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 Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
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General Information
Calvinism, the Protestant religious perspective associated with the work of John Calvin, includes both the teachings of Calvin and the later developments of his world view. Calvin's doctrine was catholic in its acceptance of the Trinity, human sinfulness, and the saving work of Jesus Christ. It was Protestant in its commitment to the final authority of the Bible, justification by Grace through faith alone, and the bondage of the will for Salvation. It was distinctly reformed in its stress on the omnipotent sovereignty of God, the need for discipline in the church, and the ethical seriousness of life.
The so - called Five Points of Calvinism were formulated by Dutch Reformed theologians at the Synod of Dort (1618 - 19) in response to the teachings of Arminianism. The five points teach that
Early in the 20th century, the German sociologist Max Weber and the English economist R H Tawney put forth the much debated thesis that Calvinism promoted the rise of capitalism. Whether this is true or not, it cannot be denied that Calvinists have been deeply involved in political, social, educational, and economic developments. Puritanism in England and America is a product, to one degree or another, of the Calvinistic spirit.
Calvinism provides the basic doctrinal orientation of the Reformed Churches and Presbyterianism; branches of some other Protestant denominations, such as the Baptists, have also been influenced by Calvinism.
Mark A Noll
Bibliography
A Dakin, Calvinism (1940); J H Leith, Introduction to
the Reformed Tradition (1977); J T McNeill, The History and
Character of Calvinism, (1967); M Prestwich, ed., International
Calvinism (1985); B B Warfield, Calvin and Calvinism (1931); M
Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1950).
John Calvin, often regarded as "the systematizer of the Reformation," was a second generation Protestant Reformer of the sixteenth century who brought together biblical doctrine systematically, in a way that no other Reformer before him had done. At the same time, he was not an ivory tower scholar but a pastor who thought and wrote his theological works always with an eye to the edification of the Christian church. Although his views have not always been popular and have at times been grossly misrepresented, his system of theology has had a very wide influence down to the present time, as indicated by the fact that all Reformed and Presbyterian churches look back to him as the founder of their biblical - theological doctrinal position.
The stress which he laid upon the Scriptures was the result of his belief that they were the Word of God and therefore were the final authority for Christian belief and action. He did not believe in a doctrine of dictation, although he did on occasion refer to the writers as God's amanuenses, but held that the Holy Spirit in different and often mysterious ways revealed God's will and work and guided the writers in their recording of them. Thus, the Bible is authoritative in all matters with which it deals, but it does not deal with everything, such as astronomy. The individual comes to recognize the Bible as the Word of God not primarily because of logical, historical, or other arguments but by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit's "internal testimony."
This sovereign God is the source of all that is. But he is not the source because everything which exists apart from him is an emanation of the divine Being; he is the source of all things because he is their creator. He has brought everything into existence, including the creation from nothing of both time and space. How he created everything neither Calvin nor his followers have attempted to explain, for that is in the realm of the mystery of God's action. Nor did God create because he was forced to do so by any necessity. He freely created according to his own plan and purpose, which resulted in a universe that was good.
To Calvin and his followers it is also important to realize that the triune God did not turn away from creation after it was formed, but continues to sustain and maintain its existence and operation. The physical laws which govern the material universe are the result of the continual work and action of the Holy Spirit. Such a doctrine had an important influence on the development of physical science in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, being influential in the thinking of Pierre de la Ramee, Bernard Palissy, and Ambroise Pare in France; Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton in England; and other early physical scientists.
As God sovereignly sustains all his creation, so in his providence he rules over and guides it to the accomplishment of his ultimate purposes that all things might be to the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria). This rule included even the free actions of man, so that history might achieve the end which God has determined from all eternity. Here again is a mystery which the Calvinist is prepared to accept, since he is prepared to accept the ultimate mystery of God's being and action.
Despite this covenant relationship and God's manifest revelation of himself, man chose to think that he could declare his independence of the sovereign God. Tempted by Satan, man asserted himself as an independent being worshipping the creature rather than the Creator and thus fell under the judgment of God. The outcome was God's condemnation of man, resulting in man's rejection by God, his total corruption, and his bequeathing of this corruption to his descendants throughout history. Only by the general or common grace of God man's corruption did not, and does not, work itself out fully or completely in this life.
The sovereign God, however, did not allow his plans and purposes to be frustrated. Already in eternity as part of his secret counsel he had chosen a great number of his fallen creatures for himself, to be reconciled to him. Why he did so God never reveals, except to say that he chose to do this in his mercy, for he quite justly could have rejected the whole human race for its sins. In pursuance of this plan and purpose of redemption the Father sent the Son, the second person of the Trinity, into the world to pay the penalty for the sin of the elect and to fulfill completely the righteousness of God's law on their behalf. In the OT the prophets and patriarchs looked forward to the coming of Christ, trusting in his promised redemption, while in the NT church, which continues down to today, Christians look back to what Christ accomplished for them in history
To those who are God's chosen ones the Holy Spirit is sent, not only to enlighten them to understand the gospel set forth in the Scriptures but to enable them to accept God's promise of forgiveness. By this "effectual calling" they come to faith in Christ as the one who has redeemed them, trusting in him alone as the one who has met all God's requirements on their behalf. Thus it is by faith alone (sola fidei) that they are saved, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. Thereafter, as God's people they are to live lives which, while never perfectly holy, should manifest the fact that they are his people, seeking always to glorify him in thought, word, and deed.
The Lord's Supper is the continuing sacrament of which Christ's people partake in remembrance of him and of his redemptive work for them. But again, it is only as the elements are received and partaken of in faith that the Holy Spirit blesses those who receive the bread and wine, by making them spiritual participants in the body and blood of the Lord.
In the matter of the organization of the church Calvinists have generally agreed on the view that the church is to be governed by elders, those who teach and those who rule or supervise, elected by the church. Some, however, believe that an episcopal form of church government is the proper, or at least the allowable, form of organization. But all agree that as far as possible the outward, visible unity of the church should be maintained, for all Christians are members of the one body of Christ. On the other hand, Calvinists have also allowed for the pluriformity of the church, recognizing that the church is not perfect, but have also insisted that there must be basic uniformity or congruence of doctrine.
The nineteenth century in particular saw a very considerable expansion of Calvinistic thought under the influence of Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck in the Netherlands, Auguste Lecerf in France, and A A Hodge, Charles Hodge, and B B Warfield in the United States. The tradition established by these men has been carried on in the present century by John Murray, J Gresham Machen, and Cornelius Van Til in the United States; Herman Dooyeweerd and D H Th Vollenhoven in the Netherlands; and many others in various countries around the world.
Calvin's influence has by no means been limited to the theological sphere, however, for the implications of his beliefs even in his own day had a wide influence in other areas of thought. His view of the state and the right of the subjects and subordinate magistrates to remove an oppressive ruler helped to lay the foundation for the development of democracy. His views on art have also been important in giving a theological - philosophical foundation for the development of pictorial art in the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and France, to mention only a few countries. Much the same could be said of other fields of human endeavor such as science, economic activity, and social reform. Moreover his thought has spread beyond the confines of the Western world to exercise an influence in places such as Africa, where Calvinists have gone as missionaries. In all these ways Calvinism has wielded, and still does wield, an important influence in the world, seeking to set forth the biblical doctrine of God's sovereign grace.
W S Reid
Bibliography
Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion,
ed. J T McNeill; J T McNeill, The History and Character
of Calvinism; J H Bratt, ed., The Heritage of John Calvin; D E
Holwerda, ed., Exploring the Heritage of John Calvin; B B
Warfield, Calvin and Calvinism; W Niesel, The Theology of Calvin;
J T Hoogstra, ed., John Calvin, Contemporary Prophet; A Kuyper,
Lectures on Calvinism; A Lecerf, Etudes Calvinistes; H Clavier,
Etudes sur Calvinisme; W H Neuser, ed., Calvinus Theologus; G E
Duffield, ed., John Calvin.
Canons of Dort
Heidelberg Confession
calvinism
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