Steven A. Hein - A Calvinist in the Lutheran Woodpile

Steven A. Hein

Rev. Dr. Steven A. Hein    

Dr. Hein currently serves as Director of Concordia Institute for Christian Studies, an organization that offers auxiliary educational services to Lutheran congregations and church gatherings across the country.  He also serves as associate pastor at Shepherd of the Springs Lutheran Church and affiliate professor of Theology and Ethics at Colorado Christian University. He has previously served for over two decades as a professor of Theology at Concordia University, River Forest. 

He earned his Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Historical Theology from St. Louis University. 

He is a contributing editor to the theological journal Logia:  A Journal of Lutheran Theology and has published many scholarly articles over the years.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education. 

He has been in demand as speaker and essayist in the Church at conventions, pastoral conferences, and various congregational groups throughout the country.  He is a frequent guest on the syndicated radio program, Issues Etc.  His special areas of interest focus on classical, Christian education, and the shape and challenges of faith-life and vocation in the Church and the world.

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This Is All We Need To Read 

But, it is a fiction that Hell is a place where God’s justice is meted out against unrepentant sinners. He already executed His justice against all evil and evil doers with His Son on Calvary’s cross. Jesus died for all, not simply the repentant. Here Lutherans part serious company with the Reformed who champion a limited atonement on the cross. All in Hell are both forgiven and justified. They just insist on living separated from these realities and the Author of them. Rather than say to the Lord God, thy will be done. The Lord God reluctantly has said to them, thy will be done.

Hein, Steven A. (2015-07-21). The Christian Life: Cross or Glory? (Kindle Locations 2995-2999). NRP Books. Kindle Edition. 

Or take the fanciful question entertained in Lewis’ The Great Divorce: if rebellious sinners in Hell were given a chance to transfer to Heaven and live in and for the full presence and glory of God, would any want to do so? No. Think gals of that geek that made your skin crawl who was after your heart. You would die first than have him, right? That is the way the unbeliever is wired to feel about the true God, the supreme Geek of Heaven. They would rather die that live with Him, and God reluctantly allows just that. Hell is God’s provision for those who would rather die that live with Him In this sense, Lewis concluded, the doors of Hell are locked from the inside. 100


Hein, Steven A. (2015-07-21). The Christian Life: Cross or Glory? (Kindle Locations 3003-3008). NRP Books. Kindle Edition. 

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UOJ Stormtrooper at work - "I'll have a little Lewis, a little Capon,
a little Kierkegaard, a little Walther...

GJ - A quick read of this horrible book shows that Hein likes to play around with this theologian and that, always asserting some grand thoughts that were threadbare decades ago among mainline apostates.

Using C. S. Lewis to define Hell is significant. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia are fascinating tales, but they are not theology. Lewis gave away the show with teaching a common form of modernist Universalism - all those who are faithful to their own religion are also saved. That is one of those startling! revelations that often pop up in such works.

Just like JP Meyer, Jon Buchholz, and the Kokomo Statements - 

All in Hell are both forgiven and justified.

The Means of Grace are mentioned once in The Christian Life. That is like mentioning soil once in a gardening book.

As I wrote many times before, I read enormous numbers of mainline theology books while earning a PhD at Notre Dame. All of them had the same "make it up as you go along" spirit of this book, and they all repeated the same kinds of bromides.

The one I remember most is defining "grace" as never including faith, because actual belief cannot be made a contingency - no ifs.

Romans 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Paul did not know this - or the Holy Spirit left him in the dark.

A review of a book on Kant reminded me that that the German philosopher is the great divide between classical philosophy and modern philosophy. All the modern theologians are Kantian and simply bypass the concept of faith. The Scriptures are simply a springboard for fanciful essays and books.

The Calvinistic Fuddlementalists treat Scripture the same way. As a critic of serial molester Jack Schaap--and his repugnant father-in-law--observed, the Fundamentalists start with a text and preach nothing whatsoever based on the actual verses' content. The passage is simply a way to launch a sermon on a favorite rant.

This is why there are almost no protests against the new, official position of UOJ, canonized in the Brief Statement of 1932. Like Herman Otten, the pastors are baptized in Calvinism and the horrors of "if we believe on Him."

Any sect that takes Romans 4:25 as proof of their hideous UOJ should be de-certified as Lutheran, because they refuse to read or acknowledge the entire sentence. Even worse, they cannot comprehend the next two verses and glory in their imaginary UOJ found in Romans 5.

5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Kindle did a search for the phrase "justified by faith" in this book. No results found.

Calov or Cascione? Let me think on that one.

Who enabled McCain's Roman Catholic plagiarism?
This dude did - linking each papist post - never apologizing for misleading his readers.