fire eater

Playing with Fire

By D. G. Hart | Published January 26, 2012

Martin Luther complained about the radicals of the Reformation who invoked the fullness of the Spirit that they had “swallowed the Holy Ghost, feathers and all.” Justin Taylor’s recent quote from John Piper about worship makes me wonder if fire-eater would occur to Luther as the name to describe the oldest of the Young, Restless,… Read More→

Posted in Shock and Awe | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments
In-Treatment

Comments Open and Closed

By D. G. Hart | Published January 26, 2012

Alliances close comments, churches open them. That conclusion is hard to avoid after recent developments in the PCA and at the Gospel Coalition. The PCA sponsored an enclave of fifty officers, a “Meeting of Understanding,” to discuss challenges and differences within the denomination. The rationale for the meeting was akin to marriage counseling. Spouses who… Read More→

Posted in Because Someone Has to Provide Oversight, Jure Divino Presbyterianism | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments
normanupr

Contemporary Cosmic Christology and Contemporary Christian Music

By D. G. Hart | Published January 24, 2012

In his endless and zealous quest to see Abraham Kuyper prevail as the vice-regent of all things, Dr. K. (Nelson Kloosterman) keeps translating and quoting Kuyper as if such invocations will settle debates over 2k. Somehow, Kloosterman believes that 2kers deny Christ’s kingship over all things. When I respond that Jesus was Lord even over… Read More→

Posted in Lordship of Christ, Neo-Calvinism, Shock and Awe | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments
paterno13_600

He Was a Coach, Not God

By D. G. Hart | Published January 23, 2012

Joe Paterno was three years younger than my father and JoePa outlived dad by almost two years. I admired both men greatly, partly because of their decency which may have been responsible for their moral naivete. Recently Angelo Cataldi became indignant over Paterno’s remarks to the Washington Post that even if the report to him… Read More→

Posted in Being Human, Miscellany | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments
christian-exodus

Can We Get a Little Moral Clarity Here?

By D. G. Hart | Published January 21, 2012

In the light of Newt Gingrich’s recent surge in the polls, let’s see how the fortunes of the Religious Right are developing: A weak week ago Mitt Romney was leading in the polls and some even talked about his sowing up the nomination after South Carolina and Florida. Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife did an interview this… Read More→

Posted in spirituality of the church | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments
worship-him

Speaking of Leithart and Language

By D. G. Hart | Published January 20, 2012

Actually, it is Peter Leithart offering up some Habermas with some Peter Gordon thrown in. The post concerns the burden that secular societies place upon religious citizens. Leithart quotes Habermas on the burdens that modern societies, in trying to bracket religious convictions, place upon both believers and secularists: Religious citizens who regard themselves as loyal… Read More→

Posted in Book of Nature, Novus Ordo Seclorum | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments
BigCat

Authors, Editors, and Readers

By D. G. Hart | Published January 18, 2012

One of John Frame’s implicit complaints about two-kingdom theology is that its proponents are not as forthright as they should be about the Lordship of Christ or even about their own Christian profession. In his new book, he writes: Too often, in ethical debate, Christians sound too much like unbelievers. They reason as if they… Read More→

Posted in Neo-Calvinism | Tagged , , , , , , | 55 Comments
walmart-sign

Reservations about Evangelical Coalitions Are Not Reserved to Old Life

By D. G. Hart | Published January 16, 2012

Carl Trueman has a very good essay about the ways in which megachurch and multi-site pastors, along with large-scale parachurch organizations are undermining small congregations and denominations. Here is an excerpt: I noticed recently one individual marketing himself as someone who had planted numerous churches. This was clearly being presented as an unconditionally good thing.… Read More→

Posted in Because Someone Has to Provide Oversight | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments
TebowBelichick

Can We Get A Little Love-the-Law Street Cred Here?

By D. G. Hart | Published January 16, 2012

The shelf life on Tim Tebow is rapidly decreasing now that the Broncos ran into the Patriots’ capacity for cheating. So before Ricky Gervais completely eclipses Tebow in water-cooler banter, a point needs to be made about the charges of antinomianism that two-kingdom theology continues to receive. (The latest comes in a post about Martin… Read More→

Posted in Adventures in Church History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments
cherries

Cherry Picking Alert (and boy are those trunks sappy!)

By D. G. Hart | Published January 13, 2012

The Gospel Coalition has launched a year-long series of blog posts about Princeton Theological Seminary, a school that celebrates its bicentennial this year. The first post introduces PTS by likening the institution to the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement. Controversies swirl around celebrity pastors and their best-selling books. Evangelicals unite across denominational lines to share… Read More→

Posted in Adventures in Church History, Because Someone Has to Provide Oversight | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments