Sárospataki Füzetek 14. (2010)

2010 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Sell, Alan P. F.: Milyen megoldásra váró feladatok elé állítja Kálvin a 21. századi egyházat?

Sell, Alan P. F.

Christians keep the same faith through the ages — what is the analysis of ‘same’ in this proposition? This is an especially acute question in the Reformed context, for the Reformed claim to be semper reformanda — which means not that as a matter of fact they are always being Reformed, but that they are always in the position of needing to be Reformed (it is a gerundive); and the distinction between a body which is always needing to be reformed and one which is in a constant state of quasi- Heraclitean flux is not always immediately apparent to our partners in ecumenical dialogue.3 Why is it that we sometimes feel uncomfortable when invited to sing hymns from a previous generation? It is not simply because we may encounter archaic language or have politically correct (if anachronistic) scruples concerning modes of linguistic expression; it is that we no longer believe quite the same things as our forbears. While I have it on good authority that the sermons of the great nineteenth-century Baptist preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, may still be heard to this day in some churches (and they are, no doubt, preferable to what may be dredged up from the internet at eleven o’clock on a Saturday evening), most of us should not find it easy to preach the sermons of yesteryear — even Calvin’s, still less John Chrysostom’s - just as they stand. Because of changing contexts, and the global spread of the Reformed family it is not surprising — indeed it is a statement of the obvious — to say that ‘Over time Calvinists have developed some aspects of Calvin’s teaching, neglected others, and reinterpreted still more.’4

Hence the importance of the reminder that Christianity is a Way before it is any particular person’s or group’s tradition or system. Christians through the ages are those who confess Christ as Saviour and Lord; they have been called by the Father’s sovereign grace, united with the Son as branches of the Vine, and they have received the gift of the fruit-bearing Spirit. They gather to worship, pray, hear the Word of God, receive the sacraments which testify to that Word, and ponder their mission and service. They are in the succession of all who proclaim the apostles’ doctrine. As Calvin remarked on John 10:16, although Christ’s ‘flock appears to be divided into different folds, yet they are kept within enclosures which are common to all believers who are scattered throughout the whole world; because the same word is preached to all, they use the same sacraments, they have the same order of prayer, and every thing that belongs to the profession of faith.’5 For this reason, although we cannot simply regurgitate the statements of our forebears in the faith, we can learn much from them and still be challenged by them.

How should we go about this task? I shall answer this question with direct reference to Calvin. In the first place we should read his texts with due heed to their context, and beware of uprooting arguments and phrases from their context. To

3 See further, idem, ‘Confessing the faith and confessions of faith,’ in Eduardus van der Borght, ed., Christian Identity, {Studies in Reformed Theology, XVI), Leiden: Brill, 2008,151-167.

4 The economic and social witness of Calvin for Christian life today,’ a report of a consultation sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the John Knox International Reformed Centre and the Faculty of Theology of the University of Geneva held in Geneva, 2004, Reformed World, LV no. 1, March 2005, 4.

5 J. Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel according to John, trans. William Pringle, Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1847, I, 408; Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries (hereinafter CNTC), trans. T. H. L. Parker, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961,1, 267-8.

80 SÁROSPATAKI FÜZETEK