back to top3 Comments to “What Calvin teaches us about writing”

1. BY Victoria 07.04.09 AT 2:15 AM

   I have thought about the title of “With Calvin in the Theater of God” when I saw this thread as an opportunity to post comments. I have given much thought tody regarding your position.

   I know that you and many of your friends and colleagues are pro-Calvin, but there are many of us who have studied for years who do not see Calvin as a ‘reformer’ but more as a man who took some truths and then divided them and made something which isn’t Scriptural – not to get into a debate with you Dr. Olasky, but I find the very topic for your discussion “With Calvin in the Theater of God” to be melodramatic – we are all in subjection to GOD, there is NO theater, but sinners who either have or haven’t, will or won’t come to Christ as their Salvation –

   Calvin is no different than anyone else – he was gleeful at the idea of being responsible for Servetus death, he had no problem proclaiming his feat in his letter to Marquis Paet, the chamberlain to King Navarre in 1561, which reads:

   “”Honour, glory, and riches shall be the reward of your pains; but above all, do not fail to rid the country of those scoundrels, who stir up the people to revolt against us. Such monsters should be exterminated, as I have exterminated Michael Servetus the Spaniard.”

   This cannot be taken lightly – there is NO RECORD that John Calvin ever apologized to anyone – whether he asked forgiveness from GOD we will never know, but I have no respect for his hateful crime – The crime of not believing in the Trinity or infant baptism. Not believing, was not a crime when Jesus and HIS Apostles were alive on earth, so there is no reason to believe it became a crime when John Calvin was alive making his mark in France and Switzerland 400 plus years ago.

   Jesus taught us something very different when people don’t agree to Bible doctrine which is:

   And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Matthew 10:14

   If John Calvin felt so strongly, IF he actually had understood the words Jesus spoke in Matthew it would seem that Calvin would have walked away from the situation or at the very least not been inclined to see Servetus NOT die because he was not a Trinitarian or believed in infant baptism. This is one of the most damning problems when man elevates man to a position which is not honorable, and that includes Calvin.

   Had I been alive at that time I would have been murdered as well, I DO BELIEVE in the TRINITY with all my heart, but I DO NOT believe in infant baptism, so I would have been burned at the stake or whatever punishment meted out by the judges OR John Calvin in the background, decreed, as a suitable death.

   If you want to use the word “Theater” – it would be much more appropriate to study the way in which John Calvin came to his conclusions, missing the most important obstacle to his thinking by believing anyone could be sentenced to death by not believing the way he did – after all Jesus never taught the kind of stance John Calvin took with those who opposed him. Jesus taught to ‘kick the dust’ not to murder anyone.

   The entire situation of Michael Servetus has been in the lime-light for sometime now, it’s not new. The world watches as those who attribute doctrine to a man like Calvin, who to NO ONE’S knowledge, ever repented of his involvement, but yet holds such esteem among a segment of Christians who call themselves Calvinists.

   I encourage you to think about it – think about the impact it has on those who know the truth, and those who have access to all the history, beginning over four and half centuries years ago.

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2. BY Deet 07.04.09 AT 12:22 PM

   As a scholar, Calvin was brilliant and very readable which doesn’t always go hand-in-hand.

   He was a man devoted to prayer and being a faithful pastor to his congregants. He was also a man who possessed a zeal for the glory and majesty of God and the truth of God’s Word.

   Still, there are disturbing questions concerning Calvin as VICTORIA alluded to. He was certainly complicit in Servetus’ death and imposed various restrictions on Genevans that seemed superficial and tyrannical.

   I think it’s unfortunate that his name bears a certain stigma because some have used his teachings to promote their own self-importance. Certainly, the stereotype of “Calvinists” is all too often true.

   There’s no amount of theology that excuses being unfriendly, argumentative and condescending whether we are engaging unbelievers (our mission field) or other Christians (our fellow heirs in Christ).

   Calvin was human, prone to the incomplete understanding and sometimes incorrect application of Truth like any of us (his thoughts on marriage were quite revolutionary at the time as was his praise of good wine). But I do think his contributions (commentaries, letters, etc.) are valuable assets to our faith and well worth reading.

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3. BY Victoria 07.10.09 AT 2:41 AM

   “There is no Theologian that went deeper than Calvin” –

   “No Theologian was as clear as Calvin”

   Was Calvin delving into the sin of murder during his studies?

   Was Calvin clear as to the sin of taking another man’s life because he didn’t agree with him?

   Remember this – Servetus did not meet Calvin as designated, this angered Calvin. Servetus was afraid because Calvin was a fugitive, and meeting him would have implicated him (Servetus) – however Servetus did come to Geneva to hear Calvin preach and then was arrested – there is an important TRUTH to be learned here – Servetus did what he could to meet Calvin, as he came to hear Calvin preach (remember Calvin and Servetus were once good friends)

   With that analysis who can dispute Calvin? – which many do! Who can determine the depth of a man who searches the Scripture for truth? – OR is there depth? This would be only one man’s opinion. I wouldn’t stake my life on Calvin’s doctrine, nor his brutal and accepted responsibility for another man’s death – it is but a sham when one man can determine another man’s death, and then stand for principles which don’t match his own life – that my friend is not a theologian but an individual who has not studied the Word of GOD.

   Where did Calvin go wrong………..only GOD knows.

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