Myth About John Calvin?

[Calminaion]

I've heard various rumors about John Calvin, but I'm not sure how much of it is true. Any resources I can read (mostly biographical) about John Calvin?

I've heard similar rumors about Martin Luther, in regards to their personal views toward certain people. Please point me to sources about John, if you could.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

there is a lot online about Calvin.
i did a sunday school class on Institutes and have continued to collect links and information on those webpages.

the root is at:
http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson_plan.html

the short introduction to his life is at:
http://www.dakotacom.net/~rmwillia/lesson2_essay.html
collecting links at the bottom of this and at the bottom of the root page.

if you have a specific question or find more links that i missed please post them here and i will get them into my notes...thanks.

 

[GrinningDwarf]

Try this for Calvin:

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/calvin.html

Try this for Luther:

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/luther.html

What rumors are you referring to?

 

[Calminaion]

Try this for Calvin:

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/calvin.html

Try this for Luther:

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/luther.html

What rumors are you referring to?

Thank you gentlemen for the resources; keep them coming!

I'm referring mainly to rumors that both Calvin and Luther were anti-Semitic, and blamed the Jews for Christ's death. I'm not so concerned with the latter as I am the general idea of the former. That is to say, I'm more concerned that Luther or Calvin may have been generally anti-Jewish and less concerned that they might have blamed the Jews for Christ's death.

 

[GrinningDwarf]

Thank you gentlemen for the resources; keep them coming!

I'm referring mainly to rumors that both Calvin and Luther were anti-Semitic, and blamed the Jews for Christ's death. I'm not so concerned with the latter as I am the general idea of the former. That is to say, I'm more concerned that Luther or Calvin may have been generally anti-Jewish and less concerned that they might have blamed the Jews for Christ's death.

This is from the very bottom of that monergism page on Calvin (It actually goes on to include other Reformed views of the Jews):

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]<B>

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]John Calvin's Comment about the Jews

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"...as Jews are the firstborn, what the Prophet declares must be fulfilled, especially in them: for that scripture calls all the people of God Israelites, it is to be ascribed to the preeminence of that nation, who God had preferred to all other nations...God distinctly claims for himself a certain seed, so that his redemption may be effectual in his elect and peculiar nation...God was not unmindful of the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and by which he testified that according to his eternal purpose he loved that nation: and this he confirms by this remarkable declaration, that the grace of the divine calling cannot be made void."

- Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. XIX, Epistle to the Romans

[/FONT]
In the Calvinistic Netherlands... all those who were persecuted for religion's sake, found a harbor of refuge. There the Jews were hospitably received; there the Lutherans were in honor there the Mennonites flourished; and even the Arminians and Roman Catholics were permitted the free exercise of their religion at home and in secluded churches. The independents, driven from England, have found a resting place in the Calvinistic Netherlands; and from this same country the Mayflower sailed forth to transport the Pilgrim Fathers to their new fatherland.
- Abraham Kuyper

Unlike Dispensationalism, Reformed (Covenant) Theology considers the seed of Abraham, the Israelites, to be part of the body of Christ. The Church did not replace Israel but organically springs out of the same root. God, from eternity, had merely planned, in the fullness of time, to expand His purpose, through Christ, to include other nations as well. All the spiritual seed of Abraham, Jew or Gentile are now one in Christ. Gentiles are a wild olive, grafted in among the Jews, the natural branches. Jesus "has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility." Eph 2:12-14

"This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
- Eph 3:6
​

We have a great affection for the Jews and any differences we have with modern day religious Jews, as with anyone else, is purely theological.
See this article >>>. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Not Replacement...Expansion! By Rev. Fred Klett[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

</B>[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[rmwilliamsll]

Thank you gentlemen for the resources; keep them coming!

I'm referring mainly to rumors that both Calvin and Luther were anti-Semitic, and blamed the Jews for Christ's death. I'm not so concerned with the latter as I am the general idea of the former. That is to say, I'm more concerned that Luther or Calvin may have been generally anti-Jewish and less concerned that they might have blamed the Jews for Christ's death.

i personally have never read anything anti-Semitic in Calvin.
He certainly was rather nasty to the radical reformation, for instance, Servetus and some of the early Anabaptists, but i don't remember anything like this directed at the Jews.

Luther is another story. He apparently expected the Jews to convert emasse to the Reformation and was very disappointed that they did not. After about 1537 he gets nasty and mean spirited towards them and their failure to embrace Lutheran theology.

you can google Institutes and the word Jews/Jew and see every occurence via
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...m+"institutes+of+the+christian+religion"+jews

 

[UMP]

Thank you gentlemen for the resources; keep them coming!

I'm referring mainly to rumors that both Calvin and Luther were anti-Semitic, and blamed the Jews for Christ's death. I'm not so concerned with the latter as I am the general idea of the former. That is to say, I'm more concerned that Luther or Calvin may have been generally anti-Jewish and less concerned that they might have blamed the Jews for Christ's death.

What's a "Calminaion" ?

 

[Paleoconservatarian]

Our old friend James Swan (Tertiumquid) likes to write about Luther myths and accusations on his blog. He's also got some material on Calvin.

 

[heymikey80]

My understanding is that Calvin got plenty of flak for allowing Jewish people to work and thrive in Geneva. It wasn't the freedoms all religions enjoy now 400 years later in many open societies. But it was dramatically better than other Protestant nations in the early days of the Reformation. Catholic countries were under Inquisitional and counter-Reformational purges, so it was simply far better than them. To my understanding many Jewish people migrated to Geneva, even with its restraints on their religious practices, because they would not be imprisoned, tortured, or killed for their religion.

Remember, this is a time when religion was the foundation for royal powers, just out of the middle ages. So it's not our freewheeling modern "throw out everything" approach to authority. Based on that point in the historical timeline Calvin's Geneva has plenty to commend it.

I got this impression from a book called "Calvin and His Religious Thought", as well as a historical preface to the first edition of the Institutes I read years ago.