Stopped by Starbucks for a morning coffee and ran into a member of SAMP. I always enjoy seeing our people when I’m out and about. It gives me a sense of connectedness and permanence.
Anyway, I discovered that he reads my blog (it really does surprise me that anyone reads this thing) and he’s curious about my affection for John Calvin. I noted that my affection for Calvin is matched by my affection for Martin Luther and suggested that these two men (of course, it goes without saying that they, as I, seek to stand on/under Scripture in all matters) form an unsurpassed framework through which to think through matters of faith. He confessed that his impression of the great reformer is that of a harsh, cold, aloof, unreasonable, ivory-tower theologian. Right after his assessment he confessed he’d never read the man; just developed this image by word-of-mouth.
Deep sigh.
The John Calvin I know is quite different.
To actually read him I find him a humble, caring, devout, Scripture-saturated, passionate pastor with a deep, deep love and concern for his people – and a deeper love and concern for the glory of God. Speaking about these loves, and, indeed responsibilities (loving God and his people), J.C. wrote:
The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another; for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.
I recommended to the man, and to you, my readers, a wonderful new book, John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine and Doxology. We carry it at St. Andrew’s in our bookstore, Common Grounds. Alternatively, you may order it (and pay more than you would at St. Andrew’s) through another book distributor.
![The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B002N2XI02.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Related Articles
8 users responded in this post
Steve, I had the privelege of taking “The Life of Jean Calvin” as an elective in seminary from a Reformation scholar. I could never understand the severe caricatures after that. Keep sighing and keep teaching that hungry flock!
Thanks for making the book recommendations. Sometimes so much has been written about an historical figure it’s hard to know where to begin or what’s accurate.
Steve, I’ve wanted to learn more about Calvin, so I’ll get that book from the library at Sewanee and read it. You are the epitome of a passionate pastor! I feel so very blessed that I was one of your sheep when I lived in Mount Pleasant. It’s good to reconnect with you via Facebook!
It is a good book. For those who don’t want to read a whole book, the September issue of Christianity Today has a cover story on Calvin. (I couldn’t link it online, but i bet the church library has it). A quote re: total depravity: “(A)ccording to Calvin, only by seeing ourselves as we really are, in our utter perversity and alienation, can we fully enter into salvation’s benefits. A serious doctrine of original sin calls for a radical doctrine of redemptive grace.” Also, re: predestination: “The true Calvinist preaches the gospel promiscuously to all persons everywhere, aware that God alone infallibly knows all those who belong to him.”
John Calvin wrote A LOT about the person and works of the Holy Spirit. Most guys that deal with such topics are not ivory tower theologians.
For me, it is incredibly freeing to understand my (fallen) nature and the character of a powerfully sovereign God. This helps me to understand who I am, where I belong and where I am going. A deep understanding of a sovereign God who is fully engaged in every aspect of His creation makes it easier for me to expect the Holy Spirit to regularly pierce the barrier between the “now” and the “not yet”. Calvin’s work is instrumental in this. I am looking forward to reading this book.
Excellent post. We need reviews about the impact of John Calvin on Anglicanism. It is there in the Elizabethan, Jacobean and Caroline period, Archbishop Laud excepted. Recommend tying in with Ref21, a blogsite that is following Calvin in the 500th anniversary and is blogging the magnum opus, Calvin’s Institutes.
Philip
This reminds me of the way Jonathan Edwards has been caricatured by most of the academic world in the US. If you took the average American Lit or Religion course at a US college and then read Edwards yourself, you’d think you were studying two different people.
Leave A Reply