introduction to Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion

[rmwilliamsll]

I started posting my sunday school lesson's on Institutes before the forum was split.
lesson one is at: http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson1_essay.html

lesson two is at: http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson2_essay.html

and here it is:

Institutes Of The Christian Religion
John Calvin
Lesson 2
A timeline of Calvin's Life
May 16 2004 RMPCA adult education

On the net at: http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson2_essay.html

First, covering the questions from lesson 1 reading. It is my preference to let Calvin speak for himself, wherever possible, that is why the primary sources are embedded in the printed lessons and secondary sources follow. It is my intention to ask a few questions from the readings for the first 10-15 minutes and use the those readings to get into today's material.

From the readings.

The Epistle to the Reader
1539 edition-not 1536 and Calvin is in Strasburg. What happened, why isn't he in Geneva? What was he doing in Strasburg?
This return I would have made much earlier, had not the Lord, for almost two whole years, exercised me in an extraordinary manner.
He was in Geneva, asked with Farel to leave. The "exercised me in an extraordinary manner" will tie strongly into the major theme for today's lesson--Calvin as aware of his special calling as a pastor and as a doctor of theology.
to prepare and train students of theology
Calvin's purpose is changing, from cathecism to textbook for seminary students, primarily French exiles going back into Catholic France.
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
the relationship of the commentaries to Institutes. We will look briefly at the Romans commentary with the knowledge of God class.

the next reading is:
The Original Translator's Preface.
Prefixed to the fourth edition 1581
according to the occasions of the text that were offered him
His sermons were in the Bible's order, therefore so were the commentaries. But the structure of Institutes is different with the commentaries feeding into it.
This manner of writing, beside the peculiar terms of arts and figures, and the difficulty of the matters themselves, being throughout interlaced with the school men's controversies, made a great hardness in the author's own book, in that tongue wherein otherwise he is both plentiful and easy, insomuch that it sufficeth not to read him once, unless you can be content to read in vain.
what language is Institutes written in? why? Compare and contrast to the 95 thesis.
whose works are very good and profitable to the Church of God, yet by the consenting judgement of those that understand the same, there is none to be compared to this work of Calvin, both for his substantial sufficiency of doctrine, the sound declaration of truth in articles of our religion, the large and learned confirmation of the same, and the most deep and strong confutation of all old and new heresies; so that (the Holy Scriptures excepted) this is one of the most profitable books for all students of Christian divinity.
doesn't this negate 'sola scriptura'? me and my bible alone are sufficient? the image of a bookshelf.

Method and Arrangement, or Subject of the Whole Work
[From an Epitome of the Institutions, by Gaspar Olevian.]

Leave this to next week, the internal structure of the institutes and how it changed through the editions and why. But it is important to think about the structure of Institutes from the very beginning of our study.

end of review

today's essay:
II. Calvins Purpose
Why read or study a nearly 500 year old book?
justify the effort. Ask the class to propose reasons.

Especially in the light of Sola Scriptura, there is a good outline at: http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/aahsolascrp.htm that puts tradition into perspective with reference to Scripture and therefore puts Calvin and the Reformed tradition especially with regard to the Roman Catholic Church's position of the authority of institutional interpretation. Or at:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/102/52.0.html

is : “Christian History Corner: "The Bible Alone"? Not for John Calvin!
When we seek answers to churchly and societal issues in the Bible alone, citing the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, we are actually contradicting the Reformers.
By Chris Armstrong”

where he says: “Worth asking, however, is whether we really understand what Sola Scriptura means within the church itself. Does this Reformation principle mean that the Bible yields up obvious answers to all our questions? That we need not turn to any interpretation of Scripture other than the conclusions each of us draws from our own common-sense interaction with Scripture? That the great teachers in the church's earlier eras—the "church fathers"—should have nothing to say to us today, for they represent nothing but "human traditions"?”

and at: http://www.pcea.asn.au/01.WCF/suff_scr.html

is: “SOLA SCRIPTURA:
The Sufficiency of Scripture By Dr. Rowland Ward”


Introduction to the trapestry of Institutes and the 3 threads:
Example from the national gallery of art lecture on the painting in 4 pieces. the institutes as a mosaic and well revised work.
The silver thread, throughout the class follow what appears to be 3 of the most important motifs. silver is Calvin as Pastor-Preacher-Teacher.
And the awareness of his calling. Brief analysis of pastor-teacher and 3 part eldership: doctor-pastor-deacon of Calvin's day.
(gold is sovereignity of God and the incarnation of Jesus, copper is Calvin's concern for the reformation in France which ignites the church-state relationship issue)

build a timeline of Calvin's life.
Consciously expand the two smaller timelines from last week. The idea of the inverted pyramid and influences on Institutes and Institutes influences on later history- the takehome message from last week. We see institutes not as those readers of 1559, but rather through the historical influences that it makes into history, We see Institutes through 400+ years of Institutes-colored glasses.

If i were to write an essay on the history of the 20thC, i would look at two major themes, the extraordinary numbers of people who died violent deaths and the driving force underneath our societies of a rapidly changing technology. Interestingly the 16thC was probably the most violent in Europe upto the 20thC, but technology played a minor role---printing press. But the violence was not just man killing other man but the plague.

1347–1351 The Black Death (bubonic plague) devastates Europe, killing as many as two-thirds of the population in some parts
1453 Sack of Constantinople by the Turks; Christian refugees are welcomed into Florence bring their libraries, including ancient copies of the Greek Septuagint, with them; this encourages the revival of “New Learning” throughout western Europe and will make possible Erasmus’s ground breaking work on the Greek New Testament (the basis of the Textus Receptus)
1455 Gutenberg completes printing the Bible using movable type (first printing of the Bible in any language); the invention of the commercial printing press revolutionizes how knowledge and information are shared; it proves to be an essential and powerful tool in spreading the Gospel
1519 Zwingli begins New Testament sermons; Swiss reformation is born
1521 Diet of Worms; Luther refuses to recant; gets backing of German princes; begins German translation of Bible
1525 Anabaptist movement begins in Zürich, spreads to Germany; First Zürich disputation with those opposed to infant baptism; First believer’s baptism in Zürich; Denck banished from Nuremberg for views on Lord’s Supper; First Anabaptist congregation of 35 converts established in Zollikon; First imprisonment of Anabaptists occurs in Zürich; they escape
1529 Reformation becomes official in Basel
1531 Father died in disgrace in Noyon over missing funds. John received law degree.
1532 Calvin starts Protestant movement in France; publishes his first work—a commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia.
1533 Calvin and Nicolas Cop flee Paris. At about this time Calvin undergoes a “sudden conversion.” (note: reading includes this)
1535 Anabaptist uprising at Münster put down, and Anabaptists executed
1536 Menno Simons breaks with Rome; becomes Anabaptist leader in Netherlands
Calvin is persuaded by Farel to remain in Geneva; publishes the first edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion
1538 Landgrave Philip of Hesse arranges debate between Anabaptists and Bucer; results in Hessian Anabaptists returning to state church and state church deciding to excommunicate immoral Christians
Calvin and Farel are banished from Geneva. Calvin goes to Strasbourg as pastor to the French-speaking congregation.
1538 Helped Martin Bucer in Strasbourg.
1539 Cardinal Sadeleto writes letter to Geneva. Calvin is asked to respond on behalf of Geneva.
1540 Married widow Idelette de Bure.
1541 Wooed back to Geneva where he was more powerful than before—this time without Farel.
1542 Only son James died.
1543 Copernicus writes that earth revolves around sun
1549 Idelette died. John remained in Geneva writing copiously and preaching
1553 Servetus, Spanish theologian and physician executed in Geneva as a heretic
1555 Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley are burned at the stake as Cranmer watches; Later John Hooper and John Bradford are also burned
(Latimer died much more quickly; as the flames quickly rose, Latimer encouraged Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out." The martyrdoms of Ridley, Latimer, and Thomas Cranmer are today commemorated by a Martyrs' monument in Oxford. The faith they once died for can now be freely practiced in the land.)
see: http://dlib.lib.ohio-state.edu/foxe/foxecat.php

1557 Publication of Geneva New Testament
(see http://www.e-sword.net/ it has a geneva bible module, plus geneva bible notes)
May 27, 1564. By his request buried in an unmarked grave.

Calvin's Life
What Peter says about Paul often tells us more about Peter than Paul? Why?
This is certainly happening in biographies of Calvin. Much maligned from a very early date, with influential biographies which were not historical but polemical.
Calvin is a very private person.
almost no details of his life: age at starting college, date of conversion.



My take on Calvin's life and work
first the silver thread, Calvin's call to Geneva by Farel, his depression at leaving and the energy released at returning.

Readings for the week:
we have 2 readings. 4 page xerox from the Battles translation of the 1556 edition, the poetical version of Calvin's conversion taken from the Commentary on the Psalms. Why i chose this piece to read.

The dedicatory letter from Calvin to Francis 1.
This appears in all the editions of Institutes.
Try to read it twice, the second time outloud, it will read easier and you ought to understand it better hearing it as well as seeing it.....



further links for online research:

from the Institutes
http://www.crta.org/books/institutes/bk1ch06.html

what makes Calvin in general and Institutes in particular so special?
http://www.solideogloria.ch/calvin/english/johncalvin.htm
http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmps018.shtml
http://www.apuritansmind.com/Reformation/McMahonInterpretingJohnCalvinSummary.htm

more timelines:
http://www.williamtyndale.com/0reformationtimeline.htm
http://din-timelines.com/bline.shtml
http://www.historyteacher.net/APEuroCourse/WebLinks/WebLinks-Reformations.html

reformed link lists:
http://members.aol.com/Graceordained/
http://www.hisglory.us/puritan sermons/puritan_sermons_index.htm

questions for thought?
why was Calvin so maligned? see: http://www.heroesofhistory.com/page69.html


a fascinating essay:

NONE DARE CALL IT BLASPHEMY
Calvinism and the Older Testament Law
THE REFORMERS AND THEONOMY:
From Victory to Defeat
Three studies on the Reformers' Rejection of God's Law
Chapter 13 of a study on
the Reformers' treatment of the Anabaptists

Kevin Craig
December, 1982

at:
http://members.aol.com/VFTINC/anabaptists/13-0index.htm




The Protestant Reformation: religious change and the people of sixteenth-century Europe


at: http://lib329.bham.ac.uk/coreRes/reformat/contents.htm

John Calvin:
The Man and His Doctrine
at: http://www.wcofc.org/deep/calvin the source of his doctrin.htm#Introduction

http://www.prca.org/books/portraits/calvin.htm

True Piety According to Calvin
at: http://www.the-highway.com/piety1_Battles.html



<hr>
i will keep my annotated reading list at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...A/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/002-2398661-1811269
15:42
May 2nd 2004

the class starts this sunday and i have never taught before....
thanks for your help.

richard williams

 

[rmwilliamsll]

i'm running out of time.
the essay needs to be finished so it can be printed, xeroxed and bound for Sunday morning.

Institutes of the Christian Religion

John Calvin

lesson 3: The Structure of Institutes

scheduled 23 May 2004


Our Motivation:

Explore the structure of Institutes as a guide to understanding it better before we read.
Logical Structure--what is it? How does it differ from literary (OTOH) or philosophic structure(OTO)?

What is Calvin trying to achieve, does the purpose change through the different editions?
How Institutes was written-->
the constant revisions, the relationship of Calvin's commentaries, sermons, and tracts to Institutes. The effect of Calvin as Pastor-Teacher (the silver thread) on the concerns of the Institutes. The issues that Calvin is primarily replying to, what drives his efforts. Set the stage for an analysis of particular themes.

Given how Institutes was written, what are the major themes? That is given our limited time, where should we start reading and why?


Source of jpeg:

http://demo.lutherproductions.com/historytutor/basic/reformation/story/images/Calvin'sInstitutes.jpg

One piece of answering this question lies in a discussion of last week' reading.

Review of this week's readings:

Outline of the dedicatory letter to Francis I.

from amazon, the table of contents from:
Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books (Harvard Classics, Part 39)
by Charles W. Eliot (Editor)
1909. Contents: William Caxton: Title, Prologue and Epilogues to the Recuyell of the Histories of Troy; Epilogue to Dictes; Prologue to Golden Legend, Caton, Aesop; Proem to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; Prologue to Malory's King Arthur and Virgil's Eneydos. John Calvin: Dedication of the Institutes of the Christian Religion. Nicolaus Copernicus: Dedication of the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies. John Knox: Preface to the History of the Reformation in Scotland. Edmund Spenser: prefatory Letter to Sir Walter Raleigh on the Faerie Queene. Sir Walter Raleigh: Preface to the History of the World. Francis Bacon: Prooemium, Epistle Dedicatory, Preface, and Plan of the Instauratio Magna.

I. Prefactory Address to King Francis I of France
....A. 1- Circumstances in which the book was first written
........1.My purpose was solely to transmit certain rudiments by which those who are touched with any zeal for religion might be shaped to true godliness. And I undertook this labor especially for our French countrymen.
........2.It is as if this doctrine looked to no other end than to wrest the scepters from the hands of kings, to cast down all courts and judgments, to subvert all orders and civil governments, to disrupt the peace and quiet of the people, to abolish all laws, to scatter all lordships and possessions--in short, to turn everything upside down!
....B. 2-Plea for the persecuted evangelicals
.........1.Rather, I embrace the common cause of all believers, that of Christ himself--a cause completely torn and trampled in your realm today, lying, as it were, utterly forlorn, more through the tyranny of certain Pharisees than with your approval.
.........2.For ungodly men have so far prevailed that Christ's truth, even if it is not driven away scattered and destroyed, still lies hidden, buried and inglorious.
.........3.But our doctrine must tower unvanquished above all the glory and above all the might of the world, for it is not of us, but of the living God and his Christ whom the Father has appointed King....
.........4.Now look at our adversaries (I speak of the order of priests, at whose nod and will the others are hostile toward us), and consider with me for a mement what zeal motivates them. They readily allow themselves and others to ignore, neglect, and despise the true religion, which has been handed down in the Scriptures, and which ought to have had a recognized place among all men. They think it of no concern what belief anyone holds or does not hold regarding God and Christ, if only he submit his mind with implicit faith (as they call it) to the judgment of the church.
....C. 3-Charges of Antagonists refuted: newness, uncertainty; the value of miracles
..........1. But however they may jest about its uncertainty, if they had to seal their doctrine in their own blood, and at the expense of their own life, one could see how much it would mean to them. Quite the opposite is our assurance, which fears neither the terrors of death nor even God's judgment seat.
....D. 4-Misleading Claim that the Church Fathers oppose the Reformation teaching
....E. 5-The appeal the "custom" against the Truth
..........1 what is seen being done by the many soon obtains the force of custom; while the affairs of men have scarely ever been so well regulated that the better things pleased the majority. Therefore, the private vices of the many have often caused public error, or rather a general agreement on vices, which these good men now want to make law.
....F. 6. Errors about the nature of the Church
.........1. Our controversy turns on these hinges: first, they contend that the form of the church is always apparent and observable. Secondly, they set this form in the see of the Roman Church and its hierarchy.
.........2. let us leave to him the fact that he sometimes removes from men's sight the external signs by which the church is known. That is, I confess, a dreadful visitation of God upon the earth. But if men's impiety deserves it, why do we strive to oppose God's just vengeance? In such a way the Lord of old punished men's ingratitude.
.....G. 7. Tumults alleged to result from Reformation Preaching
..........1 Lastly, they do not act with sufficient candor when they invidiously recount how many disturbances, tumults, and contentions the preaching of our doctrine has drawn along with it, and what fruits it now produces among many.
..........2. And first, indeed, he [satan] stirred up men to action that thereby he might violently oppress the dawning truth. And when this profited him nothing, he turned to stratagems: he aroused disagreements and dogmatic contentions through his catabaptists and other monstrous rascals in order to obscure and at last extinguish the truth.
.......H. 8- Let the King Beware of acting on false charges: the innocent await divine vindication

discussion of Calvin's conversion autobiographical notes from Psalms commentary.


Essay:

extended illustration:
A. Example of misdirection. Put the book on someone's desk. Ask them to turn to book 3 chapter 22. Tell them this is the high point of the whole book. The chapter that summarizes Calvin's life's work—double predestination.
Examine consequences, this is what many of the books about Calvin and the institutes do.

B. Put the institutes on someone else's desk, tell they this has only historical significance to a few professors and their unfortunate students who must read and sustain examinations on it. It has no significance to your life, its a nice story by a dry, overly intellectual, old dead white European man.
This seems to summarize another approach to institutes.
Would you find the time and energy to read Institutes if you believed this?

C. Go to other person. Offer them this book that summarizes 30 years of Bible study by a uniquely gifted man called by God to pastor a church and teach in a school during one of the most tumultuous times in European history. He intended it to be an introduction for young seminary students into the lifelong study of the Scriptures and offers a systematic way to relate what is otherwise distributed throughout the Bible.
Which person is more likely to read and get something out of Institutes?

D. This is the interpretive triangle. The corners are: logical order has one or two ideas of primacy, historical order has Calvin outdated-often they pulldate the Scriptures as well, the 3rd corner is---my grandfather was just as smart, and just as lead by the Holy Spirit as i am--history as prologue.

The corners are historical theology, systematic theology, and Biblical theology. Imagine a ball suspended in the center and drawn to each corner with a different strength. This internal tug-of-war between: history, Bible, philosophy. Take a minute to explain the corners and how they relate. See how speculative theology doesn't fit into either Calvin's Institutes nor into the triangle.

Now i would like nothing better than to offer you a concise outline of Institutes. Say controlling theme is Apostoles Creed, 4 parts corresponding to the four books, then take each book and break it down into 10 major points and those into subpoints. What we would end up with is an analysis of Calvin's systematic theology. If we wanted to explore the imago dei all we had to do was look up in an index and poof 1 chapter on the imago dei and around it would be related chapters, leading us into a complete study of the Reformed doctrine. The problem is that i can't do this. Nor do i think anyone can, nor is there a few themes that structure Calvin's thought like predestination or even the soverignity of God. My idea of the metal threads is a way to remember and relate the lessons together, not a systematic way to see Institutes. Why is this?

Primarily because Calvin is a Biblical theologian with a lawyer's logical mind. And Institutes reflects this Biblical structure, for it doesn't approach the faith as a systematic theology does, categories and organization based on first principles. For instance, look at the difference between preaching through the books of the Bible and a pastor getting up monday morning and figuring out the most important current event that week from the newspaper, then doing research on what the Bible speaks about that issue, then structuring the sermon around this. OTOH Calvin preaches through the Scriptures as does our Pastor, a system that holds up not just the Words of Scripture but the very structure as important and authoritative. Thus tackeling each issue as it appears in Scripture rather than what you think is important for the moment. This contrast of pastoral theological techniques is likewise something deeply engrained in Calvin's Institutes.

So i can't offer you an outline of Institutes systematic theology, but i can offer you a lifeline to allow you to feel more comfortable reading it without drowning. First, like a novel, read it from front to back. Second, take notes, highlight, read outloud, struggle and work at it. Third, look at it as an introduction to Biblical theology as seen by Calvin as he reacts to the burning issues of the day and struggles to relate his sermons and commentaries to what he sees as an introduction for young pastor-teachers. So i propose following the pattern of the books for the rest of the class, three Sunday mornings for each of the 4 books. But when we come to each book, recognize that we can not read the entire book, nor is just reading the first 45 pages (3 weeks, 15 pages per week) satisfactory, but rather concentrating our efforts three related points that strike the modern reader as being particularly important. Realizing that we are not trying to summarize Calvin, but rather look at the pieces that history has challenged most strongly since he wrote the book.


see: Outline of Method and Arrangement by Olevian from the first class notes.

This is going to form the framework for the rest of the class:

Book One-The knowledge of God as Creator 1st-what can we know about God from the Creation (chp 3,5)2nd-what is the effect of sin on this understanding 3rd-this knowledge is through the Scriptures- accommodation

Book Two- 1st: Christ the Mediator. 2nd: subject of original sin 3rd: the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King

Book Three- 1st: particularism-does not unite all men to Christ 2nd:assurance of salvation 3rdredestination

Book Fourth: 1st: Servetus 2nd:means of grace 3rd:outside the church there is no salvation

These choices are driven by today's burning questions: are the heathen saved? The nature of Christ. Predestination, schism or denominationalism

 

[rmwilliamsll]

lesson 3, part 2, too long for the software here....
maybe too long for the class wetware as well. *grin*

The forces that modified the structure, Calvin's commentaries and sermons.

The charts from Battle' outline on how the chapters changed.

The chronology from Oberman on Calvin's literary output by month and year.

Geneva as a pastoral laboratory, where Calvin's battle with the Council's feeds back into his sermons(primarily), and his calling as a pastor and a teacher drive him to Scripture for the answers to these political dilemmas.

from: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/lifelong-learning/distrib/reforml9.htm#1.2

Part I: The Origins of the Institutes 1. How the Institutes Evolved

The Institutes of the Christian Religion, as they are now universally called in English, were first published in Latin in 1536 under the title Institutio Christianae Religionis [6.1.2, Reardon, pp. 154-57]. Calvin was just twenty-seven and the Reformation of Martin Luther was not yet fully established. The word institutio would remind the humanist readers of the legal code of the Emperor Justinian [6.1.2, McGrath, p. 136]. The Institutes were written in and for the sixteenth-century.

The first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion was the Latin version published in Basle in 1536, it went to a second edition in 1539 (printed in Strasbourg) with quite substantial amounts of new material. Indeed the second edition was three times a voluminous as the first edition and ‘it is no longer a primer; it is well on the way to being a definitive statement on the nature of the Christian faith’ [6.1.2, McGrath, p. 137]. The third edition evolved more slowly through 1543-50 (printed in Geneva) and contained revisions across the substance of the work and new material on monasticism but it was less well organised (some regard the 1543/1550 publications as one edition, others [for example, 6.1.2, Wendel, p. 117] as two editions). The final version of the Institutes was published in 1559 in Geneva and has obviously become the definitive edition of the Institutes [6.1.2, Greengrass, p. 172, has a very useful summary table of the evolution of the editions and also see, 6.1.2, McGrath, p. 141].

The notion that the Institutes was originally meant as a primer with catechetical intent can be seen from the Preface, the apologetic letter to Francis I: ‘My purpose was solely to transmit certain rudiments by which those who are touched with any zeal for religion might be shaped in true godliness’. You must decide for yourself whether this claim is correct and that the apologetic tone of the Preface of the Institutes is carried though into criticism and polemic. The 1536 edition certainly contained polemic in that the fifth chapter, of its six chapters, was "The Five False Sacraments".

The 1536 edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion is about 220 pages in a modern edition and the 1559 edition about 1500 pages. It is likely therefore that some changes in content and purpose must have occurred between these dates. The 1536 edition is made up of six chapters, the 1559 edition 4 Books and 80 chapters. Each Book title and each chapter heading in the 1559 edition are quite explicit and precisely described. As the editions evolved they became more like the topoi of Aristotle (loci in Latin and used, for example, by Cicero), that is, a discussion of ‘important topics’ (topos literally means "place" or "position").

The fourfold structure of topics the Institutes is clear in each edition and may represent a rough framework of the exegesis of the Apostles Creed:

*

I believe in the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth ...

*

I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son Our Lord ...

*

I believe in the Holy Spirit ...

*

I believe in the holy catholic Church ...

As Wendel has claimed [6.1.2, pp. 122-44] the Institutes are made up, or influenced by, a number of sources: (a) the Bible - both in Hebrew and Greek [6.1.2, Ganoczy, 1996, p. 236], (b) the Church Fathers, (c) Roman law, (d) nominalist thought and (e) the thought of Martin Luther [6.1.2, Ganoczy, 1966, pp. 133-81, for a full exposition of the sources]. The Institutes of the Christian Religion became a programmatic statement of Christian theology as understood by Calvin [6.1.2, Wendel, pp. 111-49]. It was not the first such work of the emergent Protestant sects. In 1521, Philipp Melanchthon published the Loci Communes ("Commonplaces") which was an exposition of Luther’s thinking [6.1.2, McGrath, pp. 139f.], Huldrych Zwingli wrote in 1525 the Commentarius de vera et falsa religione and Guilluame Farel, in 1534, his Sommaire which was a brief exposition of the key aspects of being a Christian [6.1.2, Parker, p. 34]. In 1529, in Avignon, Francis Lambert wrote Somme Chrestienne a short work which Calvin deliberately used as a "source" and basis for his Institutes.

The political circumstances of the origins of the Institutes is a key item in our interpretation of the work. We saw in the last session that Guillaume Cop, rector of the University of Paris, was implicated by the authorities over a sermon, based on the daily lectionary reading, Matthew 5.1-12, and both were forced to flee Paris and they went together to Basel in February 1535. The Institutes were written soon after this traumatic event and the Preface of the Institutes reflects an apologetic intent as well as an attempt by Calvin to persuade Francis I that his faith was not dangerous or seditious. The 1536 Preface, an open letter to Francis I, the famed Epistola Nuncupatoria, remained unchanged throughout all of the editions of the Institutes.

Francis I was implacably opposed to the evangelicals in France and sent instruction to the French parliament:

Dear faithful friends ... we are very troubled and displeased at what has taken place ... where at the principal university of Christendom that accursed heretical Lutherans sect swarms. Its further spread we wish with our might and power to prevent. And to that end we wish and understand that such a grievous punishment should be meted out that it would be a correction to the accursed heretics and an example to all others [in A.-L. Herminjard, Correspondence des Réformateurs (Geneva, 1870), vol. 3, pp. 114f.].

Given this serious situation, it is unsurprising that an apologetic motive is evident in the Institutes of the Christian Religion but it also indicates something of its genesis.

(see: _Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin_ by Ford Lewis Battles)
pg. 23-4 "How should one undertake to read the Institutes? I have a bad habit of reading new books (new to me, that is) by scrutinizing the index examing the conclusions, savoring the organization, perhaps sampling a few test passages and then asking myself, Is it worth further reading? I would not recommend this approach to reading the Institutes. First, you must want to read the book; you must set out from the beginning; third you must persist, however long it takes you, until you reach the last page. Do not become a Calvinist of the first five chapters or of the first book. I can generally tell, when people speak of Calvin, whether they know him only be hearsay, have read a few pages, or have sampled him anthologically. They have no clue to the wonderful interconnectedness of Calvin's thought. They ask questions which a fuller reading of the Institutes could have answered.

Fourth, do not lament that a question seems to go unanswered, or a loose end seems not to be tied; it will be answered; it will be tied. Be patient. If, after you have read the whole book for the first time, you remain inserious disagreement with Calvin--well, so be it! But what coherent alternative will you have to offer?

Fifth, as you read, think not only of Calvin's time (perhaps reviewed by way of T.H.L.Parker's Portrait of Calvin or W.Monter's Calvin's Geneva) but also of your own. Is Calvin somehow speaking too to the late 20thC? So speculating, readers of the Institutes have sometimes made surprisingly helpful discoveries.

Last, do not hesitate to place this Analysis beside you as you read. For some of you who prefer to grasp the structure of the book as a whole before you plunge into it, the Analysis can be a help, for it faithfully sets forth the tripartite book, chapter, and section organization of the work.
...
These words would be incomplete if Calvin's own call to Scripture were not re-sounded. He wrote the Institutes to draw Christians to the Scriptures; he wrote his commentaries to elucidate not so much the larger elments of the faith as the details of the text itself. He proclaimed the Scriptures from the pulpit. The reader of the Institutes will find his own understanding and conviction quickened by continueing his study beyond the Institutes to the Scriptures that are its source and to the Commentaries and Sermons which further expound the biblical faith of John Calvin.


references for further study:
http://www.antithesis.com/features/sola_scriptura_01.html

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/lifelong-learning/distrib/reforml8.htm

http://www.superior.net/~covenant/reformation.htm

http://www.bible.org/docs/history/calvin/institut/ci000007.htm
Method and Arrangement, or Subject of the Whole Work[From an Epitome of the Institutions, by Gaspar Olevian.]

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Reformation/McMahonShortSummaryInstitutes.htm
A Condensed Summary of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion by C. Matthew McMahon

 

[rmwilliamsll]

this is the 4th lesson, under construction, having trouble with too much information.

Institutes of The Christian Religion

John Calvin

Lesson One

Historical Context

Adult Education Class for RMPCA, class begins May 9, 2004
stored on the net at:
http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson4_essay.html
date expected to be shared: May 30, 2004

Outline:

The major idea is to follow the structure of Institutes and dedicate 3 classes to each book. organize the issues into 3 topics of critical importance each week. This will recognize Calvin's structure and yet allow the freedom to teach what is important to us today topically. The big problem is that the topics cross book boundaries, so we will defer the complete discussion to subsequent weeks several times, rather than skip ahead in the Institutes.

Book One-
The knowledge of God as Creator
1st class-what can we know about God from the Creation (chp 1-5)
issues are: knowledge of God, sense of divinity, natural theology.

2nd class-this knowledge is through the Scriptures(6-8)
issues are: accommodation, the extended metaphor of spectacles, natural theology as incapable of presenting God as Redeemer.
3rd class-providence, problem of sin(9-18)
issues are: the 3 levels of providence, the pervasiveness of sin in extent, the purpose of providence.

Particulars of 1st class:
I.the topic is Calvin's epistemology.
new word alert: define epistemology-->
how do we know God and know ourselves? what is the relationship between the two types of knowledge?
how reliable is the knowledge thus gained? what is the difference between knowledge and belief?
how do we justify or warrant this knowledge?
new word alert: define warrant/justification-->

2.why is scripture required to build a proper epistemology?

3.with the addition of the problem of sin, can we build either a regenerate or an unregenerate epistemology?
shades of Kuyper and a reminder of how important our earlier AE class on worldviews is.

proposed in print references:
frame's two books on the doctrine of the knowledge of God.
plantinga's books on warranted knowledge.

finish reading book 1 again, but this time outloud and with a very strong emphasis on what is important enough to be explained and taught in the class.

websites of interest
as always review: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/calvin.html

http://solo4.abac.com/echoes/museum/apol8.htm
http://philofreligion.homestead.com/files/Beversluis.html
http://capo.org/premise/97/Dec/p971205.html
http://www.solideogloria.ch/calvin/english/hidden.htm
http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/pkrightr.htm
http://www.vts.edu/2003/Fall Semester 2002/ST 1A/DCopley Notes/first quater notes.htm
http://www.homestead.com/philofreligion/files/ProspectusNew.htm
http://www.homestead.com/philofreligion/files/CalvinPaper.htm !

on the two books of God, the book of works and the book of words: http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1982/v39-3-article2.htm
perhaps the best organizing principle on general and special revelation, although Calvin does not use it as does Francis Bacon in the early 17thC.
"We have available to us not just one book of God, but two: the book of God's word in Scripture, which concerns the ultimate nature and destiny of humanity, and the book of God's works in nature, which deals with the conditions of the created order…. The entire flowering of modern culture, and derivatively of modern technology, grew out of this essentially religious conception of the two books of God."


Today's lesson is going to be a little bit different in structure.
First we can spent a little time on the overall structure and thesis of Book One.
Thus arguing top down, remembering that Calvin is a bottom up thinker, from Scripture to the big issues.
But we are trying to get a handle on Institutes as quickly and painlessly as possible and top down is better for these reasons.
Then we are going to talk about the selections/abridgements, that i made and include in the readings for lesson 4, this morning. Then i'll ask you to reread the lesson here and read then the selections from Calvin. I think hearing about them first in context, then thinking about the major ideas they contain before reading them will help a little bit on motivation and understanding. The big point is simply to keep people interested and awake during the reading of the selections from Calvin. I'd like a little bit of feedback on if this works as intended, please.

What i've done is to pull a few quotes from each section, put them into bold print, and copy the headers of each chapter so you can see the topics. Then ask a few questions that will hopefully get to the heart of the matter. Then at the end of lesson 4 is the sections of Book 1 we've been discussing. Since the length would exceed our 20 page maximum i have cut pieces out and marked them with "...", i feel bad about abridging Calvin, but i don't see an option.

Topic is Reformed Epistemology, although Calvin probably never used these terms together. It's a big topic in both modern theology and philosophy, I am just a little skeptical of my ability to see through the last 450 years of discussion on the topic and to actually capture what Calvin thought about the topic, rather than what history teaches, but i will try.

But before i embark on a tour of epistemology (introduce as new word), I'd like to try to summarize an extended metaphor that both Calvin uses, is embedded in Scripture and is a part of our language. draw this as motif #3, another graphic handout.
In the world of nature, we use our eyes to navigate. Jerry was blind and often we discussed what was worse, being blind or not being able to hear, Jerry insisted that deafness cut you off from the world of people, where blindness cut you off from the physical world. We use the analogy of our senses in a significant and interesting way. The voice of God, an eyewitness account, we hear rumors, while we see the truth or the factualness of the situation.

No better place to see this then
Jhn 20:20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jhn 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace {be} with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
Jhn 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Jhn 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, {their sins} have been forgiven them; if you retain the {sins} of any, they have been retained."
Jhn 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Jhn 20:25 So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
Jhn 20:26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace {be} with you."
Jhn 20:27 Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."
Jhn 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jhn 20:29 Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed {are} they who did not see, and {yet} believed."
Jhn 20:30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
Jhn 20:31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

This metaphor of sight and touch versus hearing. The world of nature and certainity versus the world of men, of words, of deceit, one via the eyes and the other via the ears.

Exd 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"
Exd 33:19 And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
Exd 33:20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"
Exd 33:21 Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand {there} on the rock;
Exd 33:22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
Exd 33:23 "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."

 

[rmwilliamsll]

What is the point of this? Why can we hear God's voice and yet not see His face/form/glory? Why do we consistently draw this difference between the modes of knowing the world- between seeing and hearing?
1st hearing is the world of men, and we know people lie to us. 2nd is the directionality of sight, versus the haziness, the lack of specificity of hearing. 3rd is words themselves, language must be interpreted, we are aware of foreign languages that we can not translate. The illustration that a native language is on that you can not resist hearing meaningfully. The connection of hearing words and the ideas they provoke in our minds. Where things we see seem to offer a different, much more secure route into our consciousness. Seeing is believing, eyewitnesses to the truth. Seeing is touch at a distance, reach out and touch someone with your voice, eyes are windows of the soul. The innate certainity of sight, versus the doubting quality of hearing.

But what happens to these sensations once they get 'inside' our brains? The easiest metaphor is the 3 divisions of us into: reason, will, emotion. Knowledge of God for Calvin, analogous to faith is an activity of all 3 pieces. Strictly intellectual knowledge like:
Jam 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble
Note how the belief-that there is one God, yields an emotional matrix-fear followed by a physical activity---tremble. All three pieces: reason, will emotion, or mind, soul, body, or intellect, emotion, will, however you wish to divide us up, all the pieces are involved in knowledge, not just the intellectual. For Calvin knowledge, especially the knowledge of God is never neutral, never without stimulating the heart to react, either positively in worship and adoration or negatively in fear and trembling. The knowledge itself causes a reaction in all people.

The first question is why? Why did Calvin begin Institutes in this manner? The short answer is Romans 1. In particular verses 18 through 25.


Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.


The long answer is Calvin's Commentary on these verses, part of the reading for this week, it is the first commentary or sermon quotation we've seen for the class. So try to see the difference in tone between this and the Institutes.

[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom38.all.html#v.vi]

Take a moment and discuss the classes understanding of this section of Romans 1. What are the big topics?

Calvin finished the Commentary in 1539, the same year as the major 2nd edition of Institutes. More than one commentator on Institutes has made a remark like "Institutes is deeply effected by Romans in general and Book 1 is an extended commentary on Romans 1". I believe that Calvin like many Biblical theologians through history have seen Romans 1:19-23 has crucial verses for the question of why the heathen are inexcusable before God. I often use the catchphrase of "the first time you can plead ignorance when you do something wrong, but you can plead stupidity as many times after that as you want." God however doesn't allow this defense of ignorance, nor does Calvin, following closely in Paul's argument.

Here are the major chapter divisions of Book 1, all the quotations are from: http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/
A New Translation, by Henry Beveridge, Esq


BOOK I. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE CREATOR.

1. The Knowledge of God and That of Ourselves Are Connected. How They are Interrelated.
2. What it is to Know God, and to What Purpose the Knowledge of Him Tends.
3. The Knowledge of God Has Been Naturally Implanted in the Minds of Men.
4. This Knowledge is Either Smothered of Corrupted, Partly by Ignorance, Partly by Malice.
5. The Knowledge of God Shines Forth in the Fashioning of the Universe and the Continuing Government of It.
6. Scripture is Needed as Guide and Teacher for Anyone Who Would Come to God the Creator.
7. Scripture Must Be Confirmed by the Witness of the Spirit. Thus May Its Authority Be Established as Certain; and It is a Wicked Falsehood that Its Credibility Depends on the Judgment of the Church.
8. So Far as Human Reason Goes, Sufficiently Firm Proofs Are At Hand to Establish the Credibility of Scripture.
9. Fanatics, Abandoning Scripture and Flying Over to Revelation, Cast Down All the Principles of Godliness.
10. Scripture, to Correct All Superstition, Has Set the True God Alone Over Against All the Gods of the Heathen.
11. It is Unlawful to Attribute a Visible Form to God, and Generally Whoever Sets Up Idols Revolts Against the True God.
12. How God Is to Be So Distinguished from Idols that Perfect Honor May Be Given to Him Alone.
13. In Scripture, from the Creation Onward, We Are Taught One Essence of God, Which Contains Three Persons.
14. Even in the Creation of the Universe and of All Things, Scripture by Unmistakable Marks Distinguishes the True God from False Gods.
15. Discussion of Human Nature as Created, of the Faculties of the Soul, of the Image of God, of Free Will, and of the Original Integrity of Man's Nature.
16. God by His Power Nourishes and Maintains the World Created by Him, and Rules Its Several Parts by His Providence.
17. How We May Apply This Doctrine to Our Greatest Benefit.
18. God So Uses the Works of the Ungodly, and So Bends Their Minds to Carry Out His Judgments, that He Remains Pure from Every Stain.


The readings and today's discussion will be from 1-5 and 15-18. The big takehome point will be to try to see what it is that all people can see from the Creation, without reference to Scripture and without access to faith. This is a controversial topic not just within the visible Church but within the Reformed tradition, when i am aware of divergent opinions i will refer to them, but i don't expect to have the time nor ability to investigate far from Calvin's viewpoint.

This is the first chapter of our task--Institutes


Chapter 1.

1. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF OURSELVES MUTUALLY CONNECTED. - NATURE OF THIS CONNECTION.

Sections.

1. The sum of true wisdom, viz., the knowledge of God and of ourselves. Effects of the latter.
2. Effects of the knowledge of God, in humbling our pride, unveiling our hypocrisy, demonstrating the absolute perfections of God, and our own utter helplessness.
3. Effects of the knowledge of God illustrated by the examples,
1. of holy patriarchs;
2. of holy angels;
3. of the sun and moon.



You already have chapter 2 in hand, for it is the first page of the readings.
[http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/bk1ch02.html]


Chapter 3.

3. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD HAS BEEN NATURALLY IMPLANTED IN THE HUMAN MIND.

Sections

1. The knowledge of God being manifested to all makes the reprobate without excuse. Universal belief and acknowledgement of the existence of God.
2. Objection - that religion and the belief of a Deity are the inventions of crafty politicians. Refutation of the objection. This universal belief confirmed by the examples of wicked men and Atheists.
3. Confirmed also by the vain endeavours of the wicked to banish all fear of God from their minds. Conclusion, that the knowledge of God is naturally implanted in the human mind.


[http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/bk1ch03.html]




That there exists in the human minds and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute, since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews and occasionally enlarges, that all to a man being aware that there is a God, and that he is their Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience when they neither worship him nor consecrate their lives to his service


In Latin this is referred to as the Sensus Divinitas (see: http://members.aol.com/rbiblech/MiscDoctrine/LatinTerms.htm)
And in Book one, up to chapter 6, the general topic is called natural theology, what is it that natural man, unaided by Scripture can rightfully say about God as he looks at the world around him.

Ask the class what are the major ways you could organize natural theology?
somekind of spectrum from total absence of God to a full blown theology of some type, most pantheism or panentheism.
Work on a one page handout of the potential answers given through time and different cultures, is this what Calvin had in mind? No he is replying to ancient Greek thought and the amalgamate that is R.C. medieval theology. He is probably unaware of Buddhist or Confucian theology but is certainly aware of Islamic.
The major point that Calvin wishes to prove is that no one at the Final Judgement can plead ignorance, maybe we can try stupidity but i don't think that will work either. The answer is to the question of "are the heathen saved?" or "what about those who have never heard the Gospel?" the point is that no one listens to that still small voice inside that tells them the nature of God as transcendent, as their Creator, and no one properly acts on that information to love, honor and worship God as is His rightful due.



Chapter 4.

4. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD STIFLED OR CORRUPTED, IGNORANTLY OR MALICIOUSLY.

Sections.

1. The knowledge of God suppressed by ignorance, many falling away into superstition. Such persons, however, inexcusable, becausetheir error is accompanied with pride and stubbornness.
2. Stubbornness the companion of impiety.
3. No pretext can justify superstition. This proved, first, from reason; and, secondly, from Scripture.
4. The wicked never willingly come into the presence of God. Hence their hypocrisy. Hence, too, their sense of Deity leads to nogood result.


[http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/bk1ch04.html]


Chapter 5.

5. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD CONSPICUOUS IN THE CREATION, AND CONTINUAL GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD.

This chapter consists of two parts:
1. The former, which occupies the first ten sections, divides all the works of God into two great classes, and elucidates the knowledge of God as displayed in each class. The one class is treated of in the first six, and the other in the four following sections;
2. The latter part of the chapter shows, that, in consequence of the extreme stupidity of men, those manifestations of God, however perspicuous, lead to no useful result. This latter part, which commences at the eleventh section, is continued to the end of the chapter.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

Sections.

1. The invisible and incomprehensible essence of God, to a certain extent, made visible in his works.
2. This declared by the first class of works, viz., the admirable motions of the heavens and the earth, the symmetry of the human body, and the connection of its parts; in short, the various objects which are presented to every eye.
3. This more especially manifested in the structure of the human body.
4. The shameful ingratitude of disregarding God, who, in such a variety of ways, is manifested within us. The still more shameful ingratitude of contemplating the endowments of the soul, without ascending to Him who gave them. No objection can be founded on any supposed organism in the soul.
5. The powers and actions of the soul, a proof of its separate existence from the body. Proofs of the soul's immortality. Objection that the whole world is quickened by one soul. Reply to the objection. Its impiety.
6. Conclusion from what has been said, viz., that the omnipotence, eternity, and goodness of God, may be learned from the first class of works, i. e., those which are in accordance with the ordinary course of nature.
7. The second class of works, viz., those above the ordinary course of nature, afford clear evidence of the perfections of God, especially his goodness, justice, and mercy.
8. Also his providence, power, and wisdom.
9. Proofs and illustrations of the divine Majesty. The use of them, viz., the acquisition of divine knowledge in combination with true piety.
10. The tendency of the knowledge of God to inspire the righteous with the hope of future life, and remind the wicked of the punishments reserved for them. Its tendency, moreover, to keep alive in the hearts of the righteous a sense of the divine goodness.
11. The second part of the chapter, which describes the stupidity both of learned and unlearned, in ascribing the whole order of things, and the admirable arrangements of divine Providence, to fortune.
12. Hence Polytheism, with all its abominations, and the endless and irreconcilable opinions of the philosophers concerning God.
13. All guilty of revolt from God, corrupting pure religion, either by following general custom, or the impious consent of antiquity.
14. Though irradiated by the wondrous glories of creation, we cease not to follow our own ways.
15. Our conduct altogether inexcusable, the dullness of perception being attributable to ourselves, while we are fully reminded of the true path, both by the structure and the government of the world.

[http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/bk1ch05.html]

from: http://www.modernreformation.org/mr98/janfeb/mr9801natural.html
As we see in his opening to the Institutes, Calvin's great concern in relating faith and reason is pastoral rather than philosophical. While Thomas Aquinas begins his magisterial work by inquiring into the nature of God as supreme being, Calvin's opening question is both practical and existential. The knowledge of God and of oneself, he argues, is dialectical (i.e., getting to know God and ourselves is a process that moves back and forth). Furthermore, this knowledge is chiefly concerned with the relationship between God and humanity. Far from being either a rationalistic or mystical end in itself, contemplating God leads us to self-knowledge. Its chief yield is the realization that we are naked, stripped of all righteousness and any basis for self-confidence. The purpose of this knowledge, then, is to lead to an existential crisis (1.1.1-2). This knowledge of our nakedness is an awareness of our need, but the knowledge that Christ is the solution to our problem is found exclusively in special revelation.

Calvin's approach thus stands in sharp contrast to the goals of the philosophers. Descartes' objective is "to demonstrate the existence of God and the soul."1 Plato aims to contemplate the essence of Being. But Calvin writes: "What wonderfully impressed us under the name of wisdom will stink in its very foolishness. What wore the face of power will prove itself the most miserable weakness. That is, what in us seems perfection itself corresponds ill to the purity of God" (1.1.2). The knowledge of God, far from reinforcing our philosophical and religious presuppositions, undoes them.

for further research links:
http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/pa401.htm
It is evident, from the lead position Calvin assigns it in the Institutes, that the epistemological question is fundamental to Calvin's theology. All men inescapably know God the Creator; even the unbeliever retains some epistemological abilities which should draw him to God. Calvin maintains that all men have a certain understanding and knowledge over the created order, yet he is not able to find the truth i.e., heavenly knowledge, due to his sin (cf. Institutes, pp. 272-274). This heavenly knowledge, which is identical with faith, is greater than rational proof or empirical perception. Contrary to the evidentialist's apologetic, which looks to logic and rational proof for the foundation of this heavenly knowledge, Calvin recognized that this knowledge must begin in revelation as found in Scripture. Knowledge is foundational to faith, yet the necessary knowledge comes only when one submits to the truth as revealed by God in Scripture. It is only in Scripture that man may rightly comprehend God as He really is (holy Creator), and at the same time comprehend himself as he really is (sinful creature). All men have a belief in God (even those who do not believe), yet this is not the same as saving knowledge. Calvin's apologetic demands that in order to properly know the world and ourselves we must first know God; and to know God, we must first rightly know ourselves and the world. He states, "As a consequence, we must infer that man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty" (p. 39).

http://www.piney.com/Reformation.html i don't know what to make of the site in general, but this page leads to some interesting stuff on Calvin and the Reformation

found a link to search major libraries, a requirement for interlibrary loan:
library search site--bookmark and use.

hodge's systematic theology is at: http://www.dabar.org/Theology/Hodge/TableofContents/Content_Intro.htm
dabney's at: http://www.pbministries.org/R. L. Dabney/Systematic Theology/systematic_theology.htm

http://www.butte.cc.ca.us/~machuga/Outline Separated/Page Overview.html
This course is a philosophical defense of Thomas Aquinas’ proofs for the existence of God and the classical reconciliation of divine sovereignty with human freedom that he shared with Augustine and Calvin. The intended audience is both the committed Christian and the intelligent inquirer. Augustine, Aquinas and Calvin provide a coherent and intelligible account of God and his sovereign grace that makes a straightforward reading of five key verses—Romans 1:18-20, Romans 9:16-21, I Tim. 2:4, Phil. 2:12-13 and Eph. 2:8. For the committed Christian, this is a significant point in favor of their philosophy.


-=-=-=-=-=-
version information:
version .5
dated 21 May 2004

note: i am a week late on getting this written, mostly because the topic is of such interest and importance to me that i am deeply involved in reading. I believe that a genuine Christian epistemology is being worked out in our day as a result of the conflicts of theology and science, essentially science and philosophy is forcing the intellectuals of the church to really define the issues.

search strings:
http://www.google.com/search?q=augustine+calvin+theory+of+knowledge&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N
http://www.google.com/search?q=calv...god+creation&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N

 

[Sola Gratia]

This is a wonderful idea. Could you ask to have it "stuck" at the top of the forum so that it does not get lost?
A subforum might be nice to allow each lesson to stand on it's own.

You may want to ask a mod.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

i'd like to work on a good example for the modality of knowledge in Calvin.

Right now i have an example from my life.
When we had little kids my wife could tell our kids from a nursery full of kids. And when the babies were hungry, just the sound would 'let down her milk'.

what this illustrates is that the mere sound, analogous to intellectual knowledge, is not sufficient but rather the cordial knowledge of emotional attachment-she knew her child, and the act of doing something, in this case getting ready to breast feed.

Calvin in the first 6 chapters of book 1, makes it clear that the knowledge of God can not be separated from the necessity of piety and the requirement of worship.
3 modalities: reason, emotion, will.

anyone studied this? my background in epistemology isn't complete enough to know where this fits into the history of philosophy, nor am i sure this adequately sums up Calvin. but it is a good start, imho.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

I've got to finish lesson 4 today since 4,5,6 need to be xeroxed and made into a reading packet by friday morning so i can get it to the pastors.

the heart of lesson 4, on the doctrine of the knowledge of God is:

for this lesson:
Particulars of this 1st class on Book I:
I.the topic is Calvin's epistemology.
***new word alert: define epistemology-->
1.how do we know God and know ourselves? what is the relationship between the two types of knowledge?
2.how reliable is the knowledge thus gained? what is the difference between knowledge and belief?
3.how do we justify or warrant this knowledge?
***new word alert: define warrant/justification-->
4.the difference between seeing and hearing.
5.the essentialness and inescapableness of the personalness of knowledge.
6.the 3 part modality of our knowledge.
II. the sense of divinity
1. immediateness, vitality, personalness, inescapable
2. it is the answer to the question of how a mercyful God can judge those who have not heard the Gospel.
III. issues of natural theology
1. Calvin is attacking RC natural theology
2.for a humanist how do you account for the genius of the Greeks:S. A. P. without making them into christians before the fact?

the structure is best seen in what does Calvin wish to prove:
1st: I believe in God....what does it mean to KNOW God?
answer: To recognize Him as your Creator, to be motivated by piety and gratitude for this, and to rightful worship Him.
2nd: is God just in condemning the heathen to hell?....What does it mean to know God as CREATOR?
answer: yes, everyone who has ever lived knows enough about God as their Creator to be without excuse.
3rd: is this natural knowledge enough to save? or was Aristotle, or Plato or Cicero saved by their extraordinary grasp of reality?
answer: no, natural theology is not sufficent to save, God as Redeemer is not available to us in creation.

Essay:

Today's lesson is going to be a little bit different in structure, mostly because of the complexity of the issues and partly because of my interest in them. Catch me if i lapse into philosophic technical jargon, it is not my intention to confuse with these terms.

First we can spent a little time on the overall structure and thesis of Book One.
First the knowledge of God is inescapable, all human beings know enough about God to realize that they owe Him piety and worship.
But this information is not enough to force the emotions of the natural man to love God, nor to properly worship Him.
Second, Scripture alone shows God to be our Redeemer. But the natural man can not even read Scripture properly to understand this.
Lastly, Providence renders mankind even more guilty of ingratitude in that we are sustained by God and are not thankful to Him for this.

Thus we are discussing and studying it from the top down, remembering that Calvin is a bottom up thinker, from Scripture to the big issues. So we are not studying it in the same direction that Calvin wrote it. But we are trying to get a handle on Institutes as quickly and painlessly as possible and top down is better for these reasons. Then we are going to talk about the selections/abridgements that i made and included in the readings for lesson 4, this morning. Then i'll ask you to reread the lesson here and read at that time the selections from Calvin. I think hearing about them first in context, then thinking about the major ideas they contain before reading them will help a little bit on motivation and understanding. The big point is simply to keep people interested and awake during the reading of the selections from Calvin. I'd like a little bit of feedback on if this works as intended, please.

What i've done is to pull a few quotes from each section, put them into bold print, put the needed context around them in italics and copy the headers of each chapter as well, so you can see the topics in their order. Then ask a few questions that will hopefully get to the heart of the matter and gather a few explantory notes from my reading, inserting them as appropriate. Then at the end of lesson 4 are the links to the sections of Book I we've been discussing so if you are inspired to do so, you can read the complete chapters. Since the length would exceed our 20 page maximum i have cut pieces out and marked them with "...", i feel bad about abridging Calvin, but i don't see an option.

Topic is Reformed Epistemology, although Calvin certainly never used these terms. It's a big topic in both modern theology and philosophy, I am just a little skeptical of my ability to see through the last 450 years of discussion on the topic and to actually capture what Calvin thought about the topic, rather than what history teaches, but i will try.

{First a little motivation with the subject: vacuum cleaners and spam sorting software, AI, natural language translation and visual face recognization.}

But before i embark on a tour of epistemology (introduce as new word), I'd like to try to summarize an extended metaphor that both Calvin uses, is embedded in Scripture and is a part of our language. draw this as motif #3, (another graphic handout), the world via eyes and ears.

Explanation of 'testimony of eyewitnesses' motif
In the world of nature, we use our eyes to navigate. Sounds are almost always warnings. A dear friend, Jerry was blind and often we discussed what was worse, being blind or not being able to hear, Jerry insisted that deafness cuts you off from the world of people, where blindness 'only' cut you off from the physical world. We use the analogy of our senses in a significant and interesting way. Terms that 'betray' this motif: The voice of God, an eyewitness account, we hear rumors, while we see the truth or the factualness of the situation.

No better place to see this then
Jhn 20:20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jhn 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace {be} with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
Jhn 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Jhn 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, {their sins} have been forgiven them; if you retain the {sins} of any, they have been retained."
Jhn 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Jhn 20:25 So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
Jhn 20:26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace {be} with you."
Jhn 20:27 Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."
Jhn 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jhn 20:29 Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed {are} they who did not see, and {yet} believed."
Jhn 20:30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
Jhn 20:31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

This metaphor of sight and touch versus hearing. The world of nature and certainty versus the world of men, of words, of deceit, one via the eyes and the other via the ears.

Exd 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"
Exd 33:19 And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
Exd 33:20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"
Exd 33:21 Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand {there} on the rock;
Exd 33:22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
Exd 33:23 "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."

What is the point of this? Why can we hear God's voice and yet not see His face/form/glory? Why do we consistently draw this difference between the modes of knowing the world- between seeing and hearing?

1st hearing is the world of men, and we know people lie to us. Words are used to deceive, we use words in such sinful ways ourselves and are aware of being victimized likewise. 2nd is the directionality of sight, versus the haziness, the lack of specificity of hearing. 3rd is words themselves, language must be interpreted, we are aware of foreign languages that we can not translate. The illustration that a native language is one that you can not resist hearing meaningfully. The connection of hearing words and the ideas they provoke in our minds. Where things we see seem to offer a different, much more secure route into our consciousness. Seeing is believing, eyewitnesses to the truth. Seeing is touch at a distance, reach out and touch someone with your voice, eyes are windows of the soul. The innate certainty of sight, versus the doubting quality of hearing. How close things appear in a telescope, so that we are tempted to reach out and touch them......

But what happens to these sensations once they get 'inside' our brains? The easiest metaphor is the 3 divisions of us into: reason, will, emotion.

2nd motif: Knowledge as possessing 3 modalities
***new word alert: define modalities--->
Knowledge of God for Calvin, analogous to faith is an activity of all 3 pieces. Strictly intellectual knowledge is impossible, like:
Jam 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble
Note how the belief-that there is one God, yields an emotional matrix-fear followed by a 'physical' activity---tremble. All three pieces: reason, will emotion, or mind, soul, body, or intellect, emotion, will, however you wish to divide us up, all the pieces are involved in knowledge, not just the intellectual. For Calvin knowledge, especially the knowledge of God is never neutral, never without stimulating the heart to react, either positively in worship and adoration or negatively in fear and trembling. The knowledge itself causes a reaction in all people. I'm going to use the terms persuasive knowledge and cordial knowledge to make this distinction.
***new word alert: define cordial--->

{I spent a lot of time trying to find an example of this modalism of knowledge, and found it in the example of my wife hearing our baby cry and her milk let down.}

finished with the motifs, with these two illustrations, now to the text of Institutes:
The first question is why? Why did Calvin begin Institutes in this manner? The short answer is Romans 1. In particular verses 18 through 25.


Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.


The long answer is Calvin's Commentary on these verses, part of the reading for this week, it is the first commentary or sermon quotation we've seen for the class. So try to see the difference in tone between this and the Institutes.

[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom38.all.html#v.vi]
Please remember from lesson 2 of the significance of both commentaries and sermons to the Institutes. This ought to make us play close detailed attention to the following:

{Take a moment and discuss the classes understanding of this section of Romans 1. What are the big topics?}

Calvin finished the Commentary in 1539, the same year as the major 2nd edition of Institutes. More than one commentator on Institutes has made a remark like "Institutes is deeply effected by Romans in general and Book 1 is an extended commentary on Romans 1". I believe that Calvin like many Biblical theologians through history have seen that Romans 1:19-23 has crucial verses for the question of why the heathen are inexcusable before God. I often use the catchphrase of "the first time you can plead ignorance when you do something wrong, but you can plead stupidity as many times after that as you want." God however doesn't allow this defense of ignorance, nor does Calvin, following closely in Paul's argument.

i am trying to get the illustrations tuned up.
they are what i describe as motifs .....
first is the 'testimony of eyewitnesses'
and the second is 'what happens when a mom hears her baby'

the other big thing is that i am going to abstract and bold the important parts of Institutes rather than ask people to read long sections of it. From the response Sunday, the dedicatory address was too long and too hard to read without getting discouraged.

thanks for the help

 

[rmwilliamsll]

there is no room for excuse. We cannot plead ignorance, without being at the same time convicted by our own consciences both of sloth and ingratitude

Particulars of this 1st class on Book I:
I.the topic is Calvin's epistemology.
***new word alert: define epistemology-->

from: http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/EPISTEMI.html
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies knowledge. It attempts to answer the basic question: what distinguishes true (adequate) knowledge from false (inadequate) knowledge?
1.how do we know God and know ourselves? what is the relationship between the two types of knowledge?
2.how reliable is the knowledge thus gained? what is the difference between knowledge and belief?
3.how do we justify or warrant this knowledge?

***new word alert: define warrant/justification-->


4.the difference between seeing and hearing.
5.the essentialness and inescapableness of the personalness of knowledge.
6.the 3 part modality of our knowledge.
II. the sense of divinity
1. immediateness, vitality, personalness, inescapable
2. it is the answer to the question of how a mercyful God can judge those who have not heard the Gospel.
III. issues of natural theology
1. Calvin is attacking RC natural theology
2.for a humanist how do you account for the genius of the Greeks:S. A. P. without making them into christians before the fact?

the structure is best seen in what does Calvin wish to prove:
1st: I believe in God....what does it mean to BELIEVE in God, is this the same as to KNOW God?
answer: To recognize Him as your Creator, to be motivated by piety and gratitude for this, and to rightful worship Him.
2nd: is God just in condemning the heathen to hell?....What does it mean to know God as CREATOR?
answer: yes, everyone who has ever lived knows enough about God as their Creator to be without excuse.
3rd: is this natural knowledge enough to save? or was Aristotle, or Plato or Cicero saved by their extraordinary grasp of reality?
answer: no, natural theology is not sufficient to save, God as Redeemer is not available to us in creation.

Essay:

Today's lesson is going to be a little bit different in structure, mostly because of the complexity of the issues and partly because of my interest in them. Catch me if i lapse into philosophic technical jargon, it is not my intention to confuse with these terms.

First we can spent a little time on the overall structure and thesis of Book One.
First the knowledge of God is inescapable, all human beings know enough about God to realize that they owe Him piety and worship.
But this information is not enough to force the emotions of the natural man to love God, nor to properly worship Him.
Second, Scripture alone shows God to be our Redeemer. But the natural man can not even read Scripture properly to understand this.
Lastly, Providence renders mankind even more guilty of ingratitude in that we are sustained by God and are not thankful to Him for this.



What I've done is to pull a few quotes from each section, put them into bold print, put the needed context around them in italics and copy the headers of each chapter as well, so you can see the topics in their order. Then ask a few questions that will hopefully get to the heart of the matter and gather a few explanatory notes from my reading, inserting them as appropriate. Then at the end of lesson 4 are the links to the sections of Book I we've been discussing so if you are inspired to do so, you can read the complete chapters. Since the length would exceed our 20 page maximum i have cut pieces out and marked them with "...", i feel bad about abridging Calvin, but i don't see an option.

Topic is Reformed Epistemology, although Calvin certainly never used these terms. It's a big topic in both modern theology and philosophy, I am just a little skeptical of my ability to see through the last 450 years of discussion on the topic and to actually capture what Calvin thought about the topic, rather than what history teaches, but i will try.

{First a little motivation with the subject: vacuum cleaners and spam sorting software, AI, natural language translation and visual face recognization.}

But before i embark on a tour of epistemology (introduce as new word), I'd like to try to summarize an extended metaphor that both Calvin uses, is embedded in Scripture and is a part of our language. draw this as motif #3, (another graphic handout), the world via eyes and ears.

Explanation of 'testimony of eyewitnesses' motif
In the world of nature, we use our eyes to navigate. Sounds are almost always warnings. A dear friend, Jerry was blind and often we discussed what was worse, being blind or not being able to hear, Jerry insisted that deafness cuts you off from the world of people, where blindness 'only' cut you off from the physical world. We use the analogy of our senses in a significant and interesting way. Terms that 'betray' this motif: The voice of God, an eyewitness account, we hear rumors, while we see the truth or the factualness of the situation.

from:http://www.redeemer.on.ca/~tplanti/k/TSZ.HTM
Visualism. The philosophical tendency, which goes back to the Greeks, to understand knowledge in terms of vision or sight. To know is to see, to have a view. John Dewey complained about the "spectator" conception of knowledge.

This is the same kind of distinction between the knowledge of how and the ability to do, praxis versus intellectualism, that we hear from engineering and other practical people.

No better place to see this then in the Gospel of John 20:20-31

And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

So Jesus said to them again, "Peace {be} with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

"If you forgive the sins of any, {their sins} have been forgiven them; if you retain the {sins} of any, they have been retained."

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace {be} with you."

Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."

Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed {are} they who did not see, and {yet} believed."

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.


This metaphor of sight and touch versus hearing. The world of nature and certainty versus the world of men, of words, of deceit, one via the eyes and the other via the ears. The testimony of the apostles ought to have been sufficient, for it is for the subsequent Church through the ages. But Thomas is a good illustration of what epistemology is all about.

and in Exodus 33:18-23

Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"

And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."

But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"

Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand {there} on the rock;

and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.

"Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."


What is the point of this? Why can we hear God's voice and yet not see His face/form/glory? Why do we consistently draw this difference between the modes of knowing the world- between seeing and hearing?

1st hearing is the world of men, and we know people lie to us. Words are used to deceive, we use words in such sinful ways ourselves and are aware of being victimized likewise. 2nd is the directionality of sight, versus the haziness, the lack of specificity of hearing. 3rd is words themselves, language must be interpreted, we are aware of foreign languages that we can not translate. The illustration that a native language is one that you can not resist hearing meaningfully. The connection of hearing words and the ideas they provoke in our minds. Where things we see seem to offer a different, much more secure route into our consciousness. Seeing is believing, eyewitnesses to the truth. Seeing is touch at a distance, reach out and touch someone with your voice, eyes are windows of the soul. The innate certainty of sight, versus the doubting quality of hearing. How close things appear in a telescope, so that we are tempted to reach out and touch them......

But what happens to these sensations once they get 'inside' our brains? The easiest metaphor is the 3 divisions of us into: reason, will, emotion and how knowledge applies to each of these 'pieces'.

2nd motif: Knowledge as possessing 3 modalities
***new word alert: define modalities--->

n. pl. mo·dal·i·ties

1. The fact, state, or quality of being modal.
2. A tendency to conform to a general pattern or belong to a particular group or category.




Knowledge of God for Calvin, analogous to faith is an activity of all 3 pieces/divisions within our human nature, intellect, emotions and the will. Strictly intellectual knowledge is impossible, like:

Jam 2:19


Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble

Note how the belief-that there is one God, yields an emotional matrix-fear followed by a 'physical' activity---tremble. All three pieces: reason, will emotion, or mind, soul, body, or intellect, emotion, will, however you wish to divide us up, all the pieces are involved in knowledge, not just the intellectual. For Calvin knowledge, especially the knowledge of God is never neutral, never without stimulating the heart to react, either positively in worship and adoration or negatively in fear and trembling. The knowledge itself causes a reaction in all people. I'm going to use the terms persuasive knowledge and cordial knowledge to make this distinction.
***new word alert: define cordial--->
dealing with the heart, emotions.

{I spent a lot of time trying to find an example of this modalism of knowledge, and found it in the example of my wife hearing our baby cry and her body responding to get ready to feed the baby. Here is the issue, a babies cry is as an engineer would phrase it, just a signal, yet ask any mother-she can recognize her child's cry. How can this be in a nursery crowded with crying babies? Yet each mother-child shares this bond that just a small cry inititates a cascade of emotion and hormones that results in the mom being ready to feed the child.}

finished with the motifs, with these two illustrations, now to the text of Institutes:
The first question is why? Why did Calvin begin Institutes in this manner? The short answer is Romans 1. In particular verses 18 through 25.


Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.


The long answer is Calvin's Commentary on these verses, part of the reading for this week, it is the first commentary or sermon quotation we've seen for the class. So try to see the difference in tone between this and the Institutes.

[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/Calvin/calcom38.all.html#v.vi]
Please remember from lesson 2 of the significance of both commentaries and sermons to the Institutes. This ought to make us play close detailed attention to the following:

from: http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson4_essay.html

 

[rmwilliamsll]

Introduction:
In chapters 1-5 Calvin discusses the knowledge of the natural world(Creation) and how it interacts with the natural man, sometimes he is talking about before the fall, other times natural man as we experience him today, fallen and sinful, context makes the difference clear most of the time. The basic problem is that from the world we can not see the fall, because we don't have an objective standard to measure the Creation, nor ourselves by to determine if what we can see is normative. In fact, this problem in philosophy is called the naturalist fallacy, to try to bridge the gap from 'what is' to 'what ought to be', that gap from existence to morality. That is why Calvin introduces Scripture at this point, to teach us that 1-we are broken, 2-the world of human beings, both history and societies are likewise broken, as a result of people not being as originally designed, 3-that this knowledge of the Creation which ought to drive us to God as Creator does not achieve it's intended purposes because of this pervasive sin.

{see:http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/naturalistic fallacy for fuller explanation.
"Many people use the phrase "naturalistic fallacy" to characterize inferences of the form "This behavior is natural; therefore, this behavior is morally acceptable" or "This behavior is unnatural; therefore, this behavior is morally unacceptable". Such inferences are common in discussions of homosexuality and cloning, to take two examples. ... This use of the term "naturalistic fallacy" to describe the deduction of an ought from an is, has inspired the use of mutually reinforcing terminology which describes the converse (deducing an is from an ought) either as the "reverse naturalistic fallacy" or the "moralistic fallacy"."}

An idea:
This section, at first blush looks like a parenthesis, an aside in the forcefulness of the argument in Book I(which argues from Creation to Providence via Scripture), is a relatively uncontroversial section for us. I'd like to take the time therefore to present the quotations from Calvin in a different way, commenting within the sections. A proof of concept test to see which way stimulates the most conversation in the class.


Outline of this section's discussion questions:

1. Why is Scripture required?
2. What is the witness of the Holy Spirit and why is it required in order to properly understand Scripture?
3. What is accomodation, that is how does God accomodate Himself to our form?
4. The motif-illustration-thought picture of spectacles, a continuation and extension of the 'testimony of eye-witnesses' motif from last week.

Essay:

The argument is pretty straightforward:

0.Book One is: I believe in God the Father maker of Heaven and Earth.
I. Creation is not sufficient witness or revelatory of God. Why? First, it presents a creator god, not necessary the One True Only God for creation teaches transcendence, power but not God as Redeemer or Jesus as Mediator. The problem of particularity or specificity which results in idol worship. (the god of Creation is not a Father to us) Second, the fall is not evident in Creation.
II. Therefore God graciously gives to the world(elect, Church) the Scriptures. The polemic right to the RC with the authority of Scripture does not rest with the Church, then the polemic left to the radicals with their position that revelation replaces Scripture. The apologia for the via media of: God's confirmatory action of the Spirit seals our minds and hearts to Scripture but does not add propositional knowledge to it.
III. Then concerning the true knowledge of Himself as revealed in Scripture God justifies it. First the polemic right to the RC in that natural reason is not sufficient to prove the truthfulness of it, then the polemic left to the radicals that revelation is not in addition to Scripture, as opposed to reason. The question of a faithless reason versus an unreasonable faith. And the apologia of the via media where Calvin starts with reason but immediately claims for the Spirit a far better justification of the truth, the standard being God's character. So reason is needed but is at best a weak start-credibility, so revelation is extrareasonable, not unreasonable or irrational.

the bolding is meant to draw your eyes to the important issues during a skimming through process, and the underlining is meant to mark the things i'd like to get to talk about in class. didn't italicize the quotes as that is harder on my eyes than the usual typeface.

The Abridged Text:

6. THE NEED OF SCRIPTURE, AS A GUIDE AND TEACHER, IN COMING TO GOD AS CREATOR.

[http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/bk1ch06.html]

1.God bestows the actual knowledge of himself upon us only in the Scriptures

Therefore, though the effulgence which is presented to every eye, both in the heavens and on the earth, leaves the ingratitude of man without excuse, since God, in order to bring the whole human race under the same condemnation, holds forth to all, without exception, a mirror of his Deity in his works, another and better help must be given to guide us properly to God as a Creator. Not in vain, therefore, has he added the light of his Word in order that he might make himself known unto salvation, and bestowed the privilege on those whom he was pleased to bring into nearer and more familiar relation to himself. For, seeing how the minds of men were carried to and fro, and found no certain resting-place, he chose the Jews for a peculiar people, and then hedged them in that they might not, like others, go astray. And not in vain does he, by the same means, retain us in his knowledge, since but for this, even those who, in comparison of others, seem to stand strong, would quickly fall away. For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any books however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly. God therefore bestows a gift of singular value, when, for the instruction of the Church, he employs not dumb teachers merely, but opens his own sacred mouth; when he not only proclaims that some God must be worshipped, but at the same time declares that He is the God to whom worship is due; when he not only teaches his elect to have respect to God, but manifests himself as the God to whom this respect should be paid.

---notes:
effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\, noun:
The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.
From Latin ex- "out of, from" + fulgere, "to shine." The adjective form of the word is effulgent.

AFAIK this is his first use of the spectacles metaphor. Note what the glasses do, they gather the light of God which is first in our minds, and afterwards that light in creation or in the history of the Jews. At the same time he moves seamlessly from the sight metaphor to the spoken metaphor of God's voice.

We are going to see the spectacles metaphor, along with a related image of reflections in a mirror, many more times as we study Institutes together. It is my intention to draw our attention to these dominant and useful illustrations. First, the spectacles are a gift, they are not part of our bodies like our eyes are, in fact, they are to correct the problems with our natural eyes. [there are 249 hits on google with spectacles+calvin+institutes] This aspect of the metaphor, the glasses are external to us, is designed to lead us to humility and gratitude. Second, if you wear glasses you will realize the essentialness of them. I am blind and very uncomfortable without my glasses except for computer work and reading. Even to listen to people seems to require my glasses, to see their lips moving and to assure myself that they are talking to me. The metaphor grows naturally out of the two books motif(Creation and Scripture) and furthermore extends the need to interpret both(Creation essentially is read by science, and Scripture by Christian theology, one with the physical eyes, the other with the eyes of faith).

first usage definition AFAIK-"as far as i know".
---

(Two sorts of knowledge of God in Scripture)
The course which God followed towards his Church from the very first, was to supplement these common proofs by the addition of his Word, as a surer and more direct means of discovering himself. And there can be no doubt that it was by this help, Adam, Noah, Abraham, and the other patriarchs, attained to that familiar knowledge which, in a manner, distinguished them from unbelievers. I am not now speaking of the peculiar doctrines of faith by which they were elevated to the hope of eternal blessedness. It was necessary, in passing from death unto life, that they should know God, not only as a Creator, but as a Redeemer also; and both kinds of knowledge they certainly did obtain from the Word. In point of order, however, the knowledge first given was that which made them acquainted with the God by whom the world was made and is governed. To this first knowledge was afterwards added the more intimate knowledge which alone quickens dead souls, and by which God is known not only as the Creator of the worlds and the sole author and disposer of all events, but also as a Redeemer, in the person of the Mediator. But as the fall and the corruption of nature have not yet been considered, I now postpone the consideration of the remedy, (for which, see Book 2 c. 6 &c.) Let the reader then remember, that I am not now treating of the covenant by which God adopted the children of Abraham, or of that branch of doctrine by which, as founded in Christ, believers have, properly speaking, been in all ages separated from the profane heathen. I am only showing that it is necessary to apply to Scripture, in order to learn the sure marks which distinguish God, as the Creator of the world, from the whole herd of fictitious gods. We shall afterward, in due course, consider the work of Redemption. In the meantime, though we shall adduce many passages from the New Testament, and some also from the Law and the Prophets, in which express mention is made of Christ, the only object will be to show that God, the Maker of the world, is manifested to us in Scripture, and his true character expounded, so as to save us from wandering up and down, as in a labyrinth, in search of some doubtful deity.

----notes:
it is here where i get the short statement that creation presents God as Creator but only in Scripture can we know Him as Redeemer, in the person of the Mediator. I would contend that this means that God's love is not apparent in creation, although Calvin in several earlier places states that God's mercy is known in creation. The big point about Scripture however is that only here is available the knowledge that quickens, that gives life. In the next lesson, Calvin talks about the goodness God shows us in creation and providence, this is not the same thing as showing His love for me in particular, something i can only know in Jesus' sacrifice being applied to my heart directly by the Spirit.

One of the strongest criticisms from the world directed at the Church is that of denominationalism. Calvin is continuing his exposition of Romans 1:18-25 and has his ancient Greek and Latin philosopher teachers in mind. Essentially if human beings are so smart, and these are the best of the brightest, why can't they agree? Rather each fashions for himself a different idol, a whole herd of fictitious gods. This is exactly the criticism of denominationalism turned back on the secular, for if we are so smart, and science is so powerful an investigator of the universe, then why can't the philosophers agree on anything?

----

from: http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson5_essay.html

 

[rmwilliamsll]

class went pretty good today. still 20 people or so. since it is an adult class people can vote with their feet and just not show up if i do badly....

one of my sons will help by scanning in the handouts.
all will appear on the bottom of the root page at:
http://dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson_plan.html

i'd love to hear what people think of the difference between eye and ear perceptions.
that is by default we trust our eyes and distrust our ears because we have learned that people lie to us with their words. our language shows this strongly and so does epistemology.....

 

[rmwilliamsll]

I guess i am doing ok. More people coming each week. People telling me after church how much they enjoy the material.

this week is dedicated to getting Book II, outlined and the 3 lessons setup. the next packet of 3 readings on book II is due end of next week. the lesson for this sunday is on book 1, chapters 14-18 but i'm going to concentrate on the mirror motif because of it's overall importance to Calvin.
the essay is taking shape at: http://dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/mirror.html

as always i really appreciate any help i can get.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

This is my heavy writing week as i produce the readings packet for the next 3 lessons, this time on Book II.

The book naturally divides into 3 pieces along the lines of:

BOOK II. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE REDEEMER IN CHRIST, FIRST DISCLOSED TO THE FATHERS UNDER THE LAW, AND THEN TO US IN THE GOSPEL.

lesson 7:

1. By the Fall and Revolt of Adam the Whole Human Race Was Delivered to the Curse, and Degenerated from Its Original Condition; the Doctrine of Original Sin.
2. Man Has Now Been Deprived of Freedom of Choice and Bound Over to Miserable Servitude.
3. Only Damnable Things Come Forth from Man's Corrupt Nature.
4. How God Works in Men's Hearts.
5. Refutation of the Objections Commonly Put Forward in Defense of Free Will.

titled something like: the fall leads to complete inability to will the good

lesson 8:

1. Fallen Man Ought to Seek Redemption in Christ.
2. The Law Was Given, Not to Restrain the Folk of the Old Covenant Under Itself, but to Foster Hope of Salvation in Christ Until His Coming.
3. Explanation of the Moral Law (the Ten Commandments).
4. Christ, Although He Was Known to the Jews Under the Law, Was at Length Clearly Revealed Only in the Gospel.
5. The Similarity of the Old and New Testaments.
6. The Difference Between the Two Testaments.

titled something like: the uses of the law

and

lesson 9:

1. Christ Had to Become Man in Order to Fulfill the Office of Mediator.
2. Christ Assumed the True Substance of Human Flesh.
3. How the Two Natures of the Mediator Make One Person.
4. To Know the Purpose for Which Christ Was Sent by the Father, and What He Conferred Upon Us, We Must Look Above All at Three Things in Him: the Prophetic Office, Kingship, and Priesthood.
5. How Christ Has Fulfilled the Function of Redeemer to Acquire Salvation for Us. Here, Also, His Death and Resurrection Are Discussed, as Well as His Ascent Into Heaven.
6. Christ Rightly and Properly Said to Have Merited God's Grace and Salvation for Us.

again titled something like: the nature of Christ as Mediator

i'm thinking of shortening the lessons from 20 pages to 12 or so. Instead of quoting whole sections of Calvin, to just quote a few paragraphs. People are not, apparently, on the whole reading the material. For someone who is interested Calvin is available after just a few clicks. The point ought to be to make everything as easy as possible to draw people into reading it.
So i'm going to write more and quote Calvin less in these three lessons.
Likewise i learned from this weekend that you can encourage participation, this by making a task obvious and letting people do it for themselves. Another good and useful lesson.

So anyone reading along with the lessons or reading Calvin, thanks for the online help.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

the Pastor told a joke a few weeks back when i started this study.

why do we have sunday school classes?
so at least one member of the congregation is reading their Bible during the week.

i just in this case the joke ought to be answered by:
so at least one person in the congregation is immersed in Calvin....*grin*

getting the 3rd packet of reading ready to be passed out Sunday.
really just a careful abridgement of Calvin, not trying to annotate it now.
i'll spend a week on each lesson later doing that. it is important just to get the 12 or so pages of Calvin institutes into everyone's hands ontime....

my reading list is taking shape at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...A/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/103-3140353-3140624

amazon is a really good place to store reading lists, you can get lots of help.


This is a work in process
the root page for the class is at:
www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson_plan.html

this is meant to be a way to share reading lists
i will try to annotate this list when i have time, getting the reading done is most important, keeping the list here avoids the time and expense of tracking down duplications.

The Protestant Tradition J.S. Whale
'The Protestant tradition; an essay in interpretation'

Calvin, and Introduction to His Thought, T.H.L. Parker
'Calvin: An Introduction to His Thought (Outstanding Christian Thinkers)'

Two Reformations, Oberman
'The Two Reformations: The Journey from the Last Days to the New World'

Calvin's Institutes
'Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion'

Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals, Balke, Willem
'Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals'

Against the Protestant Gnostics, Phillip Lee
'Against the Protestant Gnostics'

The Theology of Calvin, Wilhelm Niessel
'The Theology of Calvin'

Calvin, Geneva, and the Reformation, Wallace
'Calvin, Geneva and the Reformation'

Abraham Kuyer, A Centennial Reader, James Bratt
Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, John Frame
Letters of John Calvin,
Return to Reason, Clark

Articles on Calvin and Calvinism, vol 4=influences upon calvin and discussion of the 1559 institutes, vol 7=organizational structure of calvin's theology, Gamble
Institutes of the Christian religion, edition 1536 Battles, trans
A life of Calvin, mcgrath
Calvin in Context, Steinmetz
living themes in the thought of john calvin, a bibliographical study; l.r.dekoster 1964,
one king, one faith; roelker
calvin, geneva and the reformation; wallace,ronald
what pure eyes could see calvin's doctrine of faith in its exegetical context; pitkin, barbara
the assurance of faith, zachman, randall
puritans and pragmatists, conkin paul

faith and reason from plato to plantinga an introduction to reformed epistemology; hoitenga
institutes of the christian religion, 1536 version, trans battle
a reading of calvin's institutes, reist
the reformation, hillerbrand ed
analysis of institutes of the christian religion, battles ford lewis
out of the flames, goldstone
john calvin's sermons of ephesians
ancient-future faith, webber
the doctrine of god, john frame
calvin and english calvinism to 1649, kendall
calvin, francois wendel
assurance of faith, beeke joel
faith and rationality, plantinga wolterstorff eds
interpreting calvin, f.l.battles
christ's churches, purely reformed; benedict
calvin and the rhetoric of piety, jones
theology of calvin, barth
the shape of sola scriptura, mathison
warranted christian belief, plantinga
return to reason, clark, kelly
the constructive revolutionary john calvin, fred graham
rationality and theistic belief, mcleod mark


as always i really appreciate the online help.
thanks

 

[rmwilliamsll]

I could use some experienced help on Calvin's notion of Adam before the fall.

it is clear that Calvin taught that Adam had some type of supernatural grace, some particular supernatural gifts prior to the fall. That these gifts where withdrawn in the fall and the natural man corrupted. This appears much like the R.C. doctrine of the superaddendum. Any quick references i could use online to get up to speed? google is failing me.....

i posted this on the RC board....
it will give a better view of my particular problem area.
thanks for the help....

Adam's supernatural gifts.

I am teaching a Sunday School class on Calvin's Institutes. this is the second time i've come to this forum, hat in hand, needed help with a particular piece of Roman Catholic doctrine. I'm returning because the first answer was exactly what i needed and i hope for such informed advice again.


I'm studying Adam's fall.
looking at the meaning of the term "supernatural gifts" or what i thought was called superaddendum. but i am completely unable to google with this.

i found:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03198a.htm
to be most useful. following many of the internal links this week.
but what i really could use is a presentation of the Roman Catholic doctrine of what Adam had before the fall and what we have after the fall.

i am particularly interested in looking at the ability of the will to freely choose. i've read enough natural theology to get an idea of the role of reason post-fall but i am hard pressed to see all the pieces of R.C. theology that Calvin did, and therefore have some large gaps in exactly what he was saying.....

so Adam's supernatural gifts before the fall, what were they?
thanks for the help.



posting under the rule:
Quote:





2) Those with disagreements or issues about Catholic faith and doctrine are asked to post respectfully and politely; you may "agree to disagree", but you may not disparage, denigrate, or libel Catholicism, nor may you post links to anti-Catholic sites, pictures, etc. Die-hard anti-Catholics are firmly asked to take such material elsewhere; this is a discussion forum, not a debate forum. Feel free to ask questions; but do not slam Catholics, Catholicism, or the Catholic Church.



therefore my sunday school link is not provided as per the rules.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

Next Sunday will be on the last few chapters of Book 2.
Does anyone know of good online sites discussing the Christology of the Institutes?

So far the class is holding it's own against the summer heat and vacations. I guess that means i am teaching ok??? finished lesson 8, i'm working on the readings for Book 3 now. 11 weeks and it is a full time job....wow. reading at least 6 hours per day on books and unknown amount online. Sure hope a few of the reformed brethren here are at least glancing at the notes.

thanks.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

This is the week i abstract out 12 pages or so from Institutes to form the weekly reading. It's a big job and takes most of the week, leaving little time for supplementary reading.

So the next reading packet to be passed out Sunday is on Book III.
Calvin's definition of faith is:

"I will praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and thy truth," (Ps. 138: 2.) I need not quote what is said in the Prophets, to the effect that God is merciful and faithful in his promises. It were presumptuous in us to hold that God is propitious to us, had we not his own testimony, and did he not prevent us by his invitation, which leaves no doubt or uncertainty as to his will. It has already been seen that Christ is the only pledge of love, for without him all things, both above and below speak of hatred and wrath. We have also seen, that since the knowledge of the divine goodness cannot be of much importance unless it leads us to confide in it, we must exclude a knowledge mingled with doubt, - a knowledge which, so far from being firm, is continually wavering. But the human mind, when blinded and darkened, is very far from being able to rise to a proper knowledge of the divine will; nor can the heart, fluctuating with perpetual doubt, rest secure in such knowledge. Hence, in order that the word of God may gain full credit, the mind must be enlightened, and the heart confirmed, from some other quarter. We shall now have a full definition of faith, if we say that it is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit.

from: II.2.7

At this point i intend to divide the book into 4 parts, we have 9 classes left to cover books 3,4:
lesson 10-definition of faith, Calvin against implicit faith and the role of knowledge and reason in the process of faith, and intro to Ordo Salutis (The Order of Salvation) see: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/ordosalutis.html
so that is chapters 1-3
put the important readings from 19, 20, 25 here as we dont have the time to look at them directly.

lesson 11. skipping all the issues directed at the RCC- confession, purgatory, indulgences with just a few words, then look carefully at the things Calvin says about the material life in chapter 10, introduce the Tawney-Weber theory as a way the world badly distorts Calvin, Using this relationship to the material world look back to chapters 6-9.
so we will skip 4,5 and study 10,6-9 in the light of modern sociological misinterpretations of it.
The big issue is Calvin's role as an exile pastor to an exile community.
N.B. read Calvin's commentary on Psalms 137 again, try to get it into the readings. (http://www.biblestudyguide.org/comment/calvin/comm_vol12/htm/xxi.htm)

lesson 12 will be on justification by faith, chapters 11-18

lesson 13 will concentrate on chapters 21-24 the doctrine of election since that is 1-the distinctive in most people's minds about Calvin, 2-the most misunderstood issue in book III.

the big problem is what to do, and how to work in assurance of faith. There is no chapters assigned to the topic, but rather it forms an underlying theme, from the very definition of faith onwards. So i will do a 5th class on assurance of faith, and get the pieces of the puzzle and my supplementary readings into a single packet for it.


the natural division of the book is into:
faith
1-The Things Spoken Concerning Christ Profit Us by the Secret Working of the Spirit.
2- Faith: Its Definition Set Forth, and Its Properties Explained.
3- Our Regeneration by Faith: Repentance.
contra Roman Catholic distinctives
4- How Far from the Purity of the Gospel Is All That the Sophists in Their Schools Prate About Repentance; Discussion of Confession and Satisfaction.
5- The Supplements That They Add to Satisfactions, Namely, Indulgences and Purgatory.
our physical life in the body, what to expect from God and why
6- The Life of the Christian Man; and First, by What Arguments Scripture Urges Us to It.
7- The Sum of the Christian Life: The Denial of Ourselves.
8- Bearing the Cross, a Part of Self-denial.
9- Meditation on the Future Life.
10- How We Must Use the Present Life and Its Helps.

Justification by Faith
11- Justification by Faith: First the Definition of the Word and of the Matter.
12- We Must Lift Up Our Minds to God's Judgment Seat that We May Be Firmly Convinced of His Free Justification.
13- Two Things to Be Noted in Free Justification.
14= The Beginning of Justification and Its Continual Progress.
15- Boasting About the Merits of Works Destroys Our Praise of God for Having Bestowed Righteousness, as Well as Our Assurance of Salvation.
16- Refutation of the False Accusations by Which the Papists Try to Cast Odium Upon This Doctrine.
17- The Agreement of the Promises of the Law and of the Gospel.
18-Works Righteousness Is Wrongly Inferred from Reward.

19- Christian Freedom.
20-Prayer, Which is the Chief Exercise of Faith, and by Which We Daily Receive God's Benefits.

election and predestination
21- Eternal Election, by Which God Has Predestined Some to Salvation, Others to Destruction.
22- Confirmation of This Doctrine from Scriptural Testimonies.
23- Refutation of the False Accusations with Which This Doctrine Has Always Been Unjustly Burdened.
24 Election Is Confirmed by God's Call; Moreover, the Wicked Bring Upon Themselves the Just Destruction to Which They Are Destined.

25- The Final Resurrection.


as always, everything is available off of the root page at:
http://dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson_plan.html

i appreciate any and all help i can get in this project.
thanks.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

I got lessons 10 and 11 done for tomorrow's class.
http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson10_essay.html
Faith and the spiritual relationship towards the material world

http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson11_essay.html
Justification by Faith alone and not by works

next week i'll have to finish lesson 12 which will be on prayer and election.
and then tackle assurance of faith as lesson 13, which promises to be the toughest lesson yet.

but they still ask me back. and discussed the possibility of teaching again next summer. nice. i guess that means i am doing ok.

i hope someone online is reading the lessons, there is a lot of value in Calvin for today's theologically challenged church.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

is anyone aware of a good chart comparing various interpretations of 'justification by faith?' and the ordo salutis?

something like a big expansion of:
Question

Could you please provide a listing and explanation of how the major denominations view the order of salvation?
at: http://www.thirdmill.org/qath_answer.asp?file=99834.qna