the gospel in the secular philosophical arena, as well as in the thick of the church worship wars and wrestlings with feminism and open theism. He brings together a rare blend of big-picture thinking, levelheaded reflection, biblical fidelity, a love for the gospel and the church, and the ability to write with care and clarity.”
—John Piper, Founder and Teacher, desiringGod.org; Chancellor, Bethlehem College and Seminary, Minneapolis

Contents

Analytical Outline
Correlation of Book Chapters with Free Online Lectures
Foreword by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Preface
Abbreviations

1. Philosophy and the Bible
2. Greek Philosophy
3. Early Christian Philosophy
4. Medieval Philosophy
5. Early Modern Thought
6. Theology in the Enlightenment
7. Kant and His Successors
8. Nineteenth-Century Theology
9. Nietzsche, Pragmatism, Phenomenology, and Existentialism
10. Twentieth-Century Liberal Theology, Part 1
11. Twentieth-Century Liberal Theology, Part 2
12. Twentieth-Century Language Philosophy
13. Recent Christian Philosophy

Appendices
Appendix A: "Certainty"
Appendix B: "Infinite Series"