The Life and Legacy of John Calvin
Today at Coram Deo's Sunday gathering, we took a break from the Gospel of Mark to consider the life and legacy of John Calvin. We do this sort of biographical sermon once a year; it is our way of obeying Hebrews 13:7: Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
These sorts of sermons are always an exercise in editing... there is more to tell about great historical figures than I can possibly fit into a sermon. Not everything I could tell would benefit everyone; but certain things might be of significant benefit to some.
So, in the interest of additional detail for those who want it, here are two quotes which testify to the cultural legacy of Calvin, as well as a list of the books and resources I consulted which might prove fruitful for further study or reading.
[Calvin taught that] the form of life which is most praiseworthy in the sight of God is that which is useful to society: ‘however much we may admire celibacy or a philosophical life cut off from everyday life,’ the persons best fitted to govern church and society alike are those who have immersed themselves in the experience and practice of everyday life. Christians are encouraged, even required, to invest in and commit themselves to the world. There is no place in Calvin’s thought for the medieval monastic attitude towards society… Believers must actively immerse themselves in the secular sphere, without passively allowing themselves to be submerged by it.
It may be said that one of Calvinism’s greatest legacies to western culture is a new attitude toward work, and, supremely, manual labor. Work, far from being merely an inevitable and somewhat tedious means of obtaining the basic necessities for existence, is perhaps the most praiseworthy of all human activities… work is thus viewed as a profoundly spiritual activity, a productive and socially beneficial form of prayer... [this view of work as] a dignified and glorious means of affirming God and he world he created is one of the most important contributions of Calvinism to western culture.
(Both quotes are from the biography of Calvin by the eminent Oxford historian Alister McGrath.)
References
Parker, T.H.L.: Portrait of Calvin (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1955).
Parker, T.H.L.: John Calvin: A Biography (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975).
Miles, Robert Whitfield: That Frenchman, John Calvin (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1934).
McGrath, Alister: A Life of John Calvin (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1990).
Wallace, Ronald S: Calvin, Geneva, & the Reformation (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1998).
Zachman, Randall C.: John Calvin as Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006).
posted by Bob | 7:23 AM
16 Comments:
What is Coram Deo's view(s) on the teachings and earlier reformation movement by Martin Luther?
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This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Keith, thank you for your insight. However, your "comment" was more of an article. I removed it to preserve the flow of the comment thread. If you would like to post a link to that article, please feel free to do so. Thanks for visiting our blog.
Keith, I don't think I know you, but I would be interested to know whether you actually listened to the sermon I preached on John Calvin. Your now-deleted post would lead me to believe that you didn't.
Bob-
Just listened to the sermon mp3(work has kept me away the past few Sundays -that's gonna change though:). I was largely unaware of Calvin's work -probably because of my Catholic upbringing. Hey, gotta find out somehow, right?! I first heard of him through Mark Driscoll's teachings -I'm a big fan of Mars Hill.
Really spoke to me -thanks again.
nick h.
That was sooo insightful...the only way it could have been more effective would have been to grow some facial hair and come dressed as the part. (There's a thought! A "Theologians on the Green"... not sure if that's what John Calvin had in mind, though, culturally.)
Regarding great leaders - so glad I'm to "consider...their...life(works)" and "imitate their faith", and not vice versa.
I love the idea that work is worship. It was a maintenance man at a church camp that discipled a drugged-out hippie teenager (my husband) to the Lord - hmmm Camp CALVIN Crest, as a matter of fact.
Bob and Will, I'm curious as to why you responded to the blog you deleted but not to the 1st question? I've noticed that happens quite a bit on archived blogs that I've read. Are you leaving it up to people in general to respond to the questions? Just curious.....
1) yes, we do leave it up to people in general (i.e. readers) to respond and create dialogue
2) we usually don't respond to anonymous posts or questions
3) we have jobs
4) The question seems vague and I don't have a concise answer to it. If the person who posted it would like to elaborate or focus the question in some way, I might be tempted into responding... or I might not
My question on Martin Luther (above) was, what are the distinct teachings (between Luther and Calvin) that make Coram Deo a 'calvanistic church' and not simply just a 'reformed church'? Which, if any, of Luther's views are not deemed appropriate? One of the major disagreements between the two (correct me if i am wrong) deals with the doctrine of election. Luther's stance is that humans are not predestined to damnation, but that God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), where Calvin's view, is that God predestines some to damnation.
...we have jobs too you know!
:)
I must say, anonymous, I've never heard anyone try to separate Luther and Calvin.
I thought this was going to digress into a Catholic/Protestant "what a terrible guy Luther was" discussion. :) Thanks for not going there.
A hint. . having a name of some kind (even a made up one) will help your chances on this blog :)
Aaron
Bob
Are you ever wrong?
Sarah,
I take your question to be a personal jab, which I think is unkind. But since it states an assumption, I will answer it.
The assumption (which is painfully common in our postmodern, therapeutic world) is that humility = never holding firm convictions. Humility is understood to be "never actually thinking I'm right." This is plainly a false understanding of humility, since Jesus was perfectly humble (Phil 2:5-11) and yet always right (Heb 4:15).
In light of Jesus' example, then, I understand humility to be holding deep convictions about truth from a heart committed to God and to his word, and holding them in a way that is charitable and gracious and open to further study. Because of sin, it is always possible that I am wrong, and that my convictions are wrong. But I, like Martin Luther, say that "unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason... my conscience is captive to the Word of God."
I have spent a lifetime studying the Scriptures and have come to a place of fairly settled convictions on most issues. Other people may have the luxury of never arriving at convictions; elders do not (Titus 1:9). I am very open to being shown from Scripture where I may be wrong. However, I have little patience for people who resent me for having settled convictions, yet are not willing to do the hard work of Scriptural exegesis and historical study in order to argue convincingly against my view and in favor of an alternative. My plea is this: if you think I'm wrong, do the work biblically and theologically to make your case, and I'll listen. Otherwise, don't throw rocks at me for conclusions I have come to during a lifetime of diligent study.
Anonymous: we like Luther too. And "Reformed" and "Calvinistic" are synonyms, for all practical purposes. "Reformed" refers broadly to churches that stand in the theological heritage of Calvin, Knox, and Geneva. "Lutheran" refers to churches that trace their lineage to the students of Luther, who unfortunately departed from some of the major tenets of that early Reformer's teaching. I would argue that if Luther were alive today, he might be more "Calvinistic" than "Lutheran." But that's for another day.
Bob-
Another fine display of why I respect and attend Coram Deo!
-nick h.
Aaron-
There are important distinctions between Luther and Calvin, for instance one big one concerns the Lord's Supper.
I agree with Bob in that much of what goes as "Lutheran" today has unfortunately departed quite a bit from what Luther would actually hold to.
Before attending seminary I never separated the two either, but upon further reading and reflection there are noted differences.
Austin
Aaron, Bob,
So does this mean that Coram Deo is in fact a lutheran church as well? If there is very little seperation b/w Luther and Calvin, why is Coram Deo stamped Calvanistic? Why not simply Protestant? If there are major disctinctions between the two, I think 'anonymous' about would want to know what they are.
-chris
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