Mike Horton: A Response to John Frame’s The Escondido Theology - White Horse Inn Blog

It would seem that Dr. Michael Horton has a similar response to Dr. John Frame that Dr. R. Scott Clark had a few years ago when he was still writing the Heidelblog. Although this sort of a polemical disagreement within the Reformed camp is regrettable, it is also absolutely necessary. John Frame is leading countless people in the Reformed tradition in the direction of Rome, heterodoxy and even outright heresy. Frame's defense of Joel Osteen is reprehensible. Although I disagree with Van Til's theology of Scripture as "analogy", I must say that otherwise I find Horton's no holds barred response refreshing. It's about time someone stood up for the Law/Gospel distinction. Dr. Horton's article appears on the White Horse Inn blog. Here is the lead in:

I’ve been reluctant to respond to Professor Frame’s The Escondido Theology, published recently by Whitefield Media. Since the book focuses its critique on Westminster Seminary California, where I teach, I’d encourage readers to visit the Seminary website for a brief response from our president, W. Robert Godfrey. It would be of no edifying value to anyone to go into the details of John Frame’s departure from WSC. Suffice it to say that there are two sides to every story and if you’ve read The Escondido Theology, you have only heard one side whose details many of us would dispute. None of this matters in any case for the general good of the church and the Great Commission, so I will not raise it here.

There are a lot of criticisms in the book directed at my writing, so I’ll say a brief word about it. Having read the book recently, my reluctance is due primarily to the fact that I don’t know quite where to begin and to respond point by point may not contribute much to the cause.

The bottom line for me is this. Whether intentionally misleading or merely sloppy, this book represents a new low in intra-Reformed polemics. I’m encouraged to hear that various Reformed companies declined to publish the book. It is so replete with caricatures, misrepresentations, and straw opponents that a healthy debate on important issues is aborted at the outset. If I held some of the views John attributes to me, I would be alarmed as well. Old grudges appear to cloud his judgment, even to the point of defending Joel Osteen, for example, against my critique (which, again, he caricatures). I hope readers of John’s book will also consult the books that he attacks rather than take his word for it that they say what he claims.

Click here to read the entire article: A Response to John Frame’s The Escondido Theology - White Horse Inn Blog

Click here to read my critical review of Mike Horton's systematic theology:  Pilgrims on the Way