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Nature's Case for God: A Brief Biblical Argument

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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.

136 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2018

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About the author

John M. Frame

92 books222 followers
For his education, Frame received degrees from Princeton University (A.B.), Westminster Theological Seminary (B.D.), Yale University (A.M. and M.Phil., though he was working on a doctorate and admits his own failure to complete his dissertation), and Belhaven College (D.D.). He has served on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary and was a founding faculty member of their California campus. He currently (as of 2022) teaches Apologetics and The History of Philosophy and Christian thought at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for David Haines.
Author 10 books136 followers
November 18, 2018
This small book purports to explain what can be known about God, by man, through nature (in accordance with Christian Scriptures). Some quick facts, the book is 124 pages long, but there are so many blank pages, section title pages, etc., that there is only about 80 pages of actual text. Every chapter ends with a list of discussion questions and recommended books (mostly his books). There is a short pagevand a half of endnotes at the end of the book, and a short appendice on Natural Law (basically a couple short letters he wrote to former students about the subject.). I will write a more complete review later, but suffice it to say, actual arguments are in short supply in this very short book. The gist of his argument, throughout the book, is that by knowing the greatness, unity in multiplicity, goodness, etc. of the created world, one knows God. He does not actually argue for these claims, but asserts them, shows how the Bible talks about them (and that they are evident in nature), and then, content with having "proved" his point, moves on. Though the book seems to have been written primarily for a popular audience (there is an evident lack of academic rigor and clarity), he should have spent more time developing his claims. Many of his claims are so ambiguous as to leave the reader wondering if he is proposing a form of pantheism (see the last 2 pages of his chapter on the greatness of the universe, where he states: (1) we recognize the greatness of the universe, and are pushed into awe. (2) the Greatness (notice the capital G) is the source of all good things. (3) any who recognize this Greatness are pushed to worship it, this is the true God.). It seems like Frame is trying to recognize some form of Natural Theology, and this sounds like a move in the right direction, but, my impression after reading this book is that it was more like 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
Profile Image for John Rakshith Prabhakar.
95 reviews5 followers
April 20, 2019
In a clear, brief, succinct manner, Frame points out how God sheds light through the Bible on nature's case for himself in nature and in man. A helpful little read on a vitally important subject if we are to ever engage with ourselves, the world and human society in a proper way at all!
Profile Image for Alan Fuller.
Author 6 books34 followers
December 23, 2018

"I do not pretend that creation and conscience can provide us with a sufficient knowledge of God apart from the Bible." - Frame

"Though nature does not itself proclaim the gospel of Christ, it serves as its presupposition, its foundation." - Frame

(Heb 3:17)  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
(Heb 4:2)  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

If the Gospel cannot be preached through nature and conscience, how was it preached to those in the Exodus? Did Moses pass out New Testaments? They didn't have proper faith, but if Moses preached another Gospel would Paul have considered him accursed? (Gal 1:8-9) How was the Gospel preached to Abraham beforehand? (Gal 3:8) Of whom did Isaiah speak of as not obeying the Gospel? (Rom 10:16-17 Isa 53:1)

(1Pe 1:10)  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
(1Pe 1:11)  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.



Profile Image for Emma Whear.
622 reviews44 followers
April 16, 2020
Reading time: Less than an hour.

This is the ideal theological handbook. Brief. Epic formatting. Small pages and limited text.
Well done, Frame and Co.

The divisions were what I expected from a systematic theologian, but it lent itself well to a discussion on nature/scripture/God.

The only disappointment was the discussion of conscious, but not consciousness, which I was heartily looking forward to.
Profile Image for Dann Zinke.
177 reviews
March 9, 2023
A great short primer on natural theology from a presuppositional apologetic point of view - using the Bible to show how natural theology is useful in evangelism.
10 reviews
January 16, 2024
title is very misleading, he does not really spend much time exploring how nature would make a case for God. You should just read mere christianity instead.
Profile Image for Jimmy.
1,254 reviews49 followers
December 31, 2018
Christian apologist and theologian John Frame has written this short book on a biblical natural theology. If you have been studying theology for sometime now you might be familiar with this Reformed theologian. I really enjoy John Frame for his discussion about theological method, apologetics methodology and the inter-relationship of doctrines and theological disciplines. In this recent work Frame gives the topic of natural revelation a one volume treatment.
The main body of the book is divided into two parts. Part one is focused on the witness of the Created World to God’s existence and the character of God in light of that revelation. Part two then looks at human nature’s testimony to God’s existence and attributes. After an epilogue the book also feature an appendix in which John Frame answers certain questions and objections in the form of four letters he has received in the past from pastors, seminarians, readers, former students, etc. Part one consists of five chapters while part two of the book consists of four chapters.
I thought it was a plus that after each chapter there were questions for reflection and discussion. This is followed by a section called “For Further Reading.” I highly recommend the books that he suggested to further elaborate on what Frame has to say. There were many works he recommended that I have benefited from in the past.
The writing style of this book is more relaxed than other works by John Frame. That is, it is not as heavy on the footnotes. He writes in summary form what he’s gone on to explain in more details and rigors elsewhere. I still think this book is worthwhile since this is the first book where he focuses only on natural revelation (Frame’s discussion elsewhere of the inter-relationship of natural and special revelation is very helpful). Also this book is helpful for those who want a simpler introduction to John Frame’s work and/or if any readers want to refresh on Frame’s theology and apologetics. I did wish Frame could have gone in more details at times especially with possible nonbelieving skeptics that might be reading this. I also wished there was more of a Transcendental argument presented with some more bite of the impossibility of the contrary of competing worldviews. Still I think if one wants to just learn from biblical lens what does natural revelation tells us about God this is a good work to have. At times though I thought Frame did veer off from the subtitle of the book of “a brief biblical argument” for what the title says is “Nature’s case for God.” This is especially true in part two with the discussion of the conscience. Let me say Frame’s discussion of the conscience is excellent and biblical; but it wasn’t primarily about how conscience shows God’s existence per se. His discussion of the conscience and the types of conscience is very profitable and edifying and is worth getting the book alone.
I realize some of the readers seeing this book would not consider this book in a vaccum; John Frame is influenced by Cornelius Van Til’s presuppositonalism though some might ask how faithful he might be to Van Til’s apologetics’ methodology. For the record I do think Frame is Presuppositional but he’s not where Greg Bahnsen is at. Those who are classical in their apologetics’ methodology might not find this book as objectionable as they might think yet some Presuppositionalists would wish he emphasized certain aspects of Presuppositional apologetics’ more. For Classical or Presuppositionalists if one reads this book primarily to answer the question of what does Scripture has to say about natural revelation revealing about God and His attributes then this is a worthwhile work to purchase and read.
Profile Image for Alex McEwen.
312 reviews2 followers
June 30, 2024
I purchased "Nature's Case for God" as a gift for Hannah back in 2019, when we were dating. The receipt was still in the front cover, which doesn't bode well for its previous owner. But when we got married, it returned to my bookshelf, and I'm finally getting around to reading it.

I have greatly benefited from the academic ministries of John Frame and his dear friend Vern Poythress. While my Presbyterianism is very Dutch, they have taught me what a more classically American Presbyterianism might look like. At just over 80 pages, this reads more like an extended essay than a book. The chapters are short and easy to follow, always ending with questions for reflection and recommended sources for further reading.

The work wasn’t very characteristic of Frame. It wasn’t incredibly academic for an author whose life and ministry have been surrounded by the academy. Overall, I don't know who the intended audience was. The work presents itself as an apologetic probably aimed at non-believers but contains "Christian-ese" terms like "weaker brother" and "seared conscience," assuming familiarity with these concepts. However, I don’t think someone already within the Christian camp would need an apologetic this basic.

This work is split into three movements and a conclusion. The first movement introduces the subject of Natural Law, highlighting how people in the Reformed camp have often looked down on Natural Law in favor of Van Tillian apologetics. Frame then shows how Natural Law is presupposed in Scripture. Outside of Sproul, I don't know if I have ever seen a Reformed pastor so comfortable with Aquinas’s theology. The second movement examines the natural world as an apologetic for God, as revealed in Christian scriptures. The final movement examines human nature as an apologetic for God, as revealed in Christian scriptures.

The conclusion may have been the most helpful part of the book, where Frame summarizes his argument and provides four letters he has written on the subject. These letters address objections that Frame has received towards his Natural Theology and were probably the most helpful part of the book.

It’s hard to say I don’t know who the work was for, and then turn around and say I really enjoyed it. I think the work has a lot to offer, but it won't be academic enough to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of the subject or to be cited in seminary papers. It will also be too academic and too rooted in a base understanding of Christianity for a non-believer. Maybe it will serve as an introduction to natural theology that will point lay believers to deeper texts that will better satisfy their curiosity.
Profile Image for Josh Bauder.
333 reviews5 followers
August 25, 2019
The book’s title is wrong. Instead of Nature’s Case for God, it should be God’s Case for Nature’s Case for God, as Frame has done little but assemble and comment on biblical passages. This is perfectly fine, but it’s not apologetics, and it’s not “natural theology.”

Considerable confusion starts in the preface, where Frame makes two types of claim. Check them out:

(1) “The revelation of God in Scripture is the ‘presupposition’ of all human reasoning, so that when reason violates Scripture it loses its own basis for validity... This book seeks to tell readers what they can learn of God from nature on the basis of what Scripture says.”

Get that? Revelation precedes nature.

(2) “Though nature does not itself proclaim the gospel of Christ, it serves as its presupposition, its foundation... God has provided nature and conscience (what might be called ‘natural theology’) to convince us of his reality.”

There you have it. Nature precedes revelation.

That these two claims might be difficult to reconcile seems to bother Frame not at all. In fact, he just ignores the tension and spends most of the book commenting on passages of Scripture. Whether Scripture presupposes nature or visa versa is left unaddressed until the bewildering epilogue, where Frame clarifies:

So understood, Scripture, nature, and conscience work together to convince us of God’s existence, his commands, and his promise of salvation in Jesus Christ... In this way, each form of revelation depends on and presupposes the other two. Each one points us to what we can learn from the others, and each one shows us how we can truthfully use the others.


It sounds nice, but you can’t just force presuppositions into warm-hearted cooperation like that. Either something is logically prior to something else, or it isn’t. What can actually be known about God from natural revelation? Lewis handles this question competently in Mere Christianity. Frame leaves it unanswered.
Profile Image for Jakub Ferencik.
Author 3 books80 followers
May 11, 2020
I am beyond impressed with the weakness of the arguments in this brief introduction. "is it even slightly surprising that since before the beginning of written history, human beings have been religious?" (25) Frame, but certainly their "religiosity" was out of their ignorance and not some cognitive decision? Philosophically, we might say they were not given the same epistemic access as we have been given.

The logical double standard is surprising. He writes, "At least the Greeks were modest enough to admit that they might not have included all the gods in their catalog" (31). But, what about the other way around? Were the Christians not modest enough? According to this logic that Frame presents, they were not. Oh, but, the Christians knew the truth, Frame might insist. Frame is not the one to lecture on intellectual modesty, clearly.

The book is full of ambiguous claims that make any honest reader perplexed. "[W]e can know God through his greatness, his oneness, his wisdom, and his goodness, we also know him by knowing ourselves" (62). This can mean anything. "Knowing ourselves" is one of those statements that is saying nothing & everything at the same time.

There is also a "hopelessness" in the Atheist's moral capacity, of course. "Not only do they do wrong and teach wrong, but their very capacity for feeling right and wrong is defective" (78). I mean, enough said. Very disappointed but what else can you expect.
Profile Image for George.
18 reviews
April 11, 2020
It is important to know at the outset when reading a book who the intended audience of the book is. This is a book for ordinary people genuinely inquiring about Christianity. I say ordinary because Frame does not attempt to provide a thorough defense of his claims. I'm fact, there isn't much in the realm of defense in this book. This is a 'case' for God, and a biblical one at that. Frame aims at providing a short, accessable, and convincing case for how the biblical God makes sense of what we perceive in nature and ourselves.

Bearing that in mind, I think Frame does a pretty good job explaining the facts of life from a biblical perspective. I had to imagine myself as a non-Christian once again to feel the thrust of what he was saying since many of his explanations seemed to be little more than an exposition of a text. This is not a fault of the book. Frame has an audience in mind and I appreciate who he's gunning for.

Overall, I enjoyed Frame's presentation and would heartily commend this book to Christians in search of material for their non-Christian friends and family.
Profile Image for Gabbi.
2 reviews12 followers
February 3, 2021
I bought this book in hopes that it might be a good gift for a an atheistic but curious friend. And of course, I wanted to read it for myself first. I found this book helpful in developing my own theology and apologetics. The second half, regarding the conscience, was much easier to understand the first half, which seemed to be much more philosophical than anything related to actual nature (as the title claims). With that being said, I’m not sure if this book would be great for popular audiences, especially nonbelievers who are less familiar with Christian theology. I certainly don’t plan on giving it to my friend, for fear this just might be more confusing.

So all in all, it was okay but the title is somewhat misleading. It was about 100 pages and a quick read. Just maybe not the best choice for nonbelievers without a strong foundation of Christian basics.
Profile Image for Kory.
70 reviews47 followers
January 28, 2019
I know that this book is attempting brevity and accessibility, but even given this, I felt that it was too insular to the discussion it wanted to have. To call itself "A brief biblical argument" left me noticing very distinctly how often Frame asserts things rather than arguing them. In the epilogue, you find a few interactive pieces that reveal he is capable of a much better discourse than this.

To write an argument about God's existence, I would hope to find more awareness and interaction with oppositional positions than I did here. It would help as a student of the subject to know what others are arguing, and how the biblical subject matter stands up to them, rather than to merely look into Scripture alone to answer questions which we can only suppose are being asked.
34 reviews1 follower
March 6, 2019
Frame says on page 4, "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." Frame sets out in this brief book to do exactly that. He does it well in typical Framean fashion: biblically rich, clear prose. Not one of my favorite of Frame's books, but I'm glad I read it. His material on the conscience was helpful.
Profile Image for Luke Schmeltzer .
231 reviews7 followers
September 6, 2021
Frame sets out a few short chapters to make a case for natural theology from nature and conscience. He does a pretty good job of explaining his premises and connecting them in argument, but he didn’t put much work into supporting them- for such a short book it’s not surprising. The section on conscience was good, but I didn’t find it entirely relevant to the discussion of natural theology. I would recommend it to someone first looking into the subject, but it wasn’t all I was hoping for.
Profile Image for Katie W.
58 reviews1 follower
August 19, 2025
Frame makes many good points in this brief, succinct book, but a lot of his arguments don’t seem to flow logically and it almost feels like the book gets off topic from what it’s supposed to be about. The chapters on conscience, for example, are good but I feel they fall flat as an apologetic. If you are looking for a book that makes a case for God based on conscience, the arguments in Mere Christianity are much easier to follow.
Profile Image for Eddie Mercado.
218 reviews7 followers
February 26, 2020
I lied, I did not finish this book. But this book was not well written, not compelling, an absolute chore to read through (and this book is not long by any stretch). If you’re looking for any resources on natural theology, check out William Dennison’s article on Natural and Special Revelation, and Van Til’s article Nature and Scripture.
Profile Image for Graeme MacDiarmid.
25 reviews
October 24, 2022
I wasn’t a huge fan. Contrary to the title of the book, it felt more like God’s case for nature, instead of natures case for God. It emphasize more so on the theology of nature, then on apologetically, helping the reader to communicate a more connected conversation between nature and God‘s existence. However, maybe the content just went over my head.
12 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2019
Highly Recommended! A wonderful example of how a presuppositional apologetic doesn't have to be complicated and can appeal to evidence, but all the while keeping God's word as foundational to how we understand his self revelation in all of creation.
Profile Image for Chris Comis.
366 reviews13 followers
January 8, 2022
Good presuppostional take on natural theology and its role in the Christian life. And (spoiler alert) Frame doesn't spend the entire book denying that there is a role for natural theology in the Christian life.
Profile Image for Joseph Bradley.
183 reviews5 followers
May 19, 2022
This is an easy read, which is part of its flaw. In a book on natural law or natural theology, the scope should be broader and further flushed out than Frame’s treatment here. However, he is faithful to Scripture, and for someone who has no concept of these ideas, it’s a good short explanation.
Profile Image for Paul Pompa.
211 reviews1 follower
December 25, 2018
Easy read. Clear. Biblical. Different than what I’ve read before. I love the discussion of the range of conscience.
Profile Image for Kris Lundgaard.
Author 4 books29 followers
May 8, 2019
The last four chapters on the conscience are particularly clear and helpful.
Profile Image for Nathan Long.
41 reviews10 followers
May 15, 2020
Decent; not my favorite Frame book by any stretch.
Profile Image for Neh.
179 reviews
April 21, 2023
Anything and everything by Dr Frame is worth a read. Such a clear-minded, very learned, and biblical teacher.
127 reviews
December 22, 2023
Muy buen libro resumen de la teología natural de John Frame.
Breve, pero claro y motivador para seguir aprendiendo.
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