From DGH on Carl Trueman: An Appreciation on 2014/10/09 at 4:58 pm

Published on by D. G. Hart

Mark, please try to persuade Carl to come back to Ref21. He’s the most interesting writer you have and I fear everyone else is going to go earnest without his occasional brickbats and glass shards. Send him a bottle of scotch if need be.

And by the way, in taglines try to maintain the same voice. When you switch between Mark Jones as third person (meet Bob Dole) and first person “I” you throw everyone off.

23 thoughts on “From DGH on Carl Trueman: An Appreciation on 2014/10/09 at 4:58 pm”

  1. Poor Carl. By virtue of an English education (which gives him an advantage over dumb ‘Mericans) and an English accent (which adds 20 points to his apparent IQ) he has instant cachet and influence in the USA. The big question is why he didn’t stay in or doesn’t go back to the UK to help the poor, benighted Reformed micro minority.

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  2. DGH,

    So many interesting things to comment on in this short post, but perhaps my favorite is that you cited the Urban Dictionary. I think Tim Keller is rubbing off on you more than you realize…

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  5. Tim Keller must be so chagrined at those wine & cheese socials filled with Ivy Leaguers. He probably didn’t even go to a good prep or boarding school either.

    These things are de rigueur if one is going to transform (the relevant parts of) The City.

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  9. Ref21 will miss Carl, he was about the only reason left to read the blog. Maybe now Mark’s deficiencies in trying to play the witty provocateur will be less apparent though, without one of the best at it blogging next door.

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  10. Speaking of work, I’m doing a payroll and one of my Spanish speaking workers used the following description:

    Toilet Liking 8:00-9:00

    Not sure I want to pay him for that.

    He means “Toilet Leaking”…

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  13. Carl was good becasue, like Cool Hand Luke, he refused to let the powers get his mind right. Now we are left with a mean Baptist and a mean Presbyterian – who deseve on another. Another example of what happens when the Reformed reject the Lutherans in favor of the 5 Points Baptists.

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  16. TBR, Presbyterians prefer Britney Spears–if you cast the letters of her name in the air they come down spelling “Presbyterian” every single time.

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  17. Is anyone in charge at Ref21 anymore? Do they not know that turning loose an amateur, baptist armchair theologian-apologist like Frank Turk will destroy what remains of the place? That unleashing a wit like Mark Jones hurts the brand? These guys are like the Rodney Dangerfield character at Bushwood Country Club. And Carl (Chevy Chase) has left the building. I’m past caring.

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  18. Zrim, what makes you so sure? I think you might be thinking of PresLY-terians…

    Wait… on second thought, nowadays you can’t tell the difference between Presly (‘worship’ music fans) impersonators* and Prebysterians.

    *Didn’t the PCA indeed have one such Presly ‘impersonator’ at their recent GA?

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  19. Bill Smith

    Posted October 10, 2014 at 7:03 am | Permalink

    “Carl was good becasue, like Cool Hand Luke, he refused to let the powers get his mind right. Now we are left with a mean Baptist and a mean Presbyterian – who deseve on another. Another example of what happens when the Reformed reject the Lutherans in favor of the 5 Points Baptists.”

    LOL

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  20. Is Mark Jones the main man now at ref21? Bad move if he is. Mark and others like Paul Levy try to emulate Carl’s edgy humour and even the photos he uses in articles but it just does not work and is too much like a pale pastiche of the words of the theological bard of Gloucestershire.

    Carl and co. on his other web project, the Mortification of Spin, spend too much time having a laugh and it is hard to cotton on to much of what they are trying to develop as interesting subjects simply because in the little world of the PCA and evangelicals there is hardly ‘nowt that hasn’t been covered already in depth elsewhere.

    It would far more interesting for some of us if Carl could launch a new web career and start a blog series on his favourite Led Zeppelin albums, giving some wry insights to tracks they recorded and the such like. He could also share any thoughts he may have on the members of the band, for example Jimmy Page’s outlook on life – I am sure they would be interesting.

    Finally, I hope we are spared the burgeoning take over of ref21 by the ubiquitous PCA and slightly annoying New Calvinists like Paul Levy who talk Presbyterian and then say stuff which makes one wonder if they are actually more in the pocket of those who are eroding a clear and unambiguous Reformed Protestant faith by being such adoring fans of ‘pick and mix’ theology celebrities like Piper and DeYoung.

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  21. Ref21 was always disappointing w/o comments enabled Without Carl, it goes off my list of blogs to visit. I agree with comment re 5 point Baptists masquerading as Reformed. Give me Cranach and serious Lutherans any day – much more interesting.

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  22. I tend to agree that Ref21 seems to have lost its way, in their effort to find their footing the social media space. Yes, Carl was absolutely interesting, talented and in-depth thoughtful — even when I disagreed with some of his conclusions.
    But aside from Trueman, it’s important to note that Reformation21 is a subsidiary of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, for goodness sake!!! This is the 70+ year old ministry that has leveraged the teaching of likes of Boice, Ryken, Sproul, Derek Thomas, Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, JI Packer, FF Bruce, Joel Beeke, Al Martin, and many others of similar caliber.
    The regular blog writers that remain on board are simply not up to par any more with this pedigree (with the possible exception of the newly commissioned Scott Swain, imo.).

    The articles section is more interesting and valuable, but the quality and depth varies wildly there as well. I’ve enjoyed pieces from Boekestein, MacLeod, Schweitzer, Gibson, Phillips, and (Sammy) Rhodes, which have offset some of their other more TGC-esque writers. From where I sit, the question remains as to which of these are really on par with the Alliances’ historic roots? Some clearly are stepping up, but most do not merit such status, imo.

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  23. mcmark—In honor of Reformation Day, Mark Jones reminds us that “faith alone is not alone”. To untangle that contradiction, we are supposed to understand that faith in the future means us not only doing what Christ tells us to do but also us doing what Christ did, since the obedience of Christ is Christ believing. As long as we don’t deny faith alone, it does not matter that what we say after that contradicts it.

    Jones—Faith in Christ for redemption (e.g., justification) is, according to John Owen, “ONLY HALF OF OUR DUTY of faith.” He adds: “Unto these ends, indeed, is he firstly and principally proposed unto us in the gospel, and with respect unto them are we exhorted to receive him and believe in him; but this is not all that is REQUIRED OF US. Christ in the gospel is PROPOSED UNTO US as our pattern and example of holiness; and as it is a cursed imagination that this was the whole end of his life and death,–namely, to exemplify and confirm the doctrine of holiness which he taught…

    To deny the imitation of Christ is “evil and pernicious,” so long as we insist on the fact that Christ our redeemer is the principal focus of our faith. But after Christ our redeemer, the most precious words to a Christian are “Christ our example” (Warfield). Therefore, if you have a Seminary Professor who mocks this idea, ask for your money back for the class, pray for him, and buy him this excellent book.

    Pastor Mark Jones was a closet Pelagian, until today.
    – See more at: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/10/are-you-illegitimus.php#sthash.7BwgWav9.dpuf

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