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The following works were referenced, cited, or influential in the development of this book. This is not an exhaustive academic bibliography. It is a record of the voices that shaped the framework, whether by agreement or by contrast.
The King James Version (KJV). All Scripture quotations in this book are from the Authorized Version of 1611.
Vermes, Geza. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. London: Penguin Books, 1997.
Wise, Michael, Martin Abegg Jr., and Edward Cook. The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.
Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XIII, Chapter V, Section 9.
Clark, Gordon H. Religion, Reason, and Revelation. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1961.
Edwards, Jonathan. The End for Which God Created the World. 1765. Edwards’ idealist ontology, largely ignored by his theological heirs, is the closest historical predecessor to operational idealism. See Appendix J.
Edwards, Jonathan. Notes on the Mind. Unpublished during Edwards’ lifetime. Contains his most explicit idealist commitments.
Gill, John. A Body of Doctrinal Divinity. London, 1769.
Luther, Martin. The Bondage of the Will. 1525.
Poythress, Vern S. In the Beginning Was the Word: Language — A God-Centered Approach. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. The closest contemporary Reformed thinker to operational idealism, though Poythress never commits to the idealist position. See Appendix J.
Toplady, Augustus. The Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England. London, 1774.
Van Til, Cornelius. The Defense of the Faith. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1955. Van Til’s insistence that “there are no brute facts” leans idealist, but he explicitly rejected idealism by name due to its association with Hegel.
Higby, Bob. “Dead Sea Scroll Evidence.” pristinegrace.org.
Higby, Bob. Various articles on sovereign grace theology. pristinegrace.org.
Kraft, Brandan. “Grace Gems from the Dead Sea Scrolls.” pristinegrace.org.
Kraft, Brandan. “Modified Covenant Theology.” pristinegrace.org.
Kraft, Brandan. Various articles on sovereign grace theology, 2005-2026. pristinegrace.org.
Berkeley, George. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. 1710. Berkeley’s subjective idealism (esse est percipi) is distinguished from operational idealism in Appendix J. Perception is passive. Authorship is intentional.
Bostrom, Nick. “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?” Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 211, 2003. The secular simulation hypothesis is engaged in Appendix G and contrasted with operational idealism in Appendix J.
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Spirit. 1807. Hegel’s absolute idealism became the foundation of liberal Protestant theology and the reason the Reformed world rejected idealism entirely. See Appendix J.
Horton, Michael S. “Panentheism and Jonathan Edwards.” Modern Reformation, April 30, 2016. https://www.modernreformation.org/resources/articles/panentheism-and-jonathan-edwards. Horton charges Edwards’ idealism with panentheism and cites Hodge’s warning. The framework responds in Appendix J.
Johnson, Phil. Correspondence regarding pristinegrace.org and the charge of “hyper-Calvinism.” See Appendix K.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. 1667. Referenced in Chapter 13 regarding the literary tradition of Satan’s “fall.”
Plato. Republic. Circa 380 BC. The “law of Plato,” that the deity must never be proposed as the author of evil, is critiqued throughout this book.
Copyright © 2026 by Brandan Kraft. All rights reserved.
Published by Pristine Grace Publishing · pristinegrace.org
ISBN: 979-8-234-05049-6 · First Edition, 2026
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Everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God.
I spent the majority of my adult life building something I didn't know had a name. It started with the Scriptures and a lot of late nights. It ended with one sentence that generates every theological position I hold, from the nature of God to the nature of heaven and hell, without contradiction. One sentence. Thirty chapters. Sixteen appendices. And if you accept the sentence, everything else follows.
Most systematic theologies start with a list of doctrines and work through them one by one. This book starts with an ontological claim - that everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God - and derives everything from that single proposition. This is not a rearrangement of existing theology. This is a paradigm shift. Since Augustine imported Plato's metaphysics into the church in the fourth century, every major system of Christian theology has been built on a foundation the Scriptures never laid. This book identifies that foundation, names it, traces its influence across sixteen centuries, and replaces it with an ontology derived from Scripture alone. If the claim holds, this is the most significant shift in the theological starting point since Augustine. And I believe it holds.
This is not a devotional. This is not a commentary. This is a systematic theology built from the ground up by a computer programmer with no seminary degree, no denominational backing, and no one's permission. It uses the vocabulary of information theory, computer science, and quantum physics to describe realities that traditional theological language has never been able to reach. If you are a scientist who suspects that information is fundamental to reality but can't bring yourself to call it God, this book speaks your language. If you are a sovereign grace believer looking for a system that follows the logic all the way, this book does that. And if you have been told that the sharpest doctrine produces the coldest heart, this book ends with the widest arms you have ever seen in a Reformed theology.
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Isaiah 53:10, Rom 8:28-30, Psalm 23, grace, love one another
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