CALVINISM | THE BIBLE | COMMENTARY |
Inspired by Man "The main features of Calvin's theology are based on the writings of *St. Augustine to such an extent that many theologians regard Calvinism as a more fully developed form of Augustianism". Loraine Boettner a major proponent of Calvinism has stated "The Reformation was essentially a revival of Augustinianism and through it evangelical Christianity again came into its own. It is to be remembered that Luther, the first leader in the Reformation, was an Augustinian monk" Loraine Boettner (Calvinist), Calvinism in History, Ch. 1. In fact our fathers at Dordrecht knew well that these truths set forth in the Canons could not only be traced back to the Calvin Reformation; they could be traced back to the theology of Saint Augustine who lived almost a millennium before Calvin did his work in Geneva. For it was Augustine who had originally defined these truths. Calvin himself, again and again, pays tribute to the work of Augustine and points out that what he is saying has been said before him by the Bishop of Hippo. The Synod of Dordrecht was conscious of this" "Calvinist theologian R. Laird Harris states that: Although Calvin gave the Reformed doctrine its most thorough formulation, the theology had long been held. Calvin would have been the first to deny its novelty...Indeed Calvinism is often called Augustinianism." R. Laird Harris (Calvinist), Calvinism, The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 1 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1975), 293 "Calvinism is not much more than Augustinianism reformulated. And Augustine had the same understandings of the vindictive nature of God as his distant student John Calvin would have" Charles Smith H. Hanko (Calvinist), The Five Points of Calvinism (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 1976), 10 Benjamin Warfield (Calvinist) Calvin and Augustine, 22 | Inspired by God "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Tim. 3:16-17 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous Psalm 19:7-9 "I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life". 1 John 5:13 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" Romans 10:17 "But the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you" 1 Peter 1:25 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4 _____________ Commentary Continued As Christians, on matters involving salvation and faith we should base our beliefs on the Bible, not on books about the Bible or what others say about the Bible. God's Word is authoritative for us in matters of faith and practice. The Bible indicates the great truths of who God is, how we can relate to him, how we can understand ourselves and the world we live in. In short, the Bible contains the words of life. | Man vs. God To understand Calvinism, we need to know who Augustine is, since, as it was stated (by other Calvinists) that Calvinism is based on the writings of Augustine. So who is Augustine? Augustine is considered as one of the forefathers of the Catholic Church. He was a philosopher and theologian, who tried to merge Christianity with Philosophy. Before becoming a Christian, Augustine was deeply immersed in a Persian Cult, called Manichaeism ,for 9 years; however, Augustine converted to Christianity after the Roman Emperor Theodosius I had issued a decree of death for Manichaeans in 382 AD. Augustine's religous views were developed during his time with the cult, which taught Gnosticism and Dualism; furthermore, Augustine was an admirer of Plato, and as a result, embraced the teachings of Neo-Platoinsm Augustine was one of the greatest thinkers of his time; however, he was not perfect and his involvment with a cult and his philosophical pursuits certainly impacted his religous views. Since Calvinism is really Augustianism, it should not surprise anyone that Calvinism is questionable. John Calvin based his doctrines on a man (Augustine). Calvinist's claim that their beliefs are based on the Bible, Don't be fooled, Calvinism is squarely based on the teachings of John Calvin, who in turn based his writings on the work of Augustine. Calvinism is nothing more than a man-made philosophical system that is based on fallable men rather than the infallable word of God. *It was Augustine who wrote the first “Christian” justification for state persecution of those “in error,” (those who did not believe as he did). Augustine argued, “error has no rights” and that coercion used to force conversions of those “in error” was God’s will. As historian Thomas Cahill sadly acknowledges, “The doctrine [Augustine] has enunciated will echo down the ages in the cruelest infamies, executed with the highest justification. Augustine, father of many firsts, is also father of the Inquisition.” ( Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization, (New York: Doubleday, 1995 p. 65). As a side note: John Calvin was a true desciple of Augustine: Calvin was responsible of the murders of more than 50 people & exiling more than 70 others - all in the name of God! To know more about John Calvin, go to Blog # 5 (The Duck Test). Also, read the comments on this post... |
CALVINISM | THE BIBLE | COMMENTARY |
God is Pleased to Damn Others Scripture clearly proves... that God by his eternal and immutable counsel determined once for all those whom it was His pleasure one day to admit to salvation, and those whom, on the other- hand, it was His pleasure to doom to destruction". John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion III:xxi,7 "God not only foresaw the fall of the first man, and in him the fall of his posterity, but also at God's own pleasure arranged it" John Calvin. Institutes of Christian Religion, III: xxiii, 7 Those, therefore, whom God passes by He reprobates (one who is predestined to damnation) and that for no other cause but because He is pleased to excuse them from the inheritance that he predestines to His children...". John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion III:xxiii,1 "With Augustine I say: the Lord has created those whom he unquestionably foreknew would go to destruction. This has happened because he has willed it. John Calvin Institutes of Christian Religion III:xxiii. 5 "Now since the arrangement of all things is in the Hand of God...He arranges...that individuals are born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death, and are to glorify Him by their destruction..." John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion, III:xxiii,6 | God Came to Save the World "For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" Ezekiel 18:32 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their evil ways and live!. Ezekiel 33:11a "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17 "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 | Pleasure vs Sadness Biblically there is no question that God has the right to save whom He will, but we are repeatedly told throughout the Bible that God is love and that He is merciful to all, and it is His desire that none should perish, but come to repentance. Calvinism teaches just the opposite and teaches that God finds pleasure in the destruction of man. This is a false teaching and misrepresents the depth of God's love and mercy. Calvinism is guilty of distorting and libeling the loving character of God. The god of Calvinism is an arbitrary autocrat who arranged the fall of human beings and then sends some of them to eternal punishment for being and doing precisely what He predestined them to be and do. ..beings whose sole purpose for existence is as Calvin put it "to glorify God by their destruction". The good news is that the god of Calvininism does not exist. The bad news, or sad news, is that so many people (Calvinists) believe in and worship this god. |
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Calvinism "Based" on a True Story #7
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“… my firm disagreement with Calvinism is not over God’s sovereignty, which I fully embrace and to which I submit. The issue is whether God loves all without partiality and desires all to be saved. Unquestionably, Calvinism denies such love; but the Bible, in the clearest language repeatedly declares God’s love to all and His desire that all should be saved and none should be lost.” (pp. 301, 302) What Love is This? by Dave Hunt
ReplyDelete"Please do not take anything I have written here to mean that I think people who are Calvinists are in any way “lesser” Christians. That would be a great mistake. Christians are people who put their faith in Jesus Christ, pure and simple. We are not measured by our theologies, but by God’s grace freely given to us in Jesus Christ. Our faith is in Him, not in theology books. Theology is important, but it is not the root of our salvation. Jesus is"
ReplyDelete"Jacques Gruet was the first victim of Calvin’s discipline who suffered death for sedition and blasphemy. His case is the most famous next to that of Servetus. He was a regular frequenter of taverns, and opposed to any rules in Church and State which interfered with personal liberty. When in church, he looked boldly and defiantly into the face of the preacher. He first adopted the Bernese fashion of wearing breeches with plaits at the knees, and openly defied the discipline of the Consistory which forbade it. Calvin called him a scurvy fellow, and gives an unfavorable account of his moral and religious character, which the facts fully justified.
ReplyDeleteThe Council arrested Jacques Gruet, who had been heard uttering threats against Calvin a few days previously, and had written obscene and impious verses and letters. In his house were found a copy of Calvin’s work against the Libertines with a marginal note, Toutes folies, and several papers and letters filled with abuse of Calvin as a haughty, ambitious, and obstinate hypocrite who wished to be adored, and to rob the pope of his honor.
Gruet was tortured every day for a month, after the inhuman fashion of that age. He confessed that he had affixed the libel, and that the papers found in his house belonged to him; but he refused to name any accomplices. He was condemned for religious, moral, and political offences; being found guilty of expressing contempt for religion; of declaring that laws, both human and divine, were but the work of man’s caprice; and that fornication was not criminal when both parties were consenting; and of threatening the clergy and the Council itself. Gruet was beheaded on the 26th of July, 1547. Click the link to read the entire account and other atrocities committed by Calvin and his followers. History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation.
Jerome Bolsec was a French refugee who opposed John Calvin. He began his Christian life as a Roman Catholic and a former Carmelite monk at Paris and later became Protestant.
ReplyDeleteJerome Bolsec was interested in theology and around 1571 attended the weekly meetings of the pastors of Geneva. Calvin would preach that since the fall of Adam, every aspect of human nature is corrupted depravity and a seed of sin, including reason and will and we are not capable of knowing and choosing God for ourselves. Sinners were pre-destined to hell by the encumbrance of their "original sin" inherited from Adam and we are powerless in the salvation act. According to Calvin's ruthless system, non-elect infants who die would spend eternity in hell. God was made the author of both good and evil and man is deprived of any choice in the matter. Jerome Bolsec was not under the Calvinist spell and it sounded to him that Calvin was suggesting that God is the cause of sin, to him this concept was absurd and deceitful. Jerome envisioned a more personal God that interacts with us with love and mercy.
Bolsec publicly challenged Calvin's teaching on pre-destination. Argueing against the assumption that Christ died only for the elect and faith was a gift settled from eternity, Bolsec said that these doctrines made God a tyrant. The moderation of Bolsec could only be seen as reactionary to a despot like Calvin and Bolsec was accused as being an accomplice of satan, thrown into prison and tried by the little Council of Geneva. Bolsec was not alone in his estimation of the dictator, many others found his teaching deviate and morally offensive. Bolsec was later banished from the city, not for the sake of truth, but for peace. Jerome Bolsec finally returned into the graces of the Roman Catholic Church.
Bolsec got in the final word by publishing "The Life of Calvin" in 1577. This work of revenge charged Calvin with greed, financial misconduct and sexual aberration. This book is only a footnote on the immeasurable division that Calvin has wrought in the Body of Christ. Jerome Bolsec died in 1584.
The burning of Michael Servetus . We now come to the dark chapter in the history of Calvin which has cast a gloom over his fair name, and exposed him, not unjustly, to the charge of intolerance and persecution. On October 27, 1553 John Calvin, the founder of Calvinism, had Michael Servetus, the Spanish physician, burned at the stake just outside of Geneva for his doctrinal heresies.
ReplyDeleteLet it be noted that the Calvinists of Geneva put half-green wood around the feet of Servetus and a wreath strewn with sulfur on his head. It took over thirty minutes to render him lifeless in such a fire, while the people of Geneva stood around to watch him suffer and slowly die! Just before this happened, the record shows:
"Farel walked beside the condemned man, and kept up a constant barrage of words, in complete insensitivity to what Servetus might be feeling. All he had in mind was to extort from the prisoner an acknowledgement [sic] of his theological error -- a shocking example of the soulless cure of souls. After some minutes of this, Servetus ceased making any reply and prayed quietly to himself. When they arrived at the place of execution, Farel announced to the watching crowd: 'Here you see what power Satan possesses when he has a man in his power. This man is a scholar of distinction, and he perhaps believed he was acting rightly. But now Satan possesses him completely, as he might possess you, should you fall into his traps.'
When the executioner began his work, Servetus whispered with trembling voice: 'Oh God, Oh God!' The thwarted Farel snapped at him: 'Have you nothing else to say?' This time Servetus replied to him: 'What else might I do, but speak of God!' Thereupon he was lifted onto the pyre and chained to the stake. A wreath strewn with sulfur was placed on his head. When the faggots were ignited, a piercing cry of horror broke from him. 'Mercy, mercy!' he cried. For more than half an hour the horrible agony continued, for the pyre had been made of half-green wood, which burned slowly. 'Jesus, Son of the eternal God, have mercy on me,' the tormented man cried from the midst of the flames ...."
Walter Nigg, The Heretics (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1962)
John Calvin (part 1)
ReplyDeleteIs it possible for a man such as John Calvin to have been a "great theologian" and at the same time to act in this reprehensible way and afterwards show no remorse? Dear reader, do you have a heart that could, like John Calvin, burn another person at the stake?
Let us illustrate this another way. Suppose a man from your congregation with a reputation for being a spiritual leader captured your neighbor's dog, chained it to a stake, then used a small amount of green kindling to slowly burn the dog to death. What would you think of such a person, especially if he afterwards showed no remorse? Would you want him to interpret the Bible for you?
To make the matter even worse for John Calvin, a person, unlike a dog, is created in the image of God! Like it or not, we can only conclude from this evidence that John Calvin's heart was darkened, and not enlightened, as a result of his murderous hate for Servetus. At best, Calvin was spiritually blinded by this hate and therefore, spiritually hindered from rightly dividing the word of truth. At worst, which was apparently the case, John Calvin himself was unsaved, according to Scripture:
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death" (Rev. 21:8).
"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him" (1 Jn. 2:3,4).
How Should A Heretic Be Dealt With?
How should a heretic or any false teacher be dealt with, that is, if one is willing to abide by the Biblical guidelines? Paul wrote Titus and touched upon this very issue, which first starts out as a qualification for eldership in the church:
"He [the elder] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group they must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach -- and that for the sake of dishonest gain" (Titus 1:9-11).
Clearly, then, a false teacher should be "silenced," not by having him killed, as Calvinism's founder did, but by refuting him with Scripture. This is the true Christian method.
John Calvin (part 2)
ReplyDeleteIf Calvin's example is the standard, the next time a cult member comes to our door, we should physically overpower them, bind them to a stake, and make human candles out of them. Can you imagine a professing Christian doing this, much less a reputed theologian? If done, could you force yourself to believe such a person was truly saved and adhere to his unique, doctrinal distinctives?
Also, false teachers should be openly named as Paul openly named Hymenaeus and Philetus who were destroying the faith of some of the Christians whom Paul knew:
"Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some" (2 Tim. 2:17,18).
This is also an important preventative against a false teacher's spiritual poison.
Why did Calvin grossly violate these Scriptural guidelines? Since Paul's Holy Spirit inspired directives (and example) regarding how to deal with a heretic were diametrically opposed by Calvin, isn't it safe to assume that Calvin was governed by a different spirit than Paul had?
"No event has more influenced history's judgment of Calvin than the role he played in the capture and execution of the Spanish physician and amateur theologian Michael Servetus in 1553. This event has overshadowed everything else Calvin accomplished and continues to embarrass his modern admirers."
Two important questions remain: (1) Can John Calvin be Scripturally justified for murdering Michael Servetus? (2) Does a murderous hate, according to Scripture, render one spiritually unable to accurately interpret the Scriptures?
"Copied"
Calvin's Reign of Terror (part 1)
ReplyDeleteCalvin's Reign of Terror
(*V.I.P. Please Read This*) This is who Calvinists are following (copied)
After some negotiation, Ami Perrin, commissioner for Geneva, persuaded Calvin to return. He did so, though unwillingly, on September 13, 1541. His entry was modest. Geneva was a church-city-state of 15,000 people, and the church constitution now recognized "pastors, doctors, elders and deacons," but the supreme power was given to the magistrate, John Calvin. In November 1552, the Council declared Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion to be a "holy doctrine which no man might speak against." Thus the State issued dogmatic decrees, the force of which had been anticipated earlier, as when Jacques Gruet, a known opponent of Calvin, was arrested, tortured for a month and beheaded on July 26, 1547, for placing a letter in Calvin's pulpit calling him a hypocrite. Gruet's book was later found and burned along with his house while his wife was thrown out into the street to watch. Gruet's death was more highly criticized by far than the banishment of Castellio or the penalties inflicted on Bolsec -- moderate men opposed to extreme views in discipline and doctrine, who fell under suspicion as reactionary. Calvin did not shrink from his self-appointed task. Within five years fifty-eight sentences of death and seventy-six of exile, besides numerous committals of the most eminent citizens to prison, took place in Geneva. The iron yoke could not be shaken off. In 1555, under Ami Perrin, a revolt was attempted. No blood was shed, but Perrin lost the day, and Calvin's theocracy triumphed. John Calvin had secured his grip on Geneva by defeating the very man, Ami Perrin, commissioner of Geneva, who had invited him there.
Calvin forced the citizens of Geneva to attend church services under a heavy threat of punishment. Since Calvinism falsely teaches that God forces the elect to believe, it is no wonder that Calvin thought he could also force the citizens of Geneva to all become the elect. Not becoming one of the elect was punishable by death or expulsion from Geneva. Calvin exercised forced regeneration on the citizens of Geneva because that is what his theology teaches.
Calvins Reign of Terror (part 2)
ReplyDeleteMichael Servetus, a Spaniard, a physician, a scientist and a Bible scholar was born in Villanova in 1511. He was credited with the discovery of the pulmonary circulation of the blood from the right chamber of the heart through the lungs and back to the left chamber of the heart. He was Calvin's longtime friend in their earlier resistance against the Roman Catholic Church. Servetus, while living in Vienne (historic city in southeastern France), angered Calvin by returning a copy of Calvin's writings, Institutes, with critical comments in the margins. Servetus was arrested by the Roman Catholic Authorities on April 4 but escaped on April 7, 1553. He traveled to Geneva where he attended Calvin's Sunday preaching service on August 13. Calvin promptly had Servetus arrested and charged with heresy for his disagreement with Calvin's theology. The thirty-eight official charges included rejection of the Trinity and infant baptism. Servetus was correct in challenging Calvin's false teaching about infant baptism leading to salvation, but he was heretical in his rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity. Servetus pleaded to be beheaded instead of the more brutal method of burning at the stake, but Calvin and the city council refused the quicker death method. Other Protestant churches throughout Switzerland advised Calvin that Servetus be condemned but not executed. Calvin ignored their pleas and Servetus was burned at the stake on October 27, 1553. Servetus was screaming as he was literally baked alive from the feet upward and suffered the heat of the flames for 30 minutes before finally succumbing to one of the most painful and brutal death methods possible. Servetus had written a theology book, a copy of which Calvin had strapped to the chest of Servetus. The flames from the burning book rose against Servetus' face as he screamed in agony.
John Calvin was proud of his killing of Servetus, bragging and celebrating. Many theological and state leaders criticized Calvin for the unwarranted killing of Servetus, but it fell on deaf ears as Calvin advised others to do the same. Calvin wrote much in following years in a continual attempt to justify his burning of Servetus. Some people claim Calvin favored beheading, but this does not fit charges of heresy for which the punishment as written by Calvin earlier was to be burning at the stake. Calvin had made a vow years earlier that Servetus would never leave Geneva alive if he were ever captured, and Calvin held true to his pledge.
Another victim of Calvin's fiery zeal was Gentile of an Italian sect in Geneva, which also numbered among its adherents Alciati and Gribaldo. More or less Unitarian in their views, they were required to sign a confession drawn up by Calvin in 1558. Gentile signed it reluctantly, but in the upshot he was condemned and imprisoned as a perjurer. He escaped only to be twice incarcerated at Berne where, in 1566, he was beheaded. Calvin also had thirty-four (34) women burned at the stake after accusing them of causing a plague that had swept through Geneva in 1545. John Calvin's actions were very paganistic like his mentor, Saint Augustine. Jesus and all of the Apostles would have abhorred and condemn these blatant mass murders.
The citizens of Geneva hated John Calvin as he clearly stated. In 1554 Calvin wrote "Dogs bark at me on all sides. Everywhere I am saluted with the name of 'heretic,' and all the calumnies that can possibly be invented are heaped upon me; in a word, the enemies among my own flock attack me with greater bitterness than my declared enemies among the papists." Calvin, quoted in Schaff, History, volume 8, page 496. The history of John Calvin's reign of terror in Geneva is undisputed. Calvin himself had historical records kept that have survived to this day.
Calvin's Reign of Terror (part 3)
ReplyDeleteJohn Calvin had no love, no compassion, no patience and no tolerance for those who did not believe his Institutes. Criticism of Calvin's Institutes was considered heresy for which the sentence was death by burning at the stake. To his dying day Calvin preached and taught from his works. By no means an aged man, he was worn out in these frequent controversies. On April 25, 1564, he made his will, leaving 225 French crowns, of which he bequeathed ten to his college, ten to the poor, and the remainder to his nephews and nieces. His last letter was addressed to Farel. He was buried without pomp in a spot which is not now ascertainable. In the year 1900 a monument of expiation was erected to Servetus in the Place Champel. Geneva has long since ceased to be the head of Calvinism.
John Calvin's murder of people who held different doctrinal views, his failure to acknowledge or repent from his sins, his incomplete gospel, his placing of his own writings above the Bible, his distortion of God and the Scriptures, and his dependence upon infant baptism places into question his salvation. In all of his writings is not found a clear declaration of his salvation by faith in the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Calvin was a cruel, murderous, tyrant who considered himself to be the pope of Geneva. The Bible never advocates harming an individual due to his unbelief or lack of understanding. Jesus taught to "turn the other cheek" instead. None of the Apostles taught action against unbelievers but instead taught the believer to seek them out to present the gospel in love. (COPIED)
IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT CALVINISM IS AN UNSETTLED THEOLOGY. Calvinists are seriously divided among themselves and always have been. There is Supralapsarianism vs. Sublapsarianism vs. Infralapsarianism. “The Supralapsarians hold that God decreed the fall of Adam; the Sublapsarians, that he permitted it” (McClintock & Strong). The Calvinists at the Synod of Dort were divided on many issues, including lapsarianism. The Swiss Calvinists who wrote the Helvetic Consensus Formula in 1675 were in conflict with the French Calvinists of the School of Saumur. There are Strict Calvinists and Moderate Calvinists, Hyper and non-Hyper (differing especially on reprobation and the extent of the atonement and whether God loves all men), 5 pointers, 4 pointers, 3 pointers, 2 pointers. In America Calvinists were divided into Old School and the New School. As we have seen, the Calvinists of England were divided in the 19th century.
ReplyDeleteWhenever, therefore, one tries to state TULIP theology and then refute it, there are Calvinists who will argue with you that you are misrepresenting Calvinism. It is not so much that you are misrepresenting Calvinism, though. You might be quoting directly from various Calvinists or even from Calvin himself. The problem is that you are misrepresenting THEIR Calvinism! There are Calvin Calvinists and Andrew Fuller Calvinists and Arthur W. Pink Calvinists and Presbyterian Calvinists and Baptist Calvinists and many other sorts of Calvinists. Many Calvinists have never read Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion for themselves. They are merely following someone who follows someone who allegedly follows Calvin (who, by his own admission, followed Augustine).
Calvinists believe that they have the right to reject or modify some parts of or conclusions of Calvin. I agree with them 100%, and I say, further, that we also have the right to reject the entire thing if we are convinced that it is not supported by Scripture!
There is no way to defend Calvin's conduct with scripture. Yes, he was loving and caring toward those who agreed with him. Yes, he expended himself and shortened his life through visiting the sick, caring for the flock and preaching continually. But in his treatment of those who disagreed with him he was anything but Christian.
ReplyDeleteIs not Christ the standard for His followers? And is He not always the same, unchanged by time or culture? How can the crusades be condemned (and rightly so) for all the evil and killing that was done under the banner of the Cross while excusing Calvin for doing much of the same, though on a smaller scale? Calvin's conduct day after day, year after year was the very antithesis of Christianity and those who are truly led by the Spirit of God. We can not escape drawing this conclusion from God's Word. Check out the Bible verses in the comment section of this blog and see how Calvin compares.