What I Like About John Calvin

Today, July 10,2010, is John Calvin's 501st birthday. He is probably one of the most controversial of the Reformation theologians, but he is also equally regarded as one of the best. Whether you agree with his "Calvinist" theology (which, by the way, some theologians have argued came along to a great degree after his death), there is no question in my mind that without him, Protestantism would not be what it is today. He, unlike Luther, for example, really developed a Systematic theology. This theology that he developed spread widely and rapidly across the European Continent. Calvin's most famous work, "The Institutes of the Christian Religion," were not only translated into Latin, the academic language of the day, but also into French to be made accessible to the common man. His teachings were spread into France by way of an underground system that kept Reformed pastors safe from authorities. He, picking up from Augustine's ideas about grace and election, helped to craft one of the most disputed points of theology Protestantism has ever known (Unconditional Election vs. Free will).

What I admire about Calvin is his amazing intellect. He was said to be able to quote many of the church fathers by memory and cite which passage he was quoting from. I am struck by the deep amount of insight he had into understanding the Biblical text. My favorite contribution of his is his theory that in the inspiration of scripture God accommodates Himself to the scientific and cultural knowledge of the writers. While this may seem no surprise to us, this truly is a profound thought. It helps to create a theological system in which we have nothing to fear from scientific study. I like how deeply reliant upon God's grace Calvinism demands us to be. While the idea of Double Predestination (that God determines some to go to Hell and some to be saved) has been considered quite offensive to many over the centuries, it does an excellent job of elevating the sovereignty of God far above what we humans can understand. Theologians such as Karl Barth have offered revised versions of this doctrine in which Jesus Christ is the object of God's election and rejection. We view our election through God's act of coming to us through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, all humans are elected by God, while Jesus faced the rejection of God on the cross. God only elects, not damns, and this is what Calvin was getting at, Barth claims. Would Calvin agree with Barth? I do not know. The mystery known popularly as "Calvinism" will simply have to wait until the new creation to be understood fully. In the meantime, I prefer to enjoy Calvin's genius, whether I agree with him on all points or not. This I know about him; he loved God with all his heart, soul, body, and especially his mind. His contribution to my own theology is immense. Being that many of my favorite theologians seem to be of a somewhat Calvinist stance seems to make me think that he must have got something right. Happy birthday, John Calvin.