>Nevin’s theology of the incarnation and the church struck many as mystical and Romanist. Those charges were redoubled when it came to Nevin’s view of the sacraments. According to Nevin, the American church, even the Reformed branches, had veered away from a Calvinistic understanding of the Lord’s Supper in favor Zwingli’s memorialism – a move … Continue reading >John Williamson Nevin: On the Lord’s Supper (part 1)

>Regarding the catholicity, Nevin articulates his position clearly in a sermon preached in 1844, “Catholic Unity.” Walter Conser Jr. explains Nevin’s vision, “Not the Church divided and splintered but the Church unified, emerging out of its necessary organic development, encompassing its historical past, and pressing forward to its future accomplishments, this was Nevin’s vision of … Continue reading >John Williamson Nevin: On the Church (part 2)

>Turning to John Williamson Nevin's understanding of the church, we are approaching an area of his thought that I found particularly convicting. His understanding of the incarnation was thoughtful, interesting, quirky. Though it gave me a lot to meditate on, his view of the church and critique of modern (19th century) Protestantism was devastating. It … Continue reading >John Williamson Nevin: On the Church (part 1)

>Beyond the question of the purpose of the incarnation, Nevin also showed concern for a proper understanding of the nature of the incarnation. He was concerned that the popular Christian notions of the incarnation were actually sub-Christian and heretical. In The Mystical Presence he shows alarm that the church’s understanding of the person of Christ … Continue reading >John Williamson Nevin: On the Incarnation (part 2)

>John Nevin’s writings on the incarnation elucidate the central role the incarnation plays in genuine Christian theology. Between the years 1845 and 1851 Nevin’s engaged the doctrine of the incarnation extensively, first in the publication of his major work The Mystical Presences as well as in a series of articles that appeared in the new … Continue reading >John Williamson Nevin: On the Incarnation