Perspectives on the Word of God: An Introduction to Christian Ethics

by John M. Frame

Book by Frame, John M.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

For his education, Frame received degrees from Princeton University (A.B.), Westminster Theological Seminary (B.D.), Yale University (A.M. and M.Phil., though he was working on a doctorate and admits his own failure to complete his dissertation), and Belhaven College (D.D.). He has served on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary and was a founding faculty member of their California campus. He currently (as of 2022) teaches Apologetics and The History of Philosophy and Christian thought at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL.

Reviews

[C.T. Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book (it’s more of a booklet, really) is a helpful introduction to the major emphases of Frame’s overall approach to the task of theology, philosophy, and ethics. I was looking for this kind of introduction in his more recent book “Theology in Three Dimensions”, but I would choose this book when trying to learn Frame’s basic approach and framework.

The book consists of three visiting lectures given to seminary students at Trinity Evangelical Seminary. The first chapter is on the need for a distinctly Christian approach to the intellectual task, and then he describes the nature of God’s word as his self-expression through the lens of his control, authority, and presence. The second chapter describes the different media of God’s word: event, word, and person. The third lecture describes how the God’s word is applied in ethics, especially over and against the three main secular approaches to ethics: deontology, theological, and existential.

[John Weis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this small collection of lectures, Frame introduces his tri-perspectival epistemology of God’s word, exploring its nature, media (manner/mode of delivery), and ethics.

Though this book was extremely short, it was deeply engaging and provided ample opportunity for reflection. Highly enjoyable and worth re-reading as a short survey.

[Chris Comis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good intro. to Frame's views on Christian Ethics. Since he just came out with his massive "Doctrine of the Christian Life," this book would be a good place to begin if you are unfamiliar with these waters.

[Luke Brodine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, quite readable, great depth. Deconstructs 3 perspectives on ethics, holding them up to the light of God's self-revelation.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frame is always helpful-charitable and insightful.

[Paul Jeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good intro to John Frame, serving as a brief summary of his more extended works.

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 4 out of 5]

A famosa abordagem "perspectiva" de Frame apresentada de forma simples e sucinta em três palestras.

[Tj Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written just like Frame lectures, enjoyable, clear and always helpful.