Monthly Archives: July 2010

Is Creation for Evangelicals and Neo-Reformed what Donuts Are for Homer Simpson?

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 30, 2010

I am noticing a trend, trend-spotters that historians are, and it does not appear to be promising. Over at Christianity Today, Scott Sabin, author of Tending to Eden, connects the dots among – hold on to your baseball cap – evangelism, “compassionate justice ministry,” and earth care. On a global scale, restoration is a monumental… Read More→

Posted in Neo-Protestantism, Piety with Excitement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Forensic Friday: Machen on Paul

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 30, 2010

There could be no greater error, therefore, than that of representing the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith as a mere afterthought, as a mere weapon in controversy. Paul was interested in salvation from the guilt of sin no whit less than in salvation from the power of sin, in justification no whit less than… Read More→

Posted in J. Gresham Machen, The Hinge | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Machen on Regeneration

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 28, 2010

Regeneration, or the new birth, therefore, does not stand in opposition to a truly scientific attitude toward the evidence, but on the contrary it is necessary in order that that truly scientific attitude may be attained; it is not a substitute for the intellect, but on the contrary by it the intellect is made to… Read More→

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Machen Day 2010

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 28, 2010

But biblical theology is not all the theology that will be taught at Westminster Seminary, for systematic theology will be at the very center of the seminary’s course. At this point an error should be avoided: it must not be thought that systematic theology is one whit less biblical than biblical theology is. But it… Read More→

Posted in J. Gresham Machen, Westminster | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Two Kingdom Tuesday: Remonstrants

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 27, 2010

If the Arminian controversy began as a disagreement about predestination, the call to examine the orthodoxy of a professor added levels of complication, for it reawakened all of the unresolved disputes over the control of church affairs that had troubled the Dutch church in its early years: Who had the authority to examine and remove… Read More→

Posted in spirituality of the church | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

How Can We Make the Pagans Conform to Our Rules When We Won’t Play By Our Rules?

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 23, 2010

I have made this point several times, but I think it bears repeating. Evangelicals and cultural transformers spend a lot (inordinate, in my estimation) telling the wider culture how it needs to follow God’s law. Much of this activity happens during the ordinary days of the week. When James Dobson calls for a Justice Sunday… Read More→

Posted in Piety with Excitement, Shock and Awe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

Forensic Friday

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 23, 2010

It is above all things important, that men, if they have broken the law of God, and become liable to the punishment which the law denounces against transgression, – and that this is, indeed, the state of men by nature is of course now assumed, – should know whether there be any way in which… Read More→

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Comity of Errors

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 22, 2010

A minor kerfuffle broke out last week at Reformed Forum thanks to remarks I made during an interview about the history of American Presbyterianism. This subject invariably leads to questions about the historical differences between the OPC and the PCA and how these factor into their current relationship. And discussion of current OPC-PCA relations inevitably… Read More→

Posted in New World Presbyterianism, Wilderness Wanderings | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Where’s Waldo Wednesday: The Hidden Life

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 21, 2010

And now we observe . . . that on this fact the Apostle founds an exhortation. “If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above.” The exhortation is simply to an actual life consonant with our change of state. If we have participated in Christ’s death for sin and rising… Read More→

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Two Kingdom Tuesday: Transformational Vigilantism

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 20, 2010

I keep my finger of the pulse of anti-2k venom with the help of my CRC friend, Rabbi Bret. The easiest way is to use his handy subject category links. Bret’s designation of choice is “R2K Virus (Radical Two Kingdom Theology)” – when radical and viral alone will not do. But sometimes Bret is revealing… Read More→

Posted in Christian politics | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments