John M. Frame - Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief

If I were asked to list the top three books that have had the greatest impact on me as a Christian thinker, John Frames Apologetics to the Glory of God would undoubtedly be one of them. It brought about a paradigm shiftone might even say a Copernican revolutionin my understanding not only of apologetics but of all other intellectual endeavors as a Christian. Ever since then, it has been the first book I recommend to those looking for an introduction to Christian apologetics, and it is required reading in my apologetics classes. Im therefore delighted to recommend this updated and expanded twentieth-anniversary edition, which incorporates additional material by Dr. Frame, as well as many helpful annotations by Joseph Torres. Soli Deo Gloria!

James N. Anderson , Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

This book is as vital as when it first appeared. John Frame manages to tackle the most difficult problems facing a Christian who endeavors to defend the faith: the nature of evil, world religions, the use of evidences, and much more. And he does so with grace, theological acumen, and an enviable straightforwardnessrare for apologists who are at home with the principal philosophical issues of the day. Extraordinarily profitable volume from a veteran Christian thinker.

William Edgar , Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary

Over the last several decades, few books have been as helpful to so many for so long as Apologetics to the Glory of God by John Frame. I eagerly welcome the twentieth-anniversary edition of this important book. As apologetics takes on an even greater significance for every believer, I can only hope that the influence and impact of this book will spread far beyond even its original publication. This is a book that, twenty years after its initial publication, is even more timelyand that is a rare achievement.

R. Albert Mohler Jr. , President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

For decades, John Frame has given himself to the church, to his students, and to meticulous thinking and the rigorous study of the Bible. He winsomely, patiently, and persuasively contends for the gospel, and 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 , Chancellor, Bethlehem College and Seminary; Founder and Teacher, www.desiringGod.org

Apologetics

A Justification of

Christian Belief

John M. Frame

Edited by

Joseph E. Torres

2015 by John M. Frame

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except for brief quotations for the purpose of review, comment, or scholarship, without written permission from the publisher, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Italics within Scripture quotations indicate emphasis added.

Portions of this work were originally published in John M. Frames Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought (P&R Publishing, 1995), The Doctrine of God (P&R Publishing, 2002), and Speaking the Truth in Love , edited by John J. Hughes (P&R Publishing, 2009). They have been edited and revised for this volume.

Some material in chapter four appears in a similar form in John M. Frame, Transcendental Arguments, in W. C. Campbell-Jack and Gavin J. McGrath, eds., New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics , consulting ed. C. Stephen Evans (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 71617. Used by permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publicaion Data

Frame, John M., 1939-

[Apologetics to the glory of God]

Apologetics : a justification of Christian belief / John M. Frame ; edited by Joseph E. Torres. -- Second edition.

pages cm

Revision of: Apologetics to the Glory of God. 1994.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN 978-1-59638-938-0 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-59639-939-7 (ePub) -- ISBN 978-1-59638-940-3 (Mobi)

1. Apologetics. I. Torres, Joseph E., editor. II. Title.

BT1103.F73 2015

239--dc23

2014047572

To all my students,

from whom I have learned much

CONTENTS

Foreword by Vern S. Poythress xiii

Preface to the Second Edition xxix

Preface to the First Edition xxxi

Introduction by Joseph E. Torres xxxv

A B IBLICAL P ERSPECTIVE ON A POLOGETICS xxxv

T HE C ONSTANT N EED FOR C LARIFICATION xxxvii

A N EW A UDIENCE xxxviii

A BOUT T HIS E DITION xxxviii

Abbreviations xliii

1. Apologetics: The Basics 1

D EFINITIONS

P RESUPPOSITIONS

C IRCULAR A RGUMENT?

G ODS R ESPONSIBILITY AND O URS

S OLA S CRIPTURA

S OLA S CRIPTURA AND N ATURAL R EVELATION

V ALUES

D ANGERS

2. The Message of the Apologist 31

P HILOSOPHY

Metaphysics

God, the Absolute Personality 34

The Creator-Creature Relationship 39

The Sovereignty of God 42

The Trinity 44

Epistemology Ethics

G OOD N EWS

3. Apologetics as Proof: Some Methodological Considerations 53

F AITH, S CRIPTURE, AND E VIDENCE

T HE C ONCEPT OF P ROOF

T HE N EED FOR P ROOF

P OINT OF C ONTACT

4. Apologetics as Proof: Transcendental Argument 67

B ACKGROUND

TAG IN O UTLINE

Logic Demands the Existence of God Ethics Demands the Existence of God Science Demands the Existence of God

Q UESTIONS

TAG AND THE T RINITY

N EGATIVE AND P OSITIVE A RGUMENTS

A BSOLUTE C ERTAINTY AND P ROBABILITY

A S TRATEGIC S KETCH

S OME C ONCLUSIONS: A P RESUPPOSITIONALISM OF
THE H EART

5. Apologetics as Proof: Theistic Arguments 95

A THEISM AND A GNOSTICISM

T HE M ORAL A RGUMENT

T HE E PISTEMOLOGICAL A RGUMENT

M ETAPHYSICAL A RGUMENTS

Purpose: The Teleological Argument Cause: The Cosmological Argument Being: The Ontological Argument

6. Apologetics as Proof: Proving the Gospel 125

S CRIPTURES D OCTRINE OF S CRIPTURE

B UT W HAT ABOUT B IBLICAL C RITICISM?

S CRIPTURES R ATIONALE FOR THE G OSPEL M ESSAGE

The Argument from Prophecy The New Testament Witness to Christ Miracle and Resurrection

Are Miracles Possible or Probable? 145

Is There Sufficient Evidence for Believing in
Biblical Miracles? 146

Do Miracles Serve as Evidence for the Truth
of Christianity? 149

C ONCLUSION

7. Apologetics as Defense: The Problem of Evil, Part 1
Questions, General Principles, and Blind Alleys 155

I S T HERE A P ROBLEM OF E VIL? I S T HERE AN A NSWER?

F OCUS ON THE B IBLE

W HAT THE B IBLE D OES N OT S AY

The Nature of Evil: The Unreality-of-Evil Defense The Contribution of Evil

The Best-Possible-World Defense 162

The Free-Will Defense 164

The Character-Building Defense 167

The Stable-Environment Defense 168

Evil and Gods Agency

The Divine-Weakness Defense 168

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