Monthly Archives: April 2011

My Kind of Lutheran (about me, remember?)

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 29, 2011

First they gave us Martin Luther, then Garrison Keillor (okay, that one was indirect), and now Hans Fiene (thanks to our confessional Lutheran correspondent from Texas). You do have to love Christians who can be this orthodox and this funny. Mind you, I wouldn’t let Hans near the pulpit of our congregation, though he is… Read More→

Posted in Wilderness Wanderings | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Singing Lutheran Theology from a Presbyterian Hymnal

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 28, 2011

I myself have never been impressed by the adage that ordinary believers learn more theology from hymns than from sermons or teaching. But recent frequent singing of “The Law of God Is Good and Wise” (1863) has led me to hope that the adage is true. Here is the text: The law of God is… Read More→

Posted in sanctification | Tagged , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Is Tony Soprano in Hell?

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 27, 2011

That is the question that Ross Douthat uses to respond to Rob Bell’s query about whether Christians must believe that Ghandi is in hell for being Hindu (probably not the best way of putting it since the eternal destiny of any human, aside from Christ, has not been part of Protestant church dogma). Here is… Read More→

Posted in Book of Nature | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Al Mohler, the Gospel Coalition, and Me (about whom it always is)

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 21, 2011

Name-dropper alert: Al Mohler and I have been friends for over two decades. (The Harts used to be on the Mohler’s Christmas card list until the former’s nomadic way of life prompted USPS to stop forwarding those attractive greetings from the president’s house in Louisville.) Al and I met when we were participants in a… Read More→

Posted in Jure Divino Presbyterianism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 318 Comments

Luther Answers the Question

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 20, 2011

Such justification is hidden not only from reason and the world but also from the saints. For it is not a thought, word, or work in us, but it is quite outside and above us, for it is Christ’s going to the Father, which means His suffering, Resurrection, and Ascension. And this does not take… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption, Piety without Exuberance | Tagged | 28 Comments

Speaking Truth to Fame

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 19, 2011

Carl Trueman has some provocative thoughts on the difference between American and British evangelicalism and the conferences that sustain them. He was speaking at an event in Wales: First, the conference was built around content not speakers. In fact, I was almost refused entry to my own final seminar because I could not find my… Read More→

Posted in Piety with Excitement | Tagged , , , , , , | 71 Comments

Look At All the Detail (and Beware the Adverbs)

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 18, 2011

When teaching on the historical development of Reformed Protestantism I have been struck lately by the greater and greater amounts of detail into which the Reformed churches went in descriptions of the Holy Spirit’s work. If you look (see below) at the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) you don’t see much beyond affirmations of faith, regeneration, and… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Act Two, Scene Four: If the Bible Is the Standard, Are Faith and Repentance Required for Citizenship?

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 15, 2011

I haven’t been keeping up with Dr. Kloosterman’s serialized review of VanDrunen’s Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms. The series is reminiscent of the way that George Eliot and Charles Dickens wrote novels – you put together enough stories and episodes over a half-year in a magazine and you finally have one Home Depot of… Read More→

Posted in Christian politics | Tagged , , , , | 160 Comments

Advantages of Not Going to the Gospel Coalition Conference

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 14, 2011

Inspired by Darryl Dash’s (no relation) post on how to cope with not attending the Gospel Coalition conference (pointed out to me by one of our southern correspondents), I decided to use the theme to explore further differences between pietism and confessionalism. Dead Orthodox 1) Save money for trip to Vegas 2) See more hot… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption, Wilderness Wanderings | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Nevin: Why Revivals Aren’t the Answer

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 12, 2011

This is an account of Nevin’s experience as an undergraduate at Union College. It shows what happens to children of the covenant, away at college, when confronted with the modern revival system. And this was only 1819. Yikes! Being of what is called Scotch-Irish extraction, I was by birth and blood also, a Presbyterian; and… Read More→

Posted in Piety without Exuberance | Tagged , , | 32 Comments