A History of Western Philosophy and Theology

The history of Western philosophy is not religiously neutral, and John Frame has never pretended otherwise. In this sweeping and distinctive work, Frame argues that the history of philosophy can only be properly understood through the lens of biblical revelation, and that failing to apply that lens has produced centuries of intellectual error, theological compromise, and cultural decline. Beginning with the ancient Greeks and proceeding through the medieval synthesis, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, modern philosophy, and the theological liberalism that continues to dominate academic theology, Frame traces the recurring temptation of autonomous reason, the desire to understand the world on human terms alone, apart from the God who created it and revealed himself within it. He examines how this tendency has corrupted not only secular philosophy but much of the Christian theological tradition, and he charts a path toward a genuinely biblical engagement with the intellectual heritage of the West. Comprehensive, opinionated, and deeply rooted in Frame's Reformed theological commitments, A History of Western Philosophy and Theology is not a neutral survey. It is a carefully developed argument that Christian thinkers must evaluate philosophy by Scripture if they are to think clearly about anything at all, an indispensable resource for students of theology, apologetics, and intellectual history.