Monday, March 22, 2004 AD
The Mike Horton Fan Club is now in session
Josh's new book blog kicked off with a review of Mike Horton's book, In the Face of God.
My immediate response is to feel relieved to find out that it is OK for Lutherans to like Mike Horton ;-). While I've never read any of Mike Horton's books, his articles in Modern Reformation over the past few years have played a similar role in my own life as Josh describes in his review:
The latter looks at "three types of 'ladders' we try to climb in order to see 'God in the nude,' as Luther put it": three expressions of the theology of glory (fascination with the miraculous, fascination with the moralistic, fascination with the mysterious), and how these are still found in today's church.
Like the distinction between Law and Gospel (another Horton favourite), being shown the contrast between the theology of the cross and the theology of glory was an eye-opener and a liberation for me. It revealed that many things I found infuriating about contemporary evangelicalism were not simply matters of my own personal taste differing from that of other Christians, but reflected real weaknesses and unbiblical thinking. All that, by God's grace, set me off on the path that has brought me to Lutheranism.
My immediate response is to feel relieved to find out that it is OK for Lutherans to like Mike Horton ;-). While I've never read any of Mike Horton's books, his articles in Modern Reformation over the past few years have played a similar role in my own life as Josh describes in his review:
Mike Horton is the guy who introduced me to this idea that real Christian piety is one of Word and Sacrament, not spiritual experiences and notches on my belt for the converts I've won.I'm therefore going to take this as the start of open season on linking to great Mike Horton articles from the MR archives, beginning with the two articles that first introduced me to the Theology of the Cross, Hide Not Your Face and Fascinations that Lead Away from the Cross.
The latter looks at "three types of 'ladders' we try to climb in order to see 'God in the nude,' as Luther put it": three expressions of the theology of glory (fascination with the miraculous, fascination with the moralistic, fascination with the mysterious), and how these are still found in today's church.
Like the distinction between Law and Gospel (another Horton favourite), being shown the contrast between the theology of the cross and the theology of glory was an eye-opener and a liberation for me. It revealed that many things I found infuriating about contemporary evangelicalism were not simply matters of my own personal taste differing from that of other Christians, but reflected real weaknesses and unbiblical thinking. All that, by God's grace, set me off on the path that has brought me to Lutheranism.
