Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
The ‘Emergent’ Calvin
The ‘Emergent’ Calvin
Oct 3, 2024 11:17 PM

In the prefatory address to King Francis in Calvin’s 1535 edition of the Institutes, Calvin cites Hilary of Poitiers approvingly:

Indeed, Hilary considered it a great vice in his day that, being occupied with foolish reverence for the episcopal dignity, men did not realize what a deadly hydra lurked under such a mask. For he speaks in this way: “One thing I admonish you, beware of Antichrist. It is wrong that a love of walls has seized you; wrong that you venerate the church of God in roofs and buildings; wrong that beneath these you introduce the name of peace. Is there any doubt that Antichrist will have his seat in them? To my mind, mountains, woods, lakes, prisons, and chasms are safer. For, either abiding in or cast into them, the prophets prophesied.”

Augustine too had railed against the emphasis on station and authority rather than service, as he writes that “a bishop who takes delight in ruling rather than in doing good is no true bishop” (City of God, 19.19).

But lest you think that Calvin (or Hilary or Augustine, for that matter), were the sort to emphasize works at the expense of doctrine, consider this description of the relationship between doctrine and love from Calvin: “We have given the first place to the doctrine in which our religion is contained, since our salvation begins with it. But it must enter our heart and pass into our daily living, and so transform us into itself that it may not be unfruitful for us” (Institutes III.vi.4).

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Asking the Right Question about Poverty
Writing for a special New York Times section on giving, Alina Tugend looks at the knotty problem of how best to help those in need. She digs into things like the economics behind food pantries and how relief donations to those devastated by natural disasters often wind up making things worse. For her story, Tugend interviewed Michael Matheson Miller, Acton research fellow and producer of the new documentary Poverty Inc. “Look seriously into yourself,” said Michael Matheson Miller, director and...
3 questions to counter arguments from the economic left
Overthe past few decades, economist Thomas Sowell has been one of the most effective, yet under-appreciated, proponents of conservative and libertarian economic thought. He is also one of our most powerful critics of the often destructive and harmful effects of liberal economic policies. Sowell frames the differences between the left and the right as a “conflict of visions”, a political divide separated by “constrained” and “unconstrained” visions. As Wikipedia helpfully summarizes this view: The Unconstrained Vision — Sowell argues that...
Over-Educated and Under-Trained: Mike Rowe on the Need for Philosophizing Welders
Marco Rubio has inspiredplenty of chin-stroking over his recent remarks about welders earning more than philosophers. “We need more welders and less philosophers,” he concludedin a recent debate. The fact-checkers proceeded to fact-check, withmany quickly declaring falsehood (e.g. 1, 2). Yet the series of subsequent quibbles over who actually makes how much continue toside-step the bigger issue. Thoughthe liberal arts are indeed important and ought not be viewed simplyin terms of “vocational training,” mainstream American culture is certainly fond of...
Arthur C. Clarke’s Inhuman Trade-Off in ‘Childhood’s End’
The fears of the past resonate in the present, and it’s no wonder humanity sometimes grasps desperately for answers in response to a frightening and unknowable future. Sometimes these e to us through literature and film which may allow us to dispense with the worst of them, given enough time. The Overlords of Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End – a classic 1953 science-fiction novel that serves as the basis for a Syfy network miniseries beginning Dec. 14 – turn out...
Why Don’t Christian Victims of Islamic State Qualify As Victims of Genocide?
The Obama administration is moving to designate the Islamic State’s persecution of the Yazidi in Iraq an act of “genocide.” For the past few years the Yazidi, a tiny religious minority in the Kurdish region of the country, have been forced to flee the killings, rapes, and enslavement by Islamic State (the terrorist group formerly known as ISIS). There is no doubt that what is happening to the Yazidi should be considered genocide. But what about the Christians who are...
Acton Institute’s ‘Poverty Inc.’ Wins Templeton Freedom Award
Poverty Inc., the new documentary that has grown out of the Acton Institute’s PovertyCure initiative, was awarded Atlas Network’s Templeton Freedom Award at an event last night in New York. Brad Lips, chief executive of the Washington-based Atlas Network, which administers the award, said the documentary is “without question” worth the attention it is receiving. “Shining a light on an fortable side of charity — where a paternalistic mindset puts the aid industry at the center of efforts to rescue...
Sisters of St. Dominic Rap ExxonMobil’s Knuckles
Religious shareholder activists egging on a federal investigation of ExxonMobil include the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, which counts the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey, among its faith-based members. The narrative promulgated by the activists is that the energy giant conducted climate-change research and buried the results when the data inconveniently proved burning fossil fuels was a major contributor. All this might be a tempest in a teapot if not for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pressing U.S....
Registration for Acton University 2016 is now open
Acton University 2015 Attendees We are now 211 days from the opening day of Acton University 2016! University.Acton.org is updated, full of brand new information, and ready to go for next year’s conference, held at The De Vos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 14-17, 2016. Registration will be open from today until May 20, 2016 at Midnight EST. That sounds like a lot of time, but don’t delay! We are offering two price points this year: $500...
Beyond Humanitarianism: Michael Mattheson Miller on the Goal of Human Flourishing
In a recent episode of EconTalk, Russell Roberts chats with Acton Institute’s Michael Mattheson Miller about Poverty, Inc., the award-winning documentary on the challenges of poverty alleviation in the developing world. The entireconversation is rich and varied, ranging from the ill effects of Western do-gooderism to the dignity of work to the need for institutions of justice. You can listen to the whole thing below: Later in the episode, Miller discusses the need for us to reach beyond mere humanitarianism...
Explainer: What You Should Know About the Latest Contraceptive Mandate Challenge
The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a challenge from religious nonprofit groups to federal government’s contraceptive mandate. Here are some answers to questions you may have about that case. What is this case and what’s it about? The case the Supreme Court will hear, Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. bines seven challenges to the Health and Human Services’ (HHS) contraceptive mandate. To fulfill the requirements of the Affordable Healthcare Act (aka ObamaCare) the federal...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved