Book Description
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 Charles Hodge during his two-year study-leave in Europe. Hart gives readers insights into Nevin's critique of the revivalist tradition and shows how it applies today, demonstrating the ongoing relevance of this nearly forgotten theologian.

About the Author
D.G. Hart directs the honors programs and faculty development at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and has written or edited more than fifteen books.

Excerpted from John Williamson Nevin: High Church Calvinist by D. G. Hart. Copyright © 2005. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
(Introduction) John Williamson Nevin should matter to American Presbyterians and Reformed Christians more than he does. For starters, he has Princeton Theological Seminary's seal of approval, having graduated from the young school in 1826. So impressive was Nevin as a seminarian that when Charles Hodge, who was a classmate of Nevin, went to Germany for further study, Nevin filled in for the third professor of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.'s first theological seminary. In addition to teaching at Princeton, Nevin trained Presbyterian ministers in the fine points of exegesis and Calvinism at Western Theological Seminary, an institution established in 1825 to serve the presbyteries of western Pennsylvania and Ohio, a region of Presbyterian vitality comparable to the vicinity of Philadelphia and Princeton. In 1840 Nevin advanced to his third teaching post. He assumed instructional duties at Mercersburg Theological Seminary, a school located in Central Pennsylvania close to the Nevin family's home.