Friday, January 2, 2009
A Year with Calvin but not Hobbes
For what is more consonant with faith than to recognize that we are naked of all virtue, in order to be clothed by God? That we are empty of all good, to be filled by him? That we are slaves of sin, to be freed by him? Blind, to be illumined by him? Lame, to be made straight by him? Weak, to be sustained by him? To take away from us all occasion for glorying, that he alone may stand forth gloriously and we glory in him [cf. I Cor. 1:31; II Cor. 10:17]? Preface to Calvin's Institues
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2 comments:
Having been required by Dean Jas. I. McCord to outline Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, I had to complete these hundreds of pages of outline on my HONEYMOON! Later, in reponse to a revolt from other students, he rescinded his 20 year requirement..after I had completed my outline [gnashing of teeth]...so I feel qualified to comment.
I am a great admirer of John Calvin's intellect and deep personal faith, but I qualify that by opposing his comments on the Roman Catholic Church and his positions on double predestination [only in the 4th and final edition], the Elect [better explained by Karl Barth as Elect-in-Christ open to all people], his position on women, predestination [again better explained by Barth], and his fundamentalist position on Holy Scriptures.
Still, he is the most outstanding and most helpful of all the Reformers.
Thank you for convincing Jas I to rescind his requirement before coming to Princeton. He never placed such an onerous task upon we humble students.
I will keep a copy of the Catholic Catechism to read along with the Institutes.
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