- David Bentley Hart -
I have been reading, on Joe’s recommendation, The Doors of the Sea, by David Bentley Hart. Hart is an Eastern Orthodox theologian from the States, a quite a good one. This is quite an interesting read. It is, mainly at least, a reflection on the New Years’ Day tsunami. More generally, it regards the problem of evil and addresses those who cannot reconcile evil and suffering with a loving God. He also examines some more reflective theological critiques on what God’s justice and mercy mean.
A big part of this little book, however, is a robust refutation of Calvinist theology. Calvinism has never added up for me, and I couldn’t help enjoying it as Hart goes for the throat and lays bare all Calvinism’s distasteful implications and its logical incongruities. Of course, he brushes over the New Testament texts that seem to support the Calvinist perspective. Of course, this is not a hard core theological study, and I’m sure he has explanations. Perhaps as I start to dig into his larger work The Beauty of the Infinite I’ll find some.
What spurs this critique of Calvinist theology was the Calvinist response to the tsunami. He doesn’t name names, but he’s pretty troubled by the John Piper-type response to these calamities. Hart believes we should be focusing on the fallenness and brokenness of our world and the stark reality of ‘powers and principalities’ opposed to God’s will, rather than triumphantly proclaiming his sovereignty over whatever horrors have befallen the world. I’m inclined to agree.
