Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant achievement, October 3, 2008
I am very impressed with this book. It really does an outstanding job of providing a very comprehensive and detailed examination of biblical ethics. It is a massive undertaking (well over 1000 pages) and really does cover all the bases.
Frame is a very competent theologian within the Reformed tradition. He is professor of systematic theology and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. His has written on both theological subjects as well as ethical issues. His many years of lecturing are reflected in this important volume. He has thought through things very carefully, read widely, and integrates ethical theory and practice with a thorough grounding in Scripture.
This is the third volume in a projected four-volume series, A Theology of Lordship. The first volume, The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God (1987), is over 400 pages in length, while the second volume, The Doctrine of God (2002), is nearly 900 pages long. When the fourth and final volume - The Doctrine of the Word of God - eventually appears, this will be a solid, scholarly yet accessible systematic theology which should meet the needs of both pastors and students.
This volume looks carefully at ethical theory and philosophy, but as it does so, it deals with virtually every important particular ethical issue going, be it war and peace, bioethics, sexual morality, wealth and poverty, population and the environment, marriage and family, slavery, capital punishment, nuclear ethics, and so on.
The first 400 pages discuss in some depth various ethical options, theories and approaches. Plenty of practical ethical issues are discussed along the way. The next major section, of over 450 pages, is an extensive and detailed look at the Ten Commandments. It examines in detail the biblical, hermeneutical and theological background of the Decalogue, and provides numerous applications and example of both old and new ethical dilemmas.
Consider the sixth commandment for example. The prohibition here is not directed at killing per se, but murder. What the commandment forbids is killing that is not authorised by God. Capital punishment, self-defence and just warfare are all examples of killing that may be morally permissible. So Frame looks in some detail at a number of contentions issues involving life and death: war and peace, pacifism, the death penalty, euthanasia, abortion, and suicide.
The final section explores the broad issue of Christ and culture, and how believers should interact with the surrounding culture. The book finishes with a number of informative appendices which focus on particular topics, ranging from the case for Christian activism, to an assessment of Rushdoony's theonomy movement.
Those looking for broad-brush principles, theories and philosophies of ethical reasoning and ethical systems will find much of value here. But those wanting to put flesh on these bones, and find out how they relate and apply to individual ethical issues will also find a wealth of information, wisdom and insight.
Thus both the big ethical worldview issues, as well as practical applications, are tackled here. Frame is thoroughly conversant with theological and biblical concerns, and they take priority as he assesses various ethical systems and moral topics. He is fair to those with whom he disagrees, and shows a wide understanding of how various ethical debates are being conducted.
Because of this superb blend of faithfulness to Scripture, and awareness of the ethical battles of the day, and because of the nice match of wide-ranging theory and practical detail, this book really does do the job as a first-rate volume on ethics.
Individual chapters can be read on their own, or the whole volume can be carefully savoured. But of the many hundreds of books now available on biblical ethics, this has to be at the top of my list. I will turn to it again and again both for theoretical concerns as well as for specific help on the many hot-potato ethical debates of the day. It is a superb achievement and deserves a wide readership.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Serious Are You About THE Christian Life, June 13, 2008
This book is for those who are serious and who are facing the question of whether or not there IS such a thing as a distinctive Christian life. The term for such a comprehensive exploration is "Ethic" but Frame properly recognizing that modern terminology tends to understand "ethic" more narrowly, chooses "Christian Life" instead. His book addresses the idea of a Christian ethos, a comprehensive world view that encompasses the whole of life and subordinates it to the demands of God.
I believe that a distinctive Christian ethic is a corollary and product of saving faith; that a person who truly believes will be lead through scripture toward the "path" which becomes a "life" which evidences a true and lively faith. Frame does useful work in laying out in some detail the components of such a life. I thoroughly appreciate the structure of the book. He distinguishes a Christian ethic from others by drawing attention to the presuppositions which under gird them. He amplifies the distinctives of a Christian life by using the major headings of the ten commandments. Though I have some quibbles with him in some of his conclusions, this is a useful book and should be on the shelves of every Christian who desires to explore the call of Christ on his or her life.
But the question remains - how serious are you about the Christian life. The book is 1000 pages long and is not something you take to the beach for a little recreational reading. It is a serious work for serious readers. Non-Christians can benefit from it by learning just how radical a Christian world view is from their own presuppositions. Christians will find a resource that may be perused or read straight through as questions arise. This may be Frame's best work.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Ethical Groundwork!!, November 6, 2008
This is a great book for anyone from average Joe to PhD. In this book Frame lays a groundwork from which Christians can do ethics biblically. Although some of his specific applications are not going to be accepted by everyone, the strength of this book is the foundation created to do biblical ethics.
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