Slide 1

Calvin The European World

Slide 2

Recap: Luther & Zwingli split on the issues of: The presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The legality (or not) of images. Protestantism diverged into Lutheran & Reformed traditions. A Swiss rather than a German event? 1525 Zwingli could have been the man we remember.

Slide 3

Captain Grumpy to the rescue: Many suggest that Calvin saved Protestantism after Luther died/ remaining Lutherans split between Melanchthon and others/ Zwinglis Zurich blocked from expanding by surrounding cantons.

Slide 4

The Majesty of God: Our wisdom..consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.. man never attains true self- knowledge until he has contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.

Slide 5

The miserable ruin into which the revolt of the first man [Adam & Eve] has plunged us, compels us to turn our eyes upwards [where].being aroused by fear may learn humility. For as there exists in man something like a world of misery, and ever since we were stript of the divine attire our naked shame discloses an immense series of disgraceful properties every man, being stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness, in this way necessarily obtains at least some knowledge of God. Thus, our feeling of ignorance, vanity, want, weakness, in short, total depravity and corruption, reminds us that in the Lord, and none but He, dwell the true light of wisdom, solid virtue, exuberant goodness.

Slide 6

Hence that dread and amazement with which holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God. When we see those who previously stood firm and secure so quaking with terror, that the fear of death takes hold of them, nay, they are, in a manner, swallowed up and annihilated, the inference to be drawn is that men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God

Slide 7

Three pre-requisites to understanding Calvin: 1) Humanity is fundamentally unworthy of God: Augustine lump of perdition That God is prepared to save ANY person is a remarkable testament to his mercy. 2) God is all knowing and all powerful: Humans are not capable of understanding HIM Attempts to do so partial, limit His majesty and therefore insult HIM. Images = idolatry. 3) Salvation is predestined human will is constrained and powerless to help: Idea that human action have any merit with God offensive to Him. Catholic rituals, mediating Grace, not just unscriptural but anti-Christian To suggest that people can work towards salvation through their own merits insults Christ Implies that his death on the Cross was not enough.

Slide 8

Why is Calvinism important? 1) Catholicism was resurgent: Counter Reformation well under way. 2) Luther dead in 1546: Lutheran movement splits. 3) More transportable than Lutheranism more akin to a bottom up Reformation. Exist independently of the state. Practical and coherent statement of belief/ Church structure to help Protestantism flourish into fully-fledged Churches.

Slide 9

Lecture Structure: John Calvin The Genevan Reformation International Calvinsim Calvinism or The Reformed? Calvin & Beyond

Slide 10

John Calvin

Slide 11

Initial difficulties: Hostility within Geneva, riddled with factions. 1536 invited to join French preacher Guillaume Farel Expelled in 1538. Strasbourg with Martin Bucer. Invited back by the city council during 1541 Hostility to foreign pastors remained: But huge numbers of French refugees arrive in the 1540s doubling Genevas population - assured Calvins ascendency by the mid-1550s. John Calvin: What marked Calvin out from Luther was his education in theology AND law. Rhetorical and analytical skills which later put to good use in sermons/ and formation of Church structure. Statements on theology and structure precise and systematic. Helped with the dissemination to other areas & becoming most successful form of Protestantism.

Slide 12

Differences from Luther: Double Predestination Salvation for elect ; Damnation for reprobate. No way of knowing. Problem: was this not dangerously close to making God the author of evil in the world? If predestined to salvation and reprobation, was not God a tyrant and an author of sin? Other Protestants like Philip Melanchthon concerned that double predestination was very close to pagan heresies like Stoicism and Manichaeism

Slide 13

Slide 14

Double Predestination For Calvin, predestination tied to the all- embracing providence of God in every aspect of human life and experience. Why, after two decades, had the Reformation not swept all before it? God had surely planned it that way? God had given a model for how he chose His people in the Old Testament relationship with Israel.

Slide 15

Calvin looked at Israel and drew a different conclusion: Israel = OT equivalent of the True Church. Had been covenanted (joined with God). Everyone in Israel Elect general Election. But not all of them followed Gods commandments. Some had clearly been rejected by God. Because OT Church of God mixed, so would NT. Double Predestination: Israel helped Calvin to develop his view of the Church. Radicals - a state sponsored Church could not possibly be a True Church because gathered Elect and Reprobate.

Slide 16

Differences with Luther Sacraments & Ecclesiology: Sacraments: Sacraments : only two Baptism and Eucharist. Receptionist view of the Eucharist. Christ present in the Elect. Not dependent upon the power of the Priest to change matter. Ecclesiology: Ecclesiology: More concerned with structures than Luther Emphasis on sanctification of the Elect. Process of becoming a saint. Regular access to and consideration of Gods word Almost daily sermons Demanding for laity but could be seen as rewarding. Part of the covenant with God although actions/good works not actually earn salvation, duty bound to perform them. Unlike Luther, prepared to countenance limited right of resistance.

Slide 17

Calvin & the Genevan Reformation

Slide 18

Calvin & the Genevan Reformation: Small city state reformed by Calvin and Guillaume Farel 1536. Calvin wrestled for control of the Church with the city authorities. Ecclesiastical Ordinances (1541) written in response to state encroachment: Created decision-making and disciplinary bodies for the Genevan Church A hierarchy of authorities alongside those of the city. Practical application of Luthers Two Kingdoms: Protect Church freedom from misguided rulers. Not appropriate for the Church to exercise worldly government Or for secular princes to rule the Church.

Slide 19

New Testament indicated four functions of ministry: Pastors General ministry. Doctors Teaching from pastoral to university level. Elders Disciplinary work of the Church. i.e. policing moral behaviour. Deacons Communal charity. Christs love in action. Church Structure: Essentially borrowed from Martin Bucer in Strassbourg: Bucer had been prevented from implementing the model by the city council there. Cerebral religion? Also a faith in which everyday activities were intimately connected with acts of Christian worship. Elders, pastors, doctors meet in a city- wide committee the Consistory. Not a court like a secular court. Rather, advise and guide people in broken relationships, whether neighbourly or in marriage.

Slide 20

The Consistory:

Slide 21

Why was Calvin successful? Context is all: Changing dynamic of Geneva. Upsurge of immigration: 1540-1594 not a single Genevan minister actually from Geneva. Sense of Gods chosen. Sturdy self-confidence in Calvins form of Church structure. Calvins Church hierarchy stood in parallel to the civic hierarchy: Council of 24 (major officers): Genevans only. Councils of 60 and 100: Open to non-Genevans. Less powerful officers open to bourgeois, who could be non- natives Role within the Church afforded immigrant habitants who had no civil rights a place in the city. Two kingdoms in practice: Civil government headed by a small elite of native-born Genevans. Church was headed by a small exiled group of Frenchmen : Supported by godly refugees. KEY POINT : this was oddly Catholic a ministry separate from the state, ministering to all of the population, and taking the moral authority to criticise both.

Slide 22

Michael Servetus trial 1553 : Denied the Trinity perpetually on the run. Arrested by the Inquisition in Lyon. Proof of his guilt was in Calvins filing cabinet! Although he denied it, this proof sound found its way to Lyon Servetus escaped ran to Geneva, stumbles into the Church where Calvin was preaching. Calvin wanted a merciful death for Severtus : Eventually succumbed to burning after sounding out leading Protestant figures. Strassbourg Protestants unimpressed, Accused Geneva of proclaiming its good news with flames . Basel authorities used Servetus as a model for why tolerance should rule over persecution. Opposition: Long struggle with internal opposition: Excommunication Consistory; or civil authorities? Protestants Protestants, not Catholics - Reform should not have turned out this way Before Calvin, Geneva had resented being lorded over by a tyrannous Bishop: Calvin was looking remarkably similar to some. Even control naming of children biblical names only!

Slide 23

The Voice of Protestantism: By taking charge of case against Servetus Calvin showed himself not to be one reformer among many, but the voice of Reformed Protestantism.

Slide 24

International Calvinism

Slide 25

International Calvinism: Spread of Calvinism : Most exportable form of Protestantism. Why? Because it did not require the good-will of the political authorities. Often built on a pre- existing Lutheran base. Reversed the chronology of the early Reformation: Lutheran Reformation: 1520s-1530s communities decide to embrace the Reformation message. Details of liturgy, confessions and church structure worked out afterwards. Calvinism, IKEA Protestantism: Ideal-type model of reformed Christianity was available to be flat-packed into any region.

Slide 26

Varieties of Reform: Not inevitably a Reformation from below/ or a revolution. Scotland: 1560: nobles-led revolt against ecclesiastical authorities and French queen-regent. Resulting national Church strengthened rather than weakened the realms integrity France the polar-opposite: Protestant revolt against the Valois monarchy Intermittent religious civil war 1562-1598. 1555 -> Genevan missionaries active in Alpine Valleys: Initial dissent from Catholic Church soon turned into public worship. Duke of Savoy unable to over-power: peace in 1561. System of individual congregations, provincial and national synods. Opt-in principle of gathered church. Destabilised authority Rent communities in two. Netherlands: Reformation meshed with noble complaints about Habsburg rule aspire to be free of dominion status. Revolt under the house of Orange-Nassau in 1566 decades of bloody warfare. Here although a minority Protestants became a voice of a nascent Netherlandish national sentiment. Reluctance to give up gathered status even after victory in war of independence from Spain. Eastern Europe: Poland, Hungary, Romania Calvinism thrives in religious patchwork (appeal to anti-German nobles). Germany: Calvinist second reformation, Heidelberg after conversion of Elector Frederick III 1563.

Slide 27

Calvinism or The Reformed?

Slide 28

Calvinsim or The Reformed? Geneva : a Protestant Rome? Refugees : from 1550s: England, France, Netherlands, Italy. Melting pot : share ideas, gather resources, consolation: Intellectual/logistical centre by proxy. Inspiring Calvin has a degree of moral ascendency that other Reformers struggled to achieve. Moral discipline Excommunication

Slide 29

John Knox : The most perfect school of Christ that ever was since the days of the Apostles.

Slide 30

Geneva monument:

Slide 31

Calvinism or The Reformed? Geneva crucial for French Reformation: Production of books : Intense examination of Gods word. Genevan Bible Robert Estienne former official printer of King of France fled in 1551. 189 sermons on Book of Acts between 1549-1554. 174 on Ezekiel between 1552- 1554 200 on Deuteronomy between 1555-6. Reception of refugees : Missionary pastors : A base for missionaries From 1559, Academy school and a seminar. Condemnation of Nicodemism: 1540s French Calvinists hesitate on the side-lines of the Reformation Lived as token Catholics and waiting for things to improve. Calvin dishonest and offensive to Christ. Supping with the devil in the hope of safety. Alternatives: EXILE, or to set up reformed worship (even in a hostile state) and face the consequences. Distinct from Luther in this regard: Luther had discouraged initiatives by private individuals to found private Churches (respect for authority/law)

Slide 32

Calvin little direct control Flexibility/adaptability key to Calvinisms success: Finds itself in very different environments. England: Calvinist theology and Catholic ecclesiology Church of England Tensions with Puritans who cried popery. Varieties of Reformation: Movement a problematic term: Churches had national or local characteristics. D ecentralised and unofficial connections Not run from Geneva. Unified by core doctrinal tenets and ideology : Their Reformation was complete Lutheran one was incomplete. Internationalist Lutheran provincial interests Calvinsim a cause. Mark of a True Church vigorous ecclesiastical discipline

Slide 33

Social Discipline: If actions of no benefit to salvation why bother? Covenant theology: Gods wrath. Providence. Types of behaviour dancing, drinking, work on Sundays, swearing, fornication: Policed in the consistory. Was this against the will of the people?

Slide 34

Shame & Sanctification: Repentance stool, St. Andrews Holy Trinity Church. Edinburgh, Grey Friars.

Slide 35

Calvin & Beyond: Hard to overstate importance of Calvin to the Reformed movement. But not static/fixed: Evolved after his death (1564). Theodore Beza evolved pastoral elements. Zurich under Bullinger remained crucial. Legacy stretched into the next century Exported to North America.

Slide 36

Concluding points: Key points: Survival of Protestantism after Lutheran Church stalled. Spread across Europe because no need for state help. Coherence/ form to Church.