John M. Frame - The Doctrine of God

Also available in the series:

The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God

JOHN M. FRAME

* "Why Can't I See God?" From Songs on the Westminster Catechism by Judy Rogers, used by permission. www.judyrogers.com Judy Rogers, 1991.

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I

PART ONE: YAHWEH THE LORD

PART TWO: SOME PROBLEM AREAS

PART THREE: A PHILOSOPHY OF LORDSHIP

PART FOUR: THE ACTS OF THE LORI)

PART FIVE: BIBLICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF GOD

PART SIX: THE TRIUNE GOD

I . Introduction

A. The Doctrine of God in History

R. A Response to Scholasticism

(1) Sola Scriptura Versus Philosophical Imperialism and Traditionalism

(2) Covenant Lordship and the Central Message of the Bible

(3) Engagement with Recent Philosophy and Theology

(4) Changes in the Order of Topics to Facilitate Communication

C. The Structure of This Volume

PART ONE: YAI IWEI I THE LORI)

2. The Lord

A. The Centrality of Lordship

B. Yahweh: the Name of it Person

C. Yahweh, the Iloly One

I). Lordship as Covenant Headship

3. The Lordship Attributes: Control

A. Recent and Traditional Views of Exodus 3:14

B. Passages Expounding the Name Yahweh

C. The Covenantal Triad

I). Yahweh the Controller

4. God's Control: Its Efficacy and Universality

A. The Efficacy of ( jod's Control

B. Universality: the Natural World

C. human

I). Individual Lives

E. Human Decisions

F. Sins

G. Faith and Salvation

H. Summary Passages

5. The Lordship Attributes: Authority

A. The Concept of Divine Authority

B. Authority as an Aspect of Lordship

C. Absolute Authority

D. Divine Authority in the History of Redemption

E. The Universality of Divine Authority

6. The Lordship Attributes: Covenant Presence

A. Presence in Time

B. Presence in Place

C. Presence in Blessing and Judgment

D. The Lord's Presence in All Creation

7. Transcendence and Immanence

A. Transcendence and Immanence in Scripture

B. Transcendence and Immanence in Theology

C. A Religious Antithesis

PART TWO: SOME PROBLEM AREAS

8. Human Responsibility and Freedom

A. Responsibility as Accountability

B. Responsibility as Liability

C. Responsibility and Ability

D. Excursus on Ability

E. Freedom

F. A Critique of Libertarianism

G. Freedom in the Westminster Confession

H. Creaturely Otherness, Integrity, and Significance

1. Divine and Human Causality

J. Models of Divine and Human Agency

9. The Problem of Evil

A. The Nature of Evil

B. Some Good Things about Evil

C. Evil and God's Agency

PART THREE: A PHILOSOPHY OF LORDSHIP

10. Ethics

A. Existential Ethics

B. Teleological Ethics

C. heontological Ethics

D. Mixed Approaches

E. Christian Ethics

F. Some Applications

11. Epistemology

A. Incomprehensibility and Knowahility

B. Analogy

C. Lordship and Knowledge

12. Metaphysics

A. The Great Chain of Being

B. The Scholastic Philosophy of Being

C. Simplicity

D. Necessity and Freedom

E. Metaphysical Perspectives

PART FOUR: THE ACTS OF THE LORD

13. Miracle

A. Structural Overview of Parts Four through Six

B. Defining Miracle

C. Natural Law

D. Immediacy

E. Attesting God's Messengers

F. Some Other Reformed Views of Miracle

G. Miracles as Demonstrations of God's Covenant Lordship

H. Miracle and Providence

1. Have Miracles Ceased?

J. Possibility and Probability

K. Evidence for Miracle

L. Miracle as Evidence for Christianity

14. Providence

A. Government

B. Preservation

C. Revelation

D. Concurrence

15. Creation

A. Defining Creation

B. Creation and Covenant Lordship

C. Creation and Redemption

D. Creation out of Nothing

E. The Six Days

F. The Age of the Earth

G. Evolution

16. God's Decrees

A. God's Plan

B. The Decrees and God's Lordship

C. Historical Election

D. Eternal Election

E. Reprobation

F. The Order of the Decrees

PART FIVE: BIBLICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF GOD

17. Names of God

A. Naming and Describing

B. God's Name and God Himself

C. Name and Lordship

(1) Control

(2) Authority

(3) Presence

D. Some Names of God

(1) Yahweh

(2)

(3)

(4) 'El

(5)

(6) Compound Names

18. Images of God

A. The Theological Possibility of Images

B. Anthroponlorph isms

C. Some Biblical Images of God

D. God and Gender

(1) What Would a Female God Be Like?

(2) Feminine Images of God in Scripture

(3) The Theological Importance of Masculine Imagery

19. God's Attributes

A. Review of the Divine Attributes

B. God's Attributes and His Lordship

C. Does God Have a Fundamental Attribute?

D. Classifying God's Attributes

E. Distinctions within Attribute Groups

F. Starting with Goodness

20. God's Goodness

A. Goodness as Perfection

B. The Euthyphro Problem

C. Goodness as Benevolence

D. Objects of God's Goodness

E. God's Goodness and His Lordship

F. God's Love

G. Objects of God's Love

(1) God's Self-Love

(2) God's Universal Love

(3) God's Saving Love

H. God's Love and Lordship

1. God's Grace

J. Common Grace and God's Patience

(1) God Restrains Sin

(2) God Restrains His Wrath

(3) God Gives Temporal Blessings to All