Nature's Case for God

M. Frame John

Description

Can we know anything about God apart from the Bible?Many Protestant Christians are suspicious of natural theology, which claims that we can learn about God through revelation outside the Bible. How can we know anything about God apart from Scripture? In Nature's Case for God, distinguished theologian John Frame argues that Christians are not forbidden from seeking to learn about God from his creation. In fact, the Bible itself shows this to be possible.In nine short and lucid chapters that include questions for discussion, Frame shows us what we can learn about God and how we relate to him from the world outside the Bible. If the heavens really do declare the glory of God, as the psalmist claims, it makes a huge difference for how we understand God and how we introduce him to those who don't yet know Christ.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology
• Theology
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 12 décembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683591337
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

NATURE’S CASE FOR GOD
A Brief Biblical Argument
JOHN M. FRAME
Nature’s Case for God: A Brief Biblical Argument
Copyright 2018 John M. Frame
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225 LexhamPress.com
All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail] .
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version . Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are from the New American Standard Bible ® . Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Print ISBN 9781683591320
Digital ISBN 9781683591337
Lexham Editorial: Elliot Ritzema, Jennifer Edwards, Danielle Thevenaz
Cover Design: Eleazar Ruiz
To the memory of
Francis A. Schaeffer
1912–1984
CONTENTS
Preface
Part One: The Witness of the Created World
1. The Greatness
2. The Oneness
3. The Wisdom
4. The Goodness
5. The Presence
Part Two: The Witness of Human Nature
6. The Seared Conscience
7. The Accusing Conscience
8. The Awakened Conscience
9. The Good Conscience
Epilogue
Appendix on Natural Law: Four Letters
PREFACE
T his book may be described as a “natural theology.” That phrase traditionally denotes the attempt to learn about God through revelation outside the Bible. Although natural theology has been an important discipline historically, as in the writings of Thomas Aquinas, its prestige more recently has fallen considerably. When Emil Brunner wrote a rather mild defense of the discipline, Karl Barth answered him with a thundering reply, named simply “NO.” 1 Since then, anyone approaching this subject has had to give an argument for its legitimacy. This requirement bears especially on apologists of the presuppositional school of apologetics, the school I am associated with.
Now there are good reasons for objecting to natural theology. Barth’s objections arise out of his unique conception of the christological focus of all revelation, 2 but a Protestant who is more traditional and orthodox than him might also reject natural theology. Those who are committed to the Christ of Scripture ask how we can seek to know anything without the aid of Scripture, let alone try to know God without it. That would be like a student who ignores the entire reading list for a course in chemistry and seeks to answer the exam questions out of his own head. Not only does Scripture provide important knowledge about God, but in one sense, Protestant theologians have always said that Scripture is sufficient to tell us what we need to know about him. Hence the Reformation motto sola Scriptura .
It might seem, therefore, that for Protestants, natural theology is a violation of that principle. But in fact, the principle does not forbid us to seek knowledge of God from creation. Rather, Scripture itself tells us that God is revealed everywhere and that human beings are therefore under obligation, not only to hear God’s word in Scripture, but to obey his revelation in all creation.

NATURAL THEOLOGY AND APOLOGETICS
This objection to natural theology, and the reply to it, has a particular application to presuppositional apologetics. Apologetics is the activity of Christians as they respond to unbelief (“always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” 1 Pet 3:15). As developed by Cornelius Van Til , presuppositional apologetics is particularly concerned to be subject to Scripture in its reasoning. The revelation of God in Scripture is the “presupposition” of all human reasoning, so that when reasoning violates Scripture it loses its own basis for validity. 3 But again, it is Scripture itself that tells us to look at the created world to see the imprint of its Creator. Our presupposition urges us to look at the world God has made, and to look at ourselves, his image (Gen 1:27).
So my defense of natural theology is a simple one. The Bible says that God is revealed in everything he has created, not only in the Bible. This is especially evident in Psalm 19 and Romans 1:
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world. (Ps 19:1–4)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their hearts were darkened. (Rom 1:18–21)
These passages teach us that it is impossible to escape the evidence for God, indeed to escape his presence with us. The Creator has left his mark on his creation. The second passage, of course, is very negative, for it is directed to those who rebel against God. But that fact increases its force: even rebels know God clearly, so that their unbelief and rebellion is their own fault. Note that their knowledge is not only a knowledge of facts about God. Verse 21 puts it in personal terms: they actually know God ; they have a personal knowledge of God, of course as enemies rather than as friends. So their knowledge is intimate and profound, as well as correct.
These passages describe a universal knowledge of God. Even people who don’t read the Bible know God and are responsible for their unbelief.
But how does this knowledge work? What is it like? How does it get into us? The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the nuts and bolts. The reason is that, as Romans 1 indicates, this extrabiblical revelation (also called “natural” revelation and “general” revelation) does not make people into believers, and the Bible is primarily a book about salvation. When fallen human beings encounter natural revelation, they “suppress” it, so the message of salvation must come from somewhere else. God saves us from sin through an additional form of revelation, the preaching of the good news of Christ (Rom 10:14–17). It is preaching that breaks down our rebellion and brings us to repent and believe. So the mechanics of natural revelation are to some extent irrelevant to our salvation from sin. For saving knowledge of God, natural revelation is insufficient.
But there is more to be said. Natural revelation is not entirely irrelevant to the Bible’s central message. The Bible itself speaks of natural revelation, and it presents that natural knowledge as a kind of prerequisite or prolegomenon to saving knowledge. In Acts 14:15–18, Paul restrains a mob seeking to worship him and Barnabas by referring to natural revelation:
“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
And in Acts 17:22–31, Paul uses natural revelation as his preaching text to an audience that had little, if any, knowledge of God’s written revelation:
Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, “To the unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we are indeed his offspring.” Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Paul does not quote Scripture here, but neither does he set aside his scriptural presuppositions. He presents what Scripture says all people know from nature alone, and that leads to his proclamation of Jesus as Judge and as resurrected Lord. He is addressing people who do not know the Bible, but who see the world around them. Paul joins them in their quest to understand the world. But he does not depart from his biblical presupposition. Without actually quoting Scripture, he presents to his hearers a biblical interpretation of the world. The Bible, after all, tells us the truth, not only