Overview

This biography, written by a provocative, prolific historian, gives readers insights into Nevin's critique of the revivalist tradition and shows how it applies today. Hart recovers a nearly forgotten nineteenth-century theologian and demonstrates his ongoing relevance. This book is extensively documented, and includes a substantial bibliographical essay and an index. Nevin (1803-1886) taught at Mercersburg Seminary when he wrote The Anxious Bench (1843) and The Mystical Presence (1846), volumes dealing with revivalism and the Lord's Supper, respectively. The last ten years have seen a revival of interest in this theologian, who was a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and who substituted for Hodge during his two-year study-leave in Europe.

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Reviews

A well researched and engagingly written theological biography of an often neglected figure. It is especially good in digging out Nevin's importat=nt proposals about the church in its American setting that were published in the Mercersburg Review. Whether or not readers come away with Hart's own conclusion that Nevin was largely correct in his prescription for reforming American Protestant practice, they will benefit from following Hart as he carefully lays out the burden of Nevin's concerns.--Mark A. Noll, McManis Professor of Christian Thought, Wheaton College Eschewing conventional interpretations of John W. Nevin as a 'liberalizing' figure, D. G. Hart's fresh reading carefully places Nevin in the context of 19th-century American struggles to define the church. Many today are troubled by the excessive subjectivity and individualism of pietistic evangelicalism. This important book will assure them that they are not alone, and that there are rich and authentically Reformed alternatives waiting to be explored.--William B. Evans, Younts Professor of Bible and Religion, Erskine College John Williamson Nevin (1803-1886) called the Protestant churches back to an older piety, believing that through word and sacrament the church itself is an agency of grace. Hart devotes much of this book to the intellectual context of Nevin's thought and seeks to reclaim aspects of his theology for today's church. This book is current in its scholarship, engaging in its lines of thought, and provocative in its conclusions.--Robert Benedetto, Princeton Theological Seminary

Author Information

D. G. Hart studied American history at the Johns Hopkins University and has served as Director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College and Academic Dean and Professor of Church History at Westminster Seminary in California. He is currently Visiting Professor of History at Hillsdale College. His books include Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism (1994); The Lost Soul of American Protestantism (2002); With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship (2002); John Williamson Nevin: High Church Calvinist (2005); and A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State (2006).

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