Calvin Synod Herald, 1999 (99. évfolyam, 2-4. szám - 100. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)
1999-09-01 / 9-10. szám
4 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Calvin: First Truly Modern Thinker The new book, “A Life of John Calvin,” was reviewed for the Associated Press, and reported in local papers in mid- July. The article is of interest to Calvinists in particular, and may lead some to read the work by Allister McGrath. It is on sale from Bladwell Publishing for $26.96. The reviewer, Richard N. Ostling says: John Calvin hailed as Christianity’s first truly modern theologian Before we all get impossibly fed up with all the articles wrapping up the last thousand years, here’s a glimpse of one such item contending that John Calvin, the 16th century French Protestant pioneer, should be recognized as Christianity’s first truly modern thinker. That claim comes from Alister McGrath, an Oxford University theologian and author of “A Life of John Calvin: A Study in Shaping of Western Culture,” writing in the conservative interfaith journal First Things. Though “Calvinism” is a somewhat unpalatable label nowadays, maybe it’s time for another look. Calvin (1509-1564) attended the University of Paris, planning to become a Catholic priest. But when his father became entangled in a financial scandal, Calvin switched to law. There’s a bit of confusion about what happened next, but somehow Calvin turned strongly Protestant. And when the rector of the university was forced to flee for his life after suggesting that the Catholic Church needed reform, both he and Calvin ended up in Basel, Switzerland. It was there that Calvin produced the original version of his “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” No quick read, Calvin’s book is theology as written by a lawyer, but McGrath says it’s “widely regarded as the most significant religious work of the 16th century.” The year before the “Institutes” came out, Geneva had rebelled against the Savoy monarchy, turning itself into a democratic Swiss Protestant city-state. Calvin, 27, landed in Geneva when a war interrupted his travels. He was asked to stay and help consolidate the new Protestant faith, thus he never returned to Basel. The city council expelled Calvin two years later, but after three years in exile he was invited back to town and remained, not always happily, until his death. Say “Calvin” and some people think immediately of predestination, Calvin’s concept of God’s mysterious decrees of salvation and damnation. But McGrath emphasizes that Calvin fostered the development of modern democracy, market economics and Christian involvement in social reform. On the economic front, McGrath says Calvin understood the emerging market forces, whereas his Protestant contemporary Martin Luther assailed those who were engaged in commerce. Most Catholics of the time were also mired in a feudal, agricultural mindset. The best example was the debate over the Old Testament law against chaining interest on loans (Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:36-37, Deuteronomy 23:19-20). As late as 1745 the papacy was still proclaiming the ban on interest as doctrine. But a century before, Calvin had decided the biblical ban applied to primitive farming societies, not to the emerging market economies. He said interest is nothing more than rent, paid on money rather than property. And he figured the ethical aims of the biblical ban on interest, for instance concern for the poor, could be met by other means. Calvin also defended the right of private property, opposing both the older feudalism and the radical communism among some fellow Protestants. Many analysts have written about the Calvinist “work ethic” and that, too, was part of Calvin’s thought. Medieval Catholicism treated monastic and clergy careers as superior to secular toil, says McGrath, so ordinary workers were considered second-class Christians. Like Luther, Calvin believed all vocations were equally holy. For Calvin, “to do anything for God, and to do it well, was the fundamental hallmark of authentic Christian faith,” McGrath writes. “Diligence and dedication in one’s everyday life are, Calvin thought, a proper response to God.” - AP Home News Tribune, July 22, 1999 New Brunswick, NJ OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS Vacancies: Beaver Falls, PA; Bridgeport, CT; Columbus, OH Gary, IN; Wallingford, CT If interested: Call the Bishop! Classes meetings:- Eastern Classis: Bridgeport, CT., October 17- Central Classis: January 2000- Lakeside Classis: Fairport Harbor, OH., October 4 -Western Classis: Whiting, IN., September 18- Church Workers and Presbyters Conference: Toledo, OH September 26 Conference Council Meeting: Mennonite Camp, September 8-9 Anniversaries: Perth Amboy, NJ. 70 November 21 Whiting, IN. 80 September 18 Beaver Falls, PA. 90 October 31
