In his fourth section, Hart begins to interact with certain expressions of Calvinism. The Calvinists Hart was responding to are represented but not named, and since there are no footnotes to follow, I am puzzled over how to respond to this. Unvarnished Calvinism is hard for some people to take, and because they have trouble …
A Different Kind of Telling
In his next section of The Doors of the Sea, Hart starts with a discussion of Voltaire’s “exquisite savagery” in his famous poem that made fun of certain popular theodicies in the wake of the devastating Lisbon earthquake. “If indeed the theodicist would have us believe that the present order of the world is a …
John Wesley’s Hatband
In the second section of his first chapter, Hart takes “emotional and rhetorical opportunism” to task, and does so ably. He is not fond of the “triumphalistic atheist” who declares immediately that the “materialist creed has been vindicated” (p. 7) by natural disasters such as the Asian tsunami. “But the alacrity with which some seize …
Denying the Cat
The Doors of the Sea is a small book, divided into two chapters — “Universal Harmony” and “Divine Victory.” Each chapter is divided into sections, and I want to interact with the book section by section. In this book, David Bentley Hart grapples with the Asian tsunami and the problem of natural evil. I don’t …
Why the Horse Isn’t Dead
I have mentioned before the atheism jag that I have been on, and even if I hadn’t mentioned it, it would have been obvious. Just last week I posted covers of some of the new titles coming out. One thought that has occurred to me is that a number of Christians may be thinking, “For …
The False Choice Between Dehydrated Truth and Gumby Truth
As I have mentioned before, I am listening to N.T. Wright’s very fine lectures on Jesus and the victory of God. In these lectures, as in much of his writing, Wright rarely misses an opportunity to take a swing at “timeless truths.” He does this, not because he is a relativist, but because he is …
An Axe at the Root of the Tree
I would like to recommend some really heartening thoughts from the UK, here and here. Having said this, I should probably explain why such blunt, discouraging analysis should be registered in the “heartening thoughts” column. The answer is that in times of crisis, the truth is your first and best friend. If you have a …
What’s Shakin’ Next
I just got my copy of David Wells’ new book — The Courage to be Protestant — and it promises to be a magnificent read. I am not very far into it, but it is the capstone of four great books that came before it. But even though I just started, I was arrested by …
Get Your Dibbies In
I am pleased to note that the online debate that Christopher Hitchens and I had over at Christianity Today is now going to appear as a small book. Many thanks to CT for sponsoring that thing in the first place, and to Canon Press for the fine work they have been doing in putting this …
The Problem With Third Ways
A lot of Christians know that the language of Scripture requires us to develop and maintain a distinctive voice. And thus it is that when they are in the process of being swept up by the latest wind of doctrine, they claim that they are doing this as a “third way.” Lured and enticed by …