Comments on: Jesus Only: Reflections on Bo Giertz’ “Hammer of God” and the Issue of Sanctification

By: jonnyola

jonnyola — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:26:23 +0000

Hello. Some weeks ago there came a student and his family to Sweden to learn swedish for one year. Only because he wanted to read more of Giertz and to read him in Giertz language, swedish. I will show him your blog.

By: Eric R. Andrae

Eric R. Andrae — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:44:31 +0000

1) Giertz’s reference to “stengrunden” is undoubtedly to the sinful “heart of stone,” as it is translated in the title of chapter 8: “A Heart of Stone and a Rock of Salvation.” A more literal translation of this chapter’s title (“Stengrunden och försoningsklippan”) would be “The stony ground and the rock of atonement.” The word “stengrunden” appears in Giertz’s own translation of the NT at the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:5; Mark 4:5 – different forms of the Greek lexeme “petra”), where it’s meaning is obvious and explained by Christ himself.
See also my father’s discussion in his introduction to the 2005 edition (Hans Andrae, pp. xxi-xxii), where he quotes Pastor Bengtsson: “The stone foundation [stengrunden] of the heart and the Rock of Atonement [försoningsklippan] on Golgotha are the two mountains on which a man’s destiny is determined” (269).
Indeed, on the cover of the newer Swedish editions of the book, a man is shown digging away at the rock-solid ground, with a church behind him in the distance (see 265).
2) The entire first novella (the first three chapters) has now been made into a feature-length film, for which my father and I supplied the sub-titles for the 2nd and 3rd parts. For more information, contact Anna Malmberg of the production team in Sweden at anna@malmberg.org. Tell her I sent you. : )
3) The International Giertz Society (English Language Section) has just been formed. IGS is a nonprofit scholarly organization which, by promoting, studying, discussing, translating, and publishing the work of Bo H. Giertz, strives to preserve the memory and enhance the knowledge of this bishop confessor and his legacy. For more information or to join, contact me at EricAndrae@gmail.com.

By: Mikael Palmblad

Mikael Palmblad — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:18:28 +0000

“Stengrunden” as the Swedish title is should be translated to “foundation of stone” which is what we should build our lives on, i.e. Jesus only. (Mt 7:24-27)
However, Lars Walker’s likeness between the stone-ridden farms and a Swedish parish is still valid.

By: Rev. Peter Bauernfeind

Rev. Peter Bauernfeind — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:59:26 +0000

Lutheran Visuals (www.lutheranvisuals.com) sells a DVD made in Sweden. The 50-minute movie covers chapter one of Giertz’s book. It is in Swedish, but has English subtitles. It is a great movie that is faithful to the book.

By: Mike Rose

Mike Rose — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:40:04 +0000

The impression that I am left with by some pastors is that sanctification is so completely outside of us that it is literally none of our business. So…the law is there to slay the old Adam weekly, the gospel is there to announce forgiveness…but nothing in the way of guidance for the new creation. Without the exhortation of the “new-man” I am left with the impression that there isn’t one, that the Christian is still rotten to the core, but should rejoice in his forgiveness. I am also led to believe that if I make any conscious effort to order my life in a Godly manner then I am a pietist, which is even worse than being a non-believer. Yet Paul’s letters state that I am a new creation, and that I should run the race with endurance.

By: Pr. Martin DIers

Pr. Martin DIers — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:49:35 +0000

For anyone who has not read this book recently, or who has only older editions, it is worth while to point out that the most current edition includes the final chapter of the book, which, for whatever reason, the original English translation omitted.
I will not give any spoilers, but it contains a wonderful example of the application of the Law and Gospel, as it breaks and heals, and is directly targets what happens when a Christian fails to continue to apply the Law to himself. It truly does round out and complete the book, which otherwise ends rather abruptly.

By: Tony Pittenger

Tony Pittenger — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:14:57 +0000

The Hammer of God. My dear homiletics professor, Dr. Wilhem Petersen, used “The Hammer” as a textbook for our senior year. (E.L.S.) I suspect he did that for two reasons: 1) To comfort himself that the Church would not only survive the gates of hell, but also the bumbling fools who were training to be Her pastors, and 2) that like Savonius, those fools would eventually come to be of some small benefit to the Church.
Buy it before Augsburg realizes what antiquated and seditious material it is peddling!

By: Lars Walker

Lars Walker — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:25:35 +0000

In cataloging this book recently, I was amused to note that the original Swedish title is “Stengrunden,” which means “Stony Ground.” In other words, working in a Scandinavian Lutheran parish is seen as the equivalent of farming the stony ground to which Jesus referred in His parable.