148 book reviews

John M. Frame Systematic : An Introduction to Christian Belief (Philipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2013), xxix + 1219 pp., $49.99, isbn 9781696382176.

John Frame’s writing consistently displays two imitable characteristics infre- quently found together: creativity and continuity with the reformed tradition. Given these admirable traits, it is unfortunate that Frame’s writings have not been more broadly read. And given this relative neglect, I offer a few comments on Frame’s larger theological project before turning to review the present vol- ume. Frame’s theology draws together at least three distinct strands into a coher- ent whole. The first strand in Frame’s thought is a presuppositional approach to , inherited from his professor, . Second, Frame brings to his presuppositional epistemology an appreciation for the ordi- nary language philosophy of Wittgenstein, Austin, and Searle. Frame’s result- ing approach to is ‘perspectival’: as finite knowers, humans never have exhaustive knowledge but can come to more mature knowledge by adopt- ing different ‘perspectives.’ For Frame, there are three basic theological per- spectives—the normative, the situational, and the existential—that allow us to perceive the various facets of various doctrines (incidentally, even here where Frame is at his most creative, he finds precedent in the opening lines of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion). Frame emphasizes that this is a triad of perspectives, not parts, through which the whole of a doctrine can be viewed. Third, Frame’s project takes seriously the (potential) impacts of redemp- tive-historical biblical theology, exemplified by Gerhardus Vos and Herman Ridderbos, on . Frame’s central motif of God’s ‘lordship’ can be understood as a reworking of reformed in light espe- cially of ’s redemptive-historical approach to covenants in the Old Testament. Frame arranges the three main aspects of Hebrew covenants (the historical prologue, the stipulations, and the blessings/curses of divine presence/absence) as situational, normative, and existential perspectives on covenant. These, in turn, suggest that God’s covenant lordship can be viewed from the perspectives of control (over historical situations), authority (to give stipulations), and presence (to the covenant people). Frame previously worked these strands together in his massive ‘Theology of Lordship’ series (the four big volumes focus on The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, The Doctrine of God, The Doctrine of the Christian Life, and The Doctrine of the Word of God, Philipsburg: p&r, 1987–2010). The present volume, then, presents both a more concise statement of the material found in the Theology

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi: 10.1163/15697312-01101003 book reviews 149 of Lordship series as well as an extension of the perspectival approach and the lordship motif to various doctrines not directly addressed in that series. The book is divided into twelve parts: (1) an introduction to systematic theology (in particular God’s covenant lordship), (2) an overview of the biblical story, (3) the doctrine of God, (4) the doctrine of the word of God, (5) the doctrine of the knowledge of God, (6) the doctrine of angels and demons, (7) the doctrine of man, (8) the doctrine of Christ (both his person and work), (9) the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (including the application of the work of Christ), (10) the doctrine of the church, (11) the doctrine of the last things, (12) the doctrine of the Christian life. Finally, the book concludes with two appendices. The first is a chart showing how the 110 different triadic perspectival analyses of various doctrines that are proposed throughout the book correspond to the basic normative, situational, and existential perspectives (e.g., Christ’s offices can be analyzed with the prophetic as normative, the kingly as situational, and the priestly as existential, likewise the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love). The second appendix is a 25-page glossary of theological terms. Each of the 52 chapters that comprise these twelve parts follows a basic pattern. Frame often begins his discussions with relevant excerpts from the reformed confessions, especially the Westminster Standards. The body of the chapter is devoted to the exposition of the doctrine under consideration. This exposition is sometimes, but not always, according to his triadic perspectives. Each chapter concludes with a series prompts for further investigation of the topic at hand: a list of key terms, 10–20 ‘study questions’ (e.g., ‘Discuss the relationship between knowing facts, skills, and persons, in our knowledge of God,’ [p. 716]), a half dozen Scripture passages for memorization, and an annotated suggested readings list.These features make the book useful for both self-study or a university course in theology. The book is so long that it precludes a detailed evaluation of Frame’s spe- cific conclusions and formulations of various doctrines in the of a short review. I offer instead several general evaluations. I was struck by how bibli- cal Frame’s systematic theology is. Of course any Christian theology worth its salt attempts to be biblical in some sense. What I mean, then, is that as he approaches each theological topic, it is clear that Frame’s primary concern is the relevant biblical material rather than the positions of celebrated theolo- gians. Virtually every page of the book includes block quotes of Scripture in addition to the countless references (over 4,500 according to the index) to pas- sages drawn from every book of the Bible. Moreover, Frame attempts to con- textualize these various references with three chapters early on that recount the overarching story of the Bible from the perspectives of God’s covenants, of God’s kingdom, and of God’s family (pp. 54–117). Indeed, this biblical emphasis

Journal of Reformed Theology 11 (2017) 141–179