Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 The WHY of Protestantism On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed the Ninety- Five Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche, in Wittenberg, Germany. This act is considered the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Therefore, the Sunday nearest October 31 is observed in Protestant churches around the world as Reformation Sunday. The Ninety-Five Theses written by this well respected professor of theology were not intended to be inflammatory. They were carefully phrased and restrained. He nailed his Theses (The Practical Bearing of John Calvin’s Reformed Faith) organizational or institutional expression in what was called The Ecclesiastical Ordinances of Geneva, where Calvin and his associates laid down a scheme for the organization of the churchlife of Geneva - a city that at the time was a notoriously immoral and licentious place. For Calvinistic or Reformed thinking, with its central conviction of the Sovereignty of God over all of life, there could not be dualism or separation between the religious and the secular, between the spiritual and the social or communal. The business and mission of the church according to Reformed thought, was not merely to preach the gospel and ensure the liberty of the Church as an organization to conduct its own affairs- but to make Christian principles prevail in all departments of human life. Calvin’s own primary interest was not theological or doctrinal - or even ecclesiastical - but religious and practical. Calvin sought to make Geneva a Reformed Christian community and a center of influence for the spread of true religion. Calvin was first of all and deepest of all, a great Christian social reformer and legislator. His ideal for Geneva was a broad and comprehensive one. It included not only what we ordinarily call true religion and morality. But also sound education and economic or industrial welfare and prosperity - in other words, the reorganization of the whole city life in the service of God and for the promotion of His glory. Unfortunately, Calvin’s Doctrine of Predestination was worked out in a too coldly and boldly logical fashion into what he called a “double” predestination: predestination to salvation or predestination to damnation or destruction. This he admits is a “horrible decree”. But no objection makes Calvin swerve from his merciless conclusion. His very idea of God’s sovereignty was in itself conceived in a too legal “rectoral” or “governmental” terms as the sovereignty of pure determining Will - “inscrutable will”- and not sufficiently as the sovereignty of Father-love. In fact, we are called to a mighty Christian adventure, even to be fellowworkers with God for the realization of His redeeming purposes. This indeed is the supreme manifestation of God’s grace, the culminating aspect of God’s gracious Fatherly sovereignty: that we are called not to passive and quiet dependence on Him, but to be His active energetic co-operators for the accomplishment of His world-wide purposes. Dr. Bela Daniel Bonis on the church door so that they could be read and debated in public. Luther was provoked to write them because his Christian conscience had been aroused by the scandalous marketing of what was known as indulgences. According to the teaching of the Roman Catholic church, eternal punishment for sin is removed by the administration of the sacraments. An indulgence, according to Roman Catholic doctrine, is the extra sacramental remission of temporal punishment for sin. Release from sin, so the explanation goes, is made possible by the church’s draining upon the inexhaustible treasury of merits created by the suffering of Christ and the good works of saints - and applying these merits to the souls of repentant sinners. In earlier times, indulgences had been granted for participation in a crusade. Or for other personal acts of devotion. But in the Middle Ages indulgences could be bought for money. Luther’s conscience was outraged because the Archbishop of Mainz, Albert of Brandenburg was raising money by the sale of indulgences to pay to the Fugger Banking House the loan with which he had bought his position - the Office of Archbishop. Albert sent a man by the name of Tetzel out to sell indulgences. In his eagerness to raise as much money as possible, Tetzel did not insist on the repentance of the sinner before selling him an indulgence. The resentment and fear of the “princes of the church” at Luther’s Theses are certain evidence that the Reformation had to come. One of the first fruits of the Reformation was the revival of preaching. Before the Reformation, preaching had almost ceased in the church. The celebration of mass at the altar composed the whole service. Often there was no pulpit. Almost as often there were no pews. The people stood and knelt while the priest said a mass. The centuries since Jesus called his church into existence prove that the tone and trend of the church are determined by its preaching. On the pulpit of every Protestant church is an open Bible. From it the preacher takes his message. He always comes to Jesus Christ, whom he declares to the Son of God and the Savior of human beings. Another result of the Reformation was the restoration of the original simplicity and meaning of the Lord’s Supper. There are three strong pillars of all Protestant churches, and these have been standing from the early days of the Reformation. The first is the supremacy of the Bible. The Reformers opened the Bible to the common people. The “open Bible” is a pillar of Protestantism. The second pillar of the churches of the Reformation is the supremacy of faith. Luther learned from the study of the New Testament and in his own deep religious experience that faith in God as He is made known in Jesus Christ, brings its reward of grace, peace, spiritual insight and strength. God in Christ meets us where we are, takes us as we are - although He does expect something of us. Particularly, He must depend on us to win others. If we find a cure for some ill, we naturally recommend it to others. If we purchase something of value at a reasonable price, we of course tell others about it. If something has brought us joy, we definitely want others to know about it. It simply is not natural for us to keep our faith in God to ourselves if it has brought meaning and gladness to our lives! The third pillar Continued on page 6
