CalvinisminHistory

byLoraineBoettner

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Chapter1-BeforetheReformation

Chapter2-TheReformation

Chapter3-CalvinisminEngland

Chapter4-CalvinisminScotland

Chapter5-CalvinisminFrance

Chapter6-CalvinisminHolland

Chapter7-CalvinisminAmerica

Chapter8-CalvinismandRepresentativeGovernment

Chapter9-CalvinismandEducation

Chapter10-JohnCalvin

Chapter11-Conclusion

BeforetheReformation

It may occasion some surprise to discover that the doctrine ofPredestinationwasnotmadeamatterofspecialstudyuntilneartheendofthefourthcentury.Theearlierchurchfathersplacedchiefemphasisongoodworkssuchasfaith,repentance,almsgiving,prayers,submissiontobaptism, etc., as the basis of salvation. They of course taught that

salvationwasthroughChrist;yettheyassumedthatmanhadfullpowertoacceptorrejectthegospel.Someoftheirwritingscontainpassagesinwhich the sovereignty ofGod is recognized; yet along side of those areotherswhich teach the absolute freedomof the humanwill. Since theycould not reconcile the two they would have denied the doctrine ofPredestination and perhaps also that ofGod's absolute Foreknowledge.They taught a kind of synergism in which there was a co-operationbetweengraceandfreewill.Itwashardformantogiveuptheideathathecouldworkouthisownsalvation.Butatlast,asaresultofalong,slowprocess,hecametothegreattruththatsalvationisasovereigngiftwhichhasbeenbestowedirrespectiveofmerit;thatitwasfixedineternity;andthat God is the author in all of its stages. This cardinal truth ofChristianity was first clearly seen by Augustine, the great Spirit-filledtheologian of theWest. In his doctrines of sin and grace, he went farbeyondtheearliertheologians,taughtanunconditionalelectionofgrace,and restricted the purposes of redemption to the definite circle of theelect.ItwillnotbedeniedbyanyoneacquaintedwithChurchHistorythatAugustinewasaneminentlygreatandgoodman,andthathislaborsandwritings contributedmore to the promotion of sound doctrine and therevivaloftruereligionthandidthoseofanyothermanbetweenPaulandLuther.

PriortoAugustine'sdaythetimehadbeenlargelytakenupincorrectingheresieswithintheChurchandinrefutingattacksfromthepaganworldinwhichitfounditself.Consequentlybutlittleemphasishadbeenplacedon the systematic development of doctrine. And that the doctrine ofPredestination received such little attention in this age was no doubtpartly due to the tendency to confuse it with the Pagan doctrine ofFatalismwhichwassoprevalent throughout theRomanEmpire.But inthe fourth century amore settled time had been reached, a new era intheologyhaddawned,andthetheologianscametoplacemoreemphasisonthedoctrinalcontentof theirmessage.Augustinewas led todevelophisdoctrinesofsinandgracepartlythroughhisownpersonalexperienceinbeingconvertedtoChristianityfromaworldlylife,andpartlythroughthenecessityofrefutingtheteachingofPelagius,whotaughtthatmaninhis natural state had full ability to work out his own salvation, thatAdam's fall had but little effect on the race except that it set a bad

examplewhichisperpetuated,thatChrist'slifeisofvaluetomenmainlybywayofexample,thatinHisdeathChristwaslittlemorethanthefirstChristianmartyr, and that we are not under any special providence ofGod. Against these views Augustine developed the very opposite. Hetaught that the whole race fell in Adam, that all men by nature aredepravedandspirituallydead,thatthewillisfreetosinbutnotfreetodogood toward God, that Christ suffered vicariously for His people, thatGod elects whom He will irrespective of their merits, and that savinggrace is efficaciously applied to the elect by the Holy Spirit. He thusbecame the first true interpreterofPaulandwas successful in securingtheacceptanceofhisdoctrinebytheChurch.

FollowingAugustinetherewasretrogressionratherthanprogress.Cloudsof ignorance blinded the people. The Church became more and moreritualisticandsalvationwasthoughttobethrough theexternalChurch.Thesystemofmeritgrewuntilitreacheditsclimaxinthe'indulgences.'Thepapacycametoexertgreatpower,politicalaswellasecclesiastical,and throughoutCatholicEurope the state ofmorals came to be almostintolerable.Even thepriesthoodbecamedesperately corrupt and in thewholecatalogueofhumansinsandvicesnonearemorecorruptormoreoffensive thanthosewhichsoiled the livesofsuchpopesasJohnXXIIIandAlexanderVI.

FromthetimeofAugustineuntilthetimeoftheReformationvery littleemphasiswasplacedonthedoctrineofPredestination.Weshallmentiononly twonames from thisperiod:Gottschalk,whowas imprisoned andcondemnedforteachingPredestination;andWycliffe,'TheMorningStaroftheReformation,'wholivedinEngland.WycliffewasareformeroftheCalvinistic type, proclaiming the absolute sovereignty of God and theForeordinationofallthings.HissystemofbeliefwasverysimilartothatwhichwaslatertaughtbyLutherandCalvin.TheWaldensiansalsomightbementionedfortheywereinasense'Calvinists'beforetheReformation,oneoftheirtenetsbeingthatofPredestination.

TheReformation

TheReformationwasessentiallyarevivalofAugustinianismandthroughitevangelicalChristianityagaincameintoitsown.Itistoberememberedthat Luther, the first leader in the Reformation, was an Augustinianmonkandthatitwasfromthisrigoroustheologythatheformulatedhisgreatprincipleofjustificationbyfaithalone.Luther,Calvin,Zwingliandall the other outstanding reformers of that periodwere thorough-goingpredestinarians.Inhiswork,'TheBondageoftheWill,'Lutherstatedthedoctrineasemphaticallyandinaformquiteasextremeascanbefoundamong any of the reformed theologians. Melanchthon in his earlierwritings designated the principle of Predestination as the fundamentalprinciple of Christianity. He latermodified this position, however, andbroughtinakindof'synergism'inwhichGodandmanweresupposedtoco-operate in the process of salvation. The position taken by the earlyLutheran Church was gradually modified. Later Lutherans let go thedoctrinealtogether,denounceditinitsCalvinisticform,andcametoholda doctrine of universal grace and universal atonement, which doctrinehas since become the accepted doctrine of the Lutheran Church. InregardtothisdoctrineLuther'spositionintheLutheranChurchissimilarto that of Augustine in the Roman Catholic Church, — that is, he is aheretic of such unimpeachable authority that he ismore admired thancensured.

ToagreatextentCalvinbuiltuponthefoundationwhichLutherlaid.Hisclearer insight into thebasicprinciplesof theReformationenabledhimtoworkthemoutmorefullyandtoapplythemmorebroadly.AnditmaybefurtherpointedoutthatLutherstressedsalvationbyfaithandthathisfundamentalprinciplewasmoreor less subjective and anthropological,while Calvin stressed the principle of the sovereignty of God, anddeveloped a principle which was more objective and theological.Lutheranismwasmorethereligionofamanwhoafteralongandpainfulsearchhad found salvation andwhowas content simply to bask in thesunshineofGod'spresence,whileCalvinism,not content to stop there,pressedontoaskhowandwhyGodhadsavedman.

'The Lutheran congregations,' says Froude, 'were but half emancipatedfrom superstition, and shrank from pressing the struggle to extremes;andhalfmeasuresmeanthalf-heartedness, convictionswhichwerehalf

convictions, and truth with an alloy of falsehood. Half measures,however,couldnotquenchthebonfiresofPhilipofSpainorraisemeninFranceorScotlandwhowouldmeetcresttocresttheprincesofthehouseofLorraine.TheReformersrequiredapositionmoresharplydefinedandasternerleader,andthatleadertheyfoundinJohnCalvin...Forhardtimeshardmenareneeded,andintellectswhichcanpiercetotherootswheretruthandliespartcompany.Itfaresillwiththesoldiersofreligionwhen'theaccursedthing'isinthecamp.AndthisistobesaidofCalvin,that so far as the state of knowledge permitted, no eye could havedetectedmorekeenlytheunsoundspotsinthecreedoftheChurch,norwas there a Reformer in Europe so resolute to exercise, tear out anddestroy what was distinctly seen to be false — so resolute to establishwhatwastrueinitsplace,andmaketruth,tothelastfibreofit,theruleofpracticallife.'1

This is the testimony of the famous historian from Oxford University.Froude's writings make it plain that he had no particular love forCalvinism;andinfactheisoftencalledacriticofCalvinism.Thesewordsjust quoted simply express the impartial conclusions of a great scholarwho looks at the system and the man whose name it bears from thevantagegroundoflearnedinvestigation.

In another connection Froude says: 'The Calvinists have been calledintolerant.Intoleranceofanenemywhoistryingtokillyouseemstomeapardonablestateofmind...TheCatholicschosetoaddtotheiralreadyincrediblecreedafresharticle,thattheywereentitledtohangandburnthosewhodifferedfromthem;andinthisquarreltheCalvinists,Bibleinhand,appealedtotheGodofbattles.Theygrewharsher,fiercer,—ifyouplease,more fanatical. It was extremely natural that they should. Theydwelt,aspiousmenareapttodwell insufferingandsorrow,ontheall-disposing power of Providence. Their burden grew lighter as theyconsideredthatGodhadsodeterminedthattheymustbearit.ButtheyattractedtotheirranksalmosteverymaninWesternEuropethat'hatedalie.'Theywerecrusheddown,buttheyroseagain.Theyweresplinteredand torn, butnopower couldbendormelt them.They abhorred as nobodyofmenevermoreabhorredallconsciousmendacity,allimpurity,allmoral wrong of every kind so far as they could recognize it.Whatever

existsatthismomentinEnglandandScotlandofconsciousfearofdoingevil is the remnant of the convictions which were branded by theCalvinists into the people's hearts. Though they failed to destroyRomanism,thoughitsurvivesandmaysurvive longasanopinion,theydrewitsfangs;theyforcedittoabandonthatdetestableprinciple,thatitwasentitledtomurderthosewhodissentedfromit.Nay, itmaybesaidthat by having shamed Romanism out of its practical corruption theCalvinistsenabledittorevive.'2

AtthetimeoftheReformationtheLutheranChurchdidnotmakesuchacomplete break with the Catholic Church as did the Reformed. In factsomeLutheranspointoutwithpride thatLutheranismwasa 'moderateReformation.' While all protestants appealed to the Bible as a finalauthority, the tendency inLutheranismwas tokeepasmuchof theoldsystem as did not have to be thrown out, while the tendency in theReformedChurchwastothrowoutallthatdidnothavetobekept.Andinregard to the relationshipwhichexistedbetween theChurchandtheState, the Lutherans were content to allow the local princes greatinfluence intheChurchoreventoallowthemtodeterminethereligionwithintheirbounds—atendencyleadingtowardtheestablishmentofaState Church — while the Reformed soon came to demand completeseparationbetweenChurchandState.

As stated before, the Reformation was essentially a revival ofAugustinianism. The early Lutheran and Reformed Churches held thesame views in regard to Original Sin, Election, Efficacious Grace,Perseverance,etc.This, then,wasthetrueProtestantism. 'TheprincipleofAbsolutePredestination,'saysHastie,'wastheveryHercules-mightoftheyoungReformation,bywhichno less inGermanythanelsewhere, itstrangled the serpents of superstition and idolatry; andwhen it lost itsenergy in its first home, it still continued to be the very marrow andbackboneofthefaithintheReformedChurch,andthepowerthatcarrieditvictoriouslythroughallitsstrugglesandtrials.'3'Itisafactthatspeaksvolumes for Calvinism,' says Rice, 'that the most glorious revolutionrecordedinthehistoryoftheChurchandoftheworld,sincethedaysoftheApostles,was effected by the blessings ofGodupon its doctrines.'4Needlesstosay,ArminianismasasystemwasunknowninReformation

times;andnotuntil1784,some260yearslater,wasitchampionedbyanorganizedchurch.Asinthefifthcenturytherehadbeentwocontendingsystems,knownasAugustinianismandPelagianism,withthelaterriseofthe compromised system of Semi-Pelagianism, so at the Reformationthereweretwosystems,ProtestantismandRomanCatholicism,withthelaterriseofArminianism,orwhatwemightcallSemi-Protestantism.Ineachcasethereweretwostronglyoppositesystemswiththesubsequentriseofacompromisedsystem.

Footnotes:1Calvinism,p.42.2Calvinism,p.44.3HistoryoftheReformation,p.224.4GodSovereignandManFree,p.14.

CalvinisminEngland

AglanceatEnglishhistoryreadilyshowsusthatitwasCalvinismwhichmade Protestantism triumphant in that land. Many of the leadingProtestantswhofledtoGenevaduringthereignofQueenMaryafterwardobtained high positions in the Church under Queen Elizabeth. AmongthemwerethetranslatorsoftheGenevaversionoftheBible,whichowesmuch toCalvin andBeza, andwhich continued tobe themost popularEnglish version till themiddle of the seventeenth century when it wassupersededbytheKingJamesversion.TheinfluenceofCalvinisshownintheThirty-NineArticlesoftheChurchofEngland,especiallyinArticleXVIIwhichstatesthedoctrineofPredestination.Cunninghamhasshownthat all of the great theologians of the Established Church during thereigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth were thorough-goingpredestinariansandthattheArminianismofLaudandhissuccessorswasadeviationfromthatorginalposition.

Ifwe search for the trueheroes ofEngland,we shall find them in thatnoblebodyofEnglishCalvinistswhose insistenceuponapurer formof

worshipandapurerlifewonforthemthenickname,'Puritans,'towhomMacaulayrefersas'perhapsthemostremarkablebodyofmenwhichtheworldhas ever produced.' 'That theEnglish people becameProtestant,'saysBancroft,'isduetothePuritans.'Smithtellsus:'Thesignificanceofthis fact is beyond computation. English Protestantism, with its openBible,itsspiritualandintellectualfreedom,meanttheProtestantismnotonly of the American colonies, but of the virile and multiplying racewhich for three centuries has been carrying the Anglo-Saxon language,religion,andinstitutionsintoalltheworld.1

Cromwell, the great Calvinistic leader and commoner, planted himselfuponthesolidrockofCalvinismandcalledtohimselfsoldierswhohadplantedthemselvesuponthatsamerock.Theresultwasanarmywhichfor purity andheroism surpassed anything theworld had ever seen. 'Itnever found,' says Macaulay, 'either in the British Isles or on theContinent, an enemy who could stand its onset. In England, Scotland,Ireland,Flanders,thePuritanwarriors,oftensurroundedbydifficulties,sometimes contending against threefold odds, not only never failed toconquer,butnever failed todestroyandbreak inpieceswhatever forcewasopposedtothem.Theyatlengthcametoregardthedayofbattleasaday of certain triumph, and marched against the most renownedbattalions of Europe with disdainful confidence. Even the banishedCavaliers felt an emotion of national pridewhen they saw a brigade oftheircountrymen,outnumberedbyfoesandabandonedbyfriends,drivebeforeitinheadlongroutthefinestinfantryofSpain,andforceapassageintoacounterscarpwhichhadjustbeenpronouncedimpregnablebytheablest of the marshals of France.' And again, 'That which chieflydistinguished thearmyofCromwell fromotherarmies,was theausteremorality and the fear of God which pervaded the ranks. It isacknowledgedbythemostzealousRoyaliststhat, inthatsingularcamp,no oath was heard, no drunkenness or gambling was seen, and that,during the long dominion of soldiery, the property of the peaceablecitizens and the honor of woman were held sacred. No servant girlcomplainedoftheroughgallantryoftheredcoats.Notanounceofplatewastakenfromtheshopsofthegoldsmiths'2

Prof. John Fiske, who has been ranked as one of the two greatest

American historians, says, 'It is not too much to say that in theseventeenth century the entire political future of mankind was stakeduponthequestionsthatwereatissueinEngland.HaditnotbeenforthePuritans, political liberty would probably have disappeared from theworld.Ifeverthereweremenwholaiddowntheirlivesinthecauseofallmankind,itwasthosegrimoldIronsides,whosewatch-wordsweretextsofHolyWrit,whosebattle-crieswerehymnsofpraise.'3

WhenProtestantmartyrsdiedinthevalleysofPiedmont,andthepapalautocrat sat on his throne in luxury, gathering his blood-stainedgarments around him, it was Cromwell, the Puritan, supported by acouncil and nation of the same persuasion,whowrote demanding thatthesepersecutionscease.

On three different occasions Cromwell was offered, and was urged toaccept, theCrownofEngland,buteach timehe refused.Doctrinallywefind that the Puritans were the literal and lineal descendants of JohnCalvin;andtheyandtheyalonekeptalivetheprecioussparkofEnglishliberty.InviewofthesefactsnoonecanrashlydenythejusticeofFiske'sconclusion that 'Itwould behard to over-rate the debtwhichmankindowestoJohnCalvin.'

McFetridgeinhissplendidlittlebook,'CalvinisminHistory,'says,'Ifweaskagain,WhobroughtthefinalgreatdeliverancetoEnglishliberty?weare answered by history, The Illustrious Calvinist, William, Prince ofOrange,who,asMacaulaysays,foundinthestrongandsharplogicoftheGeneva school something that suited his intellect and his temper; thekeystoneofwhosereligionwasthedoctrineofPredestination;andwho,with his keen logical vision, declared that if he were to abandon thedoctrine of Predestination he must abandon with it all his belief in asuperintendingProvidence,andmustbecomeamereEpicurean.Andhewasright, forPredestinationandanoverrulingProvidenceareoneandthe same thing. If we accept the one, we are in consistency bound toaccepttheother,'(p.52).

Footnotes:1TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.72.

2Maeaulay,HistoryofEngland,I.,p.119.3TheBeginningsofNewEngland,pp.37,51.

CalvinisminScotland

Thebestwaytodiscoverthepractical fruitsofasystemofreligionis toexamineapeopleoracountry inwhichforgenerationsthatsystemhasheldundisputed sway. Inmaking sucha test ofRomanCatholicismweturntosomecountrylikeSpain,Italy,Colombia,orMexico.There,inthereligiousandpoliticallifeofthepeople,weseetheeffectsofthesystem.ApplyingthesametesttoCalvinismweareabletopointtoonecountryinwhich Calvinism has long been practically the only religion, and thatcountry is Scotland.McFetridge tells us that before Calvinism reachedScotland, 'gross darkness covered the land and brooded like an eternalnightmareuponallthefacultiesofthepeople.'1'WhenCalvinismreachedtheScotchpeople,'saysSmith, 'theywerevassalsoftheRomishchurch,priest-ridden, ignorant,wretched,degraded inbody,mind, andmorals.Buckle describes them as 'filthy in their persons and in their homes,''poorandmiserable,''excessivelyignorantandexceedinglysuperstitious,'— 'withsuperstition ingrained into their characters.'Marvelouswas thetransformationwhenthegreatdoctrineslearnedbyKnoxfromtheBiblein Scotland andmore thoroughly at Genevawhile sitting at the feet ofCalvin, flashed in upon their minds. It was like the sun arising atmidnight . . . Knox made Calvinism the religion of Scotland, andCalvinismmadeScotlandthemoralstandardfortheworld.ItiscertainlyasignificantfactthatinthatcountrywherethereisthemostofCalvinismthereshouldbetheleastofcrime;thatofallthepeopleoftheworldtodaythat nation which is confessedly the most moral is also the mostthoroughly Calvinistic; that in that land where Calvinism has hadsupremestswayindividualandnationalmoralityhasreachedits loftiestlevel.'2SaysCarlyle,'ThisthatKnoxdidforhisnationwemayreallycallaresurrectionasfromdeath.''JohnKnox,'saysFroude,'wastheonemanwithoutwhomScotlandas themodernworldhasknown it,wouldhavehadnoexistence.'

InaveryrealsensethePresbyterianChurchofScotlandis thedaughteroftheReformedChurchofGeneva.TheReformationinScotland,thoughcoming some time later, was far more consistent and radical than inEngland, and it resulted in the establishment of a CalvinisticPresbyterianisminwhichChristalonewasrecognizedastheheadoftheChurch.

Itis,ofcourse,aneasymattertopickouttheonemanwhointhehandsof Providence was the principal instrument in the reformation ofScotland.ThatmanwasJohnKnox.Itwashewhoplantedthegermsofreligious and civil liberty and who revolutionized society. To him theScotchowetheirnationalexistence.'KnoxwasthegreatestofScotsmen,asLutherthegreatestofGermans,'saysPhilipSchaff.

'The hero of the Scotch Reformation,' says Schaff, 'though four yearsolder than Calvin, sat humbly at his feet and becamemoreCalvinisticthan Calvin. John Knox spent the five years of his exile (1554-1559),duringthereignofBloodyMary,mostlyatGeneva,andfoundthere'themostperfectschoolofChristthateverwassincethedaysoftheApostles.'After thatmodel he led the Scotch people, with dauntless courage andenergy, from mediaeval semi-barbarism into the light of moderncivilization,andacquiredanamewhich,nexttothoseofLuther,Zwingli,andCalvin,isthegreatestinthehistoryoftheProtestantReformation.'3

'Nogranderfigure,'saysFroude,'canbefoundintheentirehistoryoftheReformationinthisislandthanthatofKnox....ThetimehascomewhenEnglish history may do justice to one but for whom the Reformationwouldhavebeenoverthrownamongourselves;forthespiritwhichKnoxcreatedsavedScotland;andifScotlandhadbeenCatholicagain,neitherthewisdomofElizabeth'sministers,northeteachingofherbishops,norherownchicaneries,wouldhavepreservedEnglandfromrevolution.HewasthevoicewhichtaughtthepeasantoftheLothiansthathewasafreeman,theequalinthesightofGodwiththeproudestpeerorprelatethathad trampled on his forefathers. He was the antagonist whom MaryStuart could not soften norMaitland deceive; he it was that raised thepoorcommonsofhiscountryintoasternandruggedpeople,whomightbehard,narrow,superstitiousandfanatical,butwhonevertheless,weremenwhomneitherking,noblenorpriestcouldforceagaintosubmitto

tyranny. And his reward has been the ingratitude of those who shouldmosthavedonehonortohismemory.'4

The early Scotch reformed theology was based on the predestinarianprinciple.Knoxhadgottenhis theologydirectly fromCalvin inGeneva,andhischief theologicalworkwashis treatiseonPredestination,whichwas a keen, forcible andunflinchingpolemic against loose viewswhichwere becoming widespread in England and elsewhere. During theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries topics such as predestination,election, reprobation, the extent and value of the atonement, theperseverance of the saints, were the absorbing interest of the Scotchpeasantry.FromthatlandthosedoctrinesspreadsouthwardintopartsofEngland and Ireland and across theAtlantic to thewest. In a very realsense Scotland can be called the 'Mother Country of modernPresbyterianism.'

Footnotes:1CalvinisminHistory,p.124.2TheCreedofPresbyterians,pp.98,99.3TheSwissReformation,H.,p.818.4Hist.Eng.X.487.

CalvinisminFrance

France, too,at thattime,wasallaglowwiththefree,bounding, restlessspiritofCalvinism.'InFrancetheCalvinistswerecalledHuguenots.Thecharacter of the Huguenots the world knows. Their moral purity andheroism, whether persecuted at home or exiled abroad, has been thewonder of both friend and foe.'1 'Their history,' says theEncyclopaediaBritannica,'isastandingmarvel,illustratingtheabidingpowerofstrongreligiousconviction.Theaccountoftheirenduranceisamongstthemostremarkableandheroicrecordsofreligioushistory.'TheHuguenotsmadeup the industrious artisan class of France and to be 'honest as aHuguenot'becameaproverb,denotingthehighestdegreeofintegrity.

On St. Bartholomew's Day, Sunday, August 24, 1572, a great manyProtestantsweretreacherouslymurderedinParis,andfordaysthereaftertheshockingsceneswererepeatedindifferentpartsofFrance.ThetotalnumberofthosewholosttheirlivesintheSt.Bartholomewmassacrehasbeenvariouslyestimatedatfrom10,000to50,000.Schaffestimatesitat30,000.ThesefuriouspersecutionscausedhundredsofthousandsoftheFrenchProtestants to flee toHolland,Germany,England,andAmerica.ThelosstoFrancewasirreparable.MacaulaytheEnglishhistorianwritesasfollowsofthosewhosettledinEngland:'ThehumblestoftherefugeeswereintellectuallyandmorallyabovetheaverageofthecommonpeopleofanykingdominEurope.'ThegreathistorianLecky,whohimselfwasacold-bloodedrationalist,wrote:'ThedestructionoftheHuguenotsbytheRevocationoftheEdictofNanteswasthedestructionofthemostsolid,the most modest, the most virtuous, the most generally enlightenedelementintheFrenchnation,anditpreparedthewayforthe inevitabledegradationof thenational character, and the last seriousbulwarkwasremoved thatmighthavebroken the forceof that torrent of skepticismandvicewhich,acentury later, laidprostrate, inmeritedruin,both thealtarandthethrone.'2

'If you have read their history,' says Warburton, 'you must know howcruelandunjustwerethepersecutionsinstigatedagainstthem.Thebestblood of France deluged the battlefield, the brightest genius of Francewas suffered to lie neglected and starving in prison, and the noblestcharacterswhichFranceeverpossessedwerehunted likewildbeastsoftheforest,andslainwithaslittlepity.'Andagain, 'Ineveryrespecttheystood immeasurably superior to all the rest of their fellow-countrymen.The strict sobrietyof their lives, thepurity of theirmoral actions, theirindustrious habits, and their entire separation from the foul sensualitywhich corrupted thewhole of the national life of France at this period,werealwayseffectualmeansofbetrayingtheprincipleswhichtheyheld,andweresoregardedbytheirenemies.'3

Thedebaucheryofthekingshaddescendedthroughthearistocracytothecommon people; religion had become amass of corruption, consistentonly with its cruelty; the monasteries had become breeding places ofiniquity; celibacy had proved to be a foul fountain of unchastity and

uncleanness;immorality,licentiousness,despotismandextortioninStateand Church were indescribable; the forgiveness of sins could bepurchased formoney,andashameful traffic in indulgenceswascarriedon under the pope's sanction; some of the popes were monsters ofiniquity; ignorancewas appalling; educationwas confined to the clergyand thenobles;many evenof thepriestswere unable to read orwrite;andsocietyingeneralhadfallentopieces.

Thisisaone-sided,butnotanexaggerated,description.Itistrueasfarasit goes, andneedsonly to be supplementedby the brighter side,whichwas that many honest Roman Catholics were earnestly working forreform from within the Church. The Church, however, was in anirreformablecondition.Anychange,ifitwastocomeatall,hadtocomefrom without. Either there would be no reformation or it would be inoppositiontoRome.

ButgraduallyProtestantideaswerefilteringintoFrancefromGermany.Calvin began his work in Paris andwas soon recognized as one of theleadersofthenewmovementinFrance.HiszealarousedtheoppositionofChurchauthoritiesanditbecamenecessaryforhimtofleeforhislife.And although Calvin never returned to France after his settlement inGeneva, he remained the leader of the French Reformation and wasconsultedateverystep.Hegave theHuguenots theircreedandformofgovernment. Throughout the following period it was, according to theunanimous testimony of history, the system of faith which we callCalvinismthatinspiredtheFrenchProtestantsintheirstrugglewiththepapacyanditsroyalsupporters.

What thePuritanwas inEngland, theCovenanterwas inScotland, andtheHuguenotwasinFrance.ThatCalvinismdevelopedthesametypeofmenineachof theseseveralcountries isamostremarkableproofof itspowerintheformationofcharacter.

So rapidly did Calvinism spread throughout France that Fisher in hisHistoryoftheReformationtellsusthatin1561theCalvinistsnumberedone-fourthoftheentirepopulation.McFetridgeplacesthenumberevenhigher. 'Inlessthanhalfacentury,'sayshe, 'thisso-calledharshsystemof belief had penetrated every part of the land, and had gained to its

standardsalmostone-halfofthepopulationandalmosteverygreatmindinthenation.Sonumerousandpowerfulhaditsadherentsbecomethatforatimeitappearedasiftheentirenationwouldbesweptovertotheirviews.'4 Smiles, in his 'Huguenots in France,' writes: 'It is curious tospeculate on the influence which the religion of Calvin, himself aFrenchman,mighthaveexercisedonthehistoryofFrance,aswellasonthe individual character of the Frenchman, had the balance of forcescarried the nation bodily over to Protestantism, aswas very nearly thecase, toward the end of the sixteenth century,' (p. 100). Certainly thehistoryof thenationwouldhavebeenverydifferent from thatwhich ithasbeen.

Footnotes:1Smith,TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.83.2Eng.Hist.EighteenthCentury,I.,pp.264,265.3Calvinism,pp.84,92.4CalvinisminHistory,p.144

CalvinisminHolland

InthestrugglewhichfreedtheNetherlandsfromthedominatingpowerofthePapacyandfromthecruelyokeofSpainwehaveanothergloriouschapter in the history of Calvinism and humanity. The tortures of theInquisitionwere applied here as in few other places. TheDuke of Alvaboastedthatwithintheshortspaceoffiveyearshehaddelivered18,600hereticstotheexecutioner.

'The scaffold,' says Motley, 'had its daily victims, but did not make asingle convert . . .Thereweremenwhodaredandsufferedasmuchasmencandareandsufferinthisworld,andforthenoblestcausethatcaninspirehumanity.'Hepictures tous 'theheroismwithwhichmen tookeachotherbythehandandwalkedintotheflames,orwithwhichwomensang a song of triumphwhile the grave-digger was shoveling the earthupon their living faces.' And in another place he says: 'The number of

Netherlanderswhowereburned,strangled,beheaded,orburiedalive,inobedience to theedictsofCharlesV.,andfor theoffenceofreadingtheScriptures,oflookingaskanceatagravenimage,orridiculingtheactualpresenceofthebodyandbloodofChristinawafer,havebeenplacedashigh as one hundred thousand by distinguished authorities, and havenever been put at a lower mark than fifty thousand.'1 During thatmemorablestruggleofeightyyears,moreProtestantswereputtodeathfor their conscientious belief by the Spaniards than Christians sufferedmartyrdom under the Roman Emperors in the first three centuries.Certainly inHolland history crownsCalvinism as the creed ofmartyrs,saintsandheroes.

FornearlythreegenerationsSpain,thestrongestnationinEuropeatthattime, labored to stamp out Protestantism and political liberty in theseCalvinisticNetherlands,but failed.Because theysought toworshipGodaccording to the dictates of their conscience and not under the gallingchainsofacorruptpriesthoodtheircountrywasinvadedandthepeopleweresubjectedtothecruelesttorturestheSpaniardscouldinvent.Andifit be asked who effected the deliverance, the answer is, it was theCalvinistic Prince of Orange, known in history as William the Silent,togetherwiththosewhoheldthesamecreed.SaysDr.AbrahamKuyper,'IfthepowerofSatanatthattimehadnotbeenbrokenbytheheroismoftheCalvinisticspirit,thehistoryoftheNetherlands,ofEuropeandoftheworld would have been as painfully sad and dark as now, thanks toCalvinism,itisbrightandinspiring.'2

IfthespiritofCalvinismhadnotariseninWesternEuropefollowingtheoutbreak of theReformation, the spirit of half-heartedness would havegainedthedayinEngland,ScotlandandHolland.Protestantisminthesecountries could not have maintained itself; and, through thecompromisingmeasuresofaRomanizedProtestantism,GermanywouldinallprobabilityhavebeenagainbroughtundertheswayoftheRomanCatholicChurch.HadProtestantismfailedinanyoneofthesecountriesitis probable that the result would have been fatal in the others also, sointimatelywere their fortunes bound together. In a very real sense thefuturedestinyofnationswasdependentontheoutcomeofthatstrugglein theNetherlands.HadSpain been victorious in theNetherlands, it is

probablethattheCatholicChurchwouldhavebeensostrengthenedthatit would have subdued Protestantism in England also. And, even asthingswere,itlookedforatimeasthoughEnglandwouldbeturnedbackto Romanism. In that case the development of America wouldautomatically have been prevented and in all probability the wholeAmericancontinentwouldhaveremainedunderthecontrolofSpain.

Let us remember further that practically all of the martyrs in thesevariouscountrieswereCalvinists,- theLutheran,sandArminiansbeingonly a handful in comparison. As Professor Fruin justly remarks, 'InSwitzerland, inFrance, in theNetherlands, inScotlandand inEngland,andwhereverProtestantismhashadtoestablishitselfatthepointofthesword, itwasCalvinism that gained theday.'However the fact is to beexplaineditistruethattheCalvinistsweretheonlyfightingProtestants.

ThereisalsooneotherservicewhichHollandhasrenderedandwhichwemust not overlook. The Pilgrims, after being driven out of England byreligious persecutions and before their coming to America, went toHollandandtherecameintocontactwithareligiouslifewhichfromtheCalvinistic point of view was beneficial in the extreme. Their mostimportant leaders were Clyfton, Robinson, and Brewster, threeCambridgeUniversitymen,whoformasnobleandheroictrioascanbefoundinthehistoryofanynation.TheywerestaunchCalvinistsholdingallthefundamentalviewsthattheReformerofGenevahadpropounded.The American historian Bancroft is right when he simply calls thePilgrim-fathers,'menofthesamefaithwithCalvin.'

J.C.Monsma,inhisbook,'WhatCalvinismHasDoneForAmerica,'givesusthefollowingsummaryoftheirlifeinHolland:'WhenthePilgrimsleftAmsterdam for Leyden, the Rev. Clyfton, their chief leader, decided tostay where he was, and so the Rev. John Robinson, Clyfton's chiefassistanthitherto,'waselectedleader,orpastorbythepeople.Robinsonwas a convinced Calvinist and opposed the teachings of Arminiuswhenever opportunity was afforded him. 'We have the indisputabletestimony of Edward Winslow, that Robinson, at the time whenArminian-ism was fast gaining ground in Holland, was asked by Poly-ander,FestusHomilus,andotherDutchtheologians,totakepart inthedisputeswithEpiscopius, thenew leader of theArminians,whichwere

daily held in the academy at Leyden. Robinson complied with theirrequest andwas soon looked upon as one of the greatest of Gomariantheologians. In 1624 the Pilgrim pastor wrote a masterful treatise,entitled, 'ADefense of theDoctrine Propounded by the Synod of Dort,etc.'AstheSynodofDordrecht,of internationalfamewascharacterizedby a strict Calvinism in all its decisions, no more need be said ofRobinson'sreligioustendencies.

'The Pilgrims were perfectly at one with the Reformed (Calvinistic)churchesintheNetherlandsandelsewhere.InhisApology,publishedin1619,oneyearbeforethePilgrimsleftHolland,Robinsonwroteinamostsolemnway,'WedoprofessbeforeGodandmenthatsuchisouraccord,in case of religion, with the Dutch Reformed Churches, as that we arereadytosubscribetoallandeveryarticleoffaithinthesameChurch,astheyarelaiddownintheHarmonyofConfessionsofFaith,publishedinthatname.''(p.72,73.)

Footnotes:1RiseoftheDutchRepublic,I.,p.114.2LecturesonCalvinism,p.44.

CalvinisminAmerica

WhenwecometostudytheinfluenceofCalvinismasapoliticalforceinthehistoryoftheUnitedStateswecometooneofthebrightestpagesofallCalvinistichistory.CalvinismcametoAmericaintheMayflower,andBancroft, the greatest of American historians, pronounces the PilgrimFathers 'Calvinists in their faith according to the straightest system.'1JohnEndicott,thefirstgovernoroftheMassachusettsBayColony;JohnWinthrop, the second governor of that Colony; Thomas Hooker, thefounderofConnecticut;JohnDavenport,thefounderoftheNewHavenColony; and Roger Williams, the founder of the Rhode Island Colony,wereallCalvinists.WilliamPennwas adisciple of theHuguenots. It isestimatedthatof the3,000,000Americansat thetimeof theAmerican

Revolution,900,000wereofScotchorScotch-Irishorigin,600,000werePuritan English, and 400,000 were German or Dutch Reformed. Inaddition to this the Episcopalians had a Calvinistic confession in theirThirty-nineArticles;andmanyFrenchHuguenotsalsohadcometothiswestern world. Thus we see that about two-thirds of the colonialpopulationhadbeentrainedintheschoolofCalvin.Neverintheworld'shistoryhadanationbeenfoundedbysuchpeopleasthese.Furthermorethese people came to America not primarily for commercial gain oradvantage, but because of deep religious convictions. It seems that thereligious persecutions in various European countries had beenprovidentially used to select out the most progressive and enlightenedpeople for the colonization ofAmerica.At any rate it is quite generallyadmitted that the English, Scotch, Germans, and Dutch have been themostmasterful people of Europe. Let it be especially remembered thatthePuritans,whoformedthegreatbulkofthesettlers inNewEngland,brought with them a Calvinistic Protestantism, that they were trulydevotedtothedoctrinesofthegreatReformers,thattheyhadanaversionforformalismandoppressionwhetherintheChurchorintheState,andthatinNewEnglandCalvinismremainedtherulingtheologythroughouttheentireColonialperiod.

With this background we shall not be surprised to find that thePresbyterians took a very prominent part in the American Revolution.OurownhistorianBancroftsays:'TheRevolutionof1776,sofarasitwasaffected by religion, was a Presbyterian measure. It was the naturaloutgrowthoftheprincipleswhichthePresbyterianismoftheOldWorldplanted in her sons, the English Puritans, the Scotch Covenanters, theFrenchHuguenots,theDutchCalvinists,andthePresbyteriansofUlster.'Sointense,universal,andaggressivewerethePresbyteriansintheirzealfor liberty that thewarwas spoken of in England as 'The PresbyterianRebellion.'AnardentcolonialsupporterofKingGeorgeIIIwrotehome:'I fix all the blame for these extraordinary proceedings upon thePresbyterians.Theyhavebeenthechiefandprincipalinstrumentsinallthese flaming measures. They always do and ever will act againstgovernmentfromthatrestlessandturbulentanti-monarchialspiritwhichhas always distinguished them everywhere.'2 When the news of 'theseextraordinary proceedings' reached England, Prime Minister Horace

Walpole said in Parliament, 'Cousin America has run off with aPresbyterianparson' (JohnWitherspoon, president of Princeton, signerofDeclarationofIndependence).

History is eloquent in declaring that American democracy was born ofChristianity and that that Christianity was Calvinism. The greatRevolutionary conflictwhich resulted in the formationof theAmericannation, was carried outmainly by Calvinists,many of whom had beentrainedintherigidlyPresbyterianCollegeatPrinceton,andthisnationistheirgifttoalllibertylovingpeople.

J.R.Sizootellsus:'WhenCornwalliswasdrivenbacktoultimateretreatandsurrenderatYorktown,allof thecolonelsof theColonialArmybutonewerePresbyterianelders.Morethanone-halfofall thesoldiersandofficers of the American Army during the Revolution werePresbyterians.'3

ThetestimonyofEmilioCastelar,thefamousSpanishstatesman,oratorand scholar, is interesting and valuable. Castelar hadbeenprofessor ofPhilosophyintheUniversityofMadridbeforeheenteredpolitics,andhewasmadepresidentof therepublicwhichwassetupby theLiberals in1873.As aRomanCatholic he hatedCalvin andCalvinism. Says he: 'Itwas necessary for the republican movement that there should come amoralitymoreausterethanLuther's,themoralityofCalvin,andaChurchmore democratic than the German, the Church of Geneva. The Anglo-Saxondemocracyhas for its lineageabookofaprimitivesociety— theBible.ItistheproductofaseveretheologylearnedbythefewChristianfugitives in the gloomy cities of Holland and Switzerland, where themoroseshadeofCalvinstillwanders . . .And it remains serenely in itsgrandeur,formingthemostdignified,mostmoralandmostenlightenedportionofthehumanrace.'4

SaysMotley: 'InEngland the seedsof liberty,wrappedup inCalvinismand hoarded throughmany trying years, were at last destined to floatoverlandandsea,andtobearthelargestharvestsoftemperatefreedomforgreatcommonwealthsthatwerestillunborn.5'TheCalvinistsfoundedthecommonwealthsofEngland,ofHolland,andAmerica.'Andagain,'ToCalvinistsmore than toanyother classofmen, thepolitical libertiesof

England,HollandandAmericaaredue.'6

The testimony of another famoushistorian, theFrenchmanTaine,whohimselfheldnoreligiousfaith,isworthyofconsideration.ConcerningtheCalvinists he said: 'These men are the true heroes of England. TheyfoundedEngland,inspiteofthecorruptionoftheStuarts,bytheexerciseofduty,bythepracticeofjustice,byobstinatetoil,byvindicationofright,byresistancetooppression,bytheconquestofliberty,bytherepressionof vice.They foundedScotland; they founded theUnitedStates; at thisdaytheyare,bytheirdescendants,foundingAustraliaandcolonizingtheworld.'7

In his book, 'TheCreed of Presbyterians,' E.W. Smith asks concerningtheAmericancolonists,'Wherelearnedtheythoseimmortalprinciplesofthe rights of man, of human liberty, equality and self-government, onwhich they based their Republic, and which form today the distinctivegloryofourAmericancivilization?IntheschoolofCalvin they learnedthem.Therethemodernworldlearnedthem.Sohistoryteaches,'(p.121).

We shall nowpass on to consider the influencewhich the PresbyterianChurch as a Church exerted in the formation of the Republic. 'ThePresbyterian Church,' said Dr.W.H. Roberts in an address before theGeneral Assembly, 'was for three-quarters of a century the solerepresentative upon this continent of republican government as noworganized in the nation.' And then he continues: 'From 1706 to theopening of the revolutionary struggle the only body in existence whichstood for our present national political organization was the GeneralSynodoftheAmericanPresbyterianChurch.Italoneamongecclesiasticalandpoliticalcolonialorganizationsexercisedauthority,derivedfromthecoloniststhemselves,overbodiesofAmericansscatteredthroughallthecolonies fromNewEnglandtoGeorgia.Thecolonies in theseventeenthand eighteenth centuries, it is to be remembered, while all dependentuponGreatBritain,wereindependentofeachother.SuchabodyastheContinentalCongressdidnotexistuntil1774.Thereligiousconditionofthecountrywassimilartothepolitical.TheCongregationalChurchesofNewEnglandhadnoconnectionwitheachother,andhadnopowerapartfrom the civil government. The Episcopal Church was withoutorganization in the colonies,wasdependent for support and aministry

on the Established Church of England, and was filled with an intenseloyalty to the British monarchy. The Reformed Dutch Church did notbecome an efficient and independent organization until 1771, and theGermanReformedChurchdidnotattaintothatconditionuntil1793.TheBaptist Churches were separate organizations, the Methodists werepracticallyunknown,andtheQuakerswerenon-combatants.'

Delegatesmeteveryyear intheGeneralSynod,andasDr.Robertstellsus, the Church became 'a bond of union and correspondence betweenlarge elements in the population of the divided colonies.' 'Is it anywonder,'hecontinues, 'thatunder its fostering influencethesentimentsof true liberty, as well as the tenets of a sound gospel, were preachedthroughout the territory from Long Island to South Carolina, and thataboveallafeelingofunitybetweentheColoniesbeganslowlybutsurelyto assert itself?Toomuch emphasis cannot be laid, in connectionwiththeoriginofthenation,upontheinfluenceofthatecclesiasticalrepublic,whichfrom1706to1774wastheonlyrepresentativeonthiscontinentoffully developed federal republican institutions. The United States ofAmerica owes much to that oldest of American Republics, thePresbyterianChurch.'8

It is, of course, not claimed that the Presbyterian Churchwas the onlysource from which sprang the principles upon which this republic isfounded,but it is claimed that theprinciples found in theWestminsterStandards were the chief basis for the republic, and that 'ThePresbyterianChurchtaught,practiced,andmaintainedinfulness,firstinthislandthatformofgovernmentinaccordancewithwhichtheRepublichasbeenorganized.'(Roberts).

The opening of the Revolutionary struggle found the Presbyterianministersandchurcheslinedupsolidlyonthesideofthecolonists,andBancroft accredits them with having made the first bold move towardindependence.9ThesynodwhichassembledinPhiladelphiain1775wasthe first religious body to declare openly and publicly for a separationfromEngland.Iturgedthepeopleunderitsjurisdictiontoleavenothingundone that would promote the end in view, and called upon them toprayfortheCongresswhichwastheninsession.

The Episcopalian Church was then still united with the Church ofEngland, and it opposed the Revolution. A considerable number ofindividuals within that Church, however, labored earnestly forindependenceandgaveoftheirwealthandinfluencetosecureit.Itistobe remembered also that the Commander-in-Chief of the Americanarmies, 'the father of our country,' was a member of her household.Washingtonhimself attended, and ordered all of hismen to attend theservicesofhischaplains,whowereclergymenfromthevariouschurches.HegavefortythousanddollarstoestablishaPresbyterianCollege inhisnative state, which took his name in honor of the gift and becameWashingtonCollege.

N. S.McFetridge has thrown light upon anothermajor development oftheRevolutionaryperiod.Forthesakeofaccuracyandcompletenessweshall take the privilege of quoting him rather extensively. 'Anotherimportant factor in the independent movement,' says he, 'was what isknownasthe'MecklenburgDeclaration,'proclaimedbytheScotch-IrishPresbyteriansofNorthCarolina,May20,1775,more thanayearbeforetheDeclaration (of Independence)ofCongress. Itwas the fresh,heartygreetingoftheScotch-IrishtotheirstrugglingbrethrenintheNorth,andtheir bold challenge to the power of England. They had been keenlywatchingtheprogressofthecontestbetweenthecoloniesandtheCrown,and when they heard of the address presented by the Congress to theKing,declaring thecolonies inactual rebellion, theydeemed it time forpatriotstospeak.Accordingly,theycalledarepresentativebodytogetherinCharlotte,N.C.,whichbyunanimous resolutiondeclared thepeoplefreeandindependent,and thatall lawsandcommissions fromthekingwerehenceforthnullandvoid.IntheirDeclarationweresuchresolutionsasthese:'Wedoherebydissolvethepoliticalbandswhichhaveconnectedus with the mother-country, and hereby absolve ourselves from allallegiancetotheBritishcrown'....'Weherebydeclareourselvesafreeandindependentpeople;are,andof rightought tobe,asovereignand self-governingassociation,undercontrolofnopowerother thanthatofourGod and the general government of Congress; to the maintenance ofwhichwesolemnlypledgetoeachotherourmutualcooperationandourlives, our fortunes and our most sacred honor.' ... That assembly wascomposed of twenty-seven staunch Calvinists, just one-third of whom

were ruling elders in the Presbyterian Church, including the presidentandsecretary;andonewasaPresbyterianclergyman.Themanwhodrewup that famous and important document was the secretary, EphraimBrevard, a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church and a graduate ofPrincetonCollege.Bancroftsaysofitthatitwas, 'ineffect,adeclarationaswellasacompletesystemofgovernment.'(U.S.Hist.VIII,40).Itwassent by special messenger to the Congress in Philadelphia, and waspublished in the Cape Fear Mercury, and was widely distributedthroughout the land.Of course itwas speedily transmitted toEngland,whereitbecamethecauseofintenseexcitement.

'TheidentityofsentimentandsimilarityofexpressioninthisDeclarationandthegreatDeclarationwrittenbyJeffersoncouldnotescapetheeyeofthehistorian;henceTucker,inhisLifeofJefferson,says:'Everyonemustbepersuadedthatoneofthesepapersmusthavebeenborrowedfromtheother.' But it is certain that Brevard could not have 'borrowed' fromJefferson, for he wrote more than a year before Jefferson; henceJefferson, according to his biographer, must have 'borrowed' fromBrevard. But itwas a happy plagiarism, forwhich theworldwill freelyforgivehim.IncorrectinghisfirstdraftoftheDeclarationitcanbeseen,inatleastafewplaces,thatJeffersonhaserasedtheoriginalwordsandinsertedthosewhicharefirstfoundintheMecklenbergDeclaration.NoonecandoubtthatJeffersonhadBrevard'sresolutionsbeforehimwhenhewaswritinghisimmortalDeclaration.'10

This striking similarity between the principles set forth in the Form ofGovernment of the Presbyterian Church and those set forth in theConstitutionoftheUnitedStateshascausedmuchcomment. 'WhenthefathersofourRepublicsatdowntoframeasystemofrepresentativeandpopulargovernment,'saysDr.E.W.Smith,'theirtaskwasnotsodifficultassomehaveimagined.Theyhadamodeltoworkby.'11

'If the average American citizen were asked, who was the founder ofAmerica, the true author of our greatRepublic, hemightbe puzzled toanswer.Wecan imaginehis amazementathearing theanswergiven tothis question by the famous German historian, Ranke, one of theprofoundestscholarsofmoderntimes.SaysRanke,'JohnCalvinwasthevirtualfounderofAmerica.''12

D'Aubigne,whosehistoryof theReformationisaclassic,writes: 'Calvinwasthefounderof thegreatestofrepublics.ThePilgrimswho left theircountry in the reignof James I, and landing on the barren soil ofNewEngland,foundedpopulousandmightycolonies,werehissons,hisdirectand legitimate sons; and that American nation which we have seengrowingsorapidlyboastsasitsfatherthehumbleReformerontheshoreofLakeLeman.'13

Dr.E.W.Smithsays,'Theserevolutionaryprinciplesofrepublicanlibertyandself-government,taughtandembodiedinthesystemofCalvin,werebrought to America, and in this new land where they have borne somighty a harvest were planted, by whose hands? — the hands of theCalvinists.Thevital relationofCalvinandCalvinism to the foundingofthe free institutions of America, however strange in some ears thestatement of Ranke may have sounded, is recognized and affirmed byhistoriansofalllandsandcreeds.'14

All thishasbeen thoroughlyunderstoodandcandidlyacknowledgedbysuchpenetratingandphilosophichistoriansasBancroft,whofarthoughhe was from being Calvinistic in his own personal convictions, simplycallsCalvin'thefatherofAmerica,'andadds:'HewhowillnothonorthememoryandrespecttheinfluenceofCalvinknowsbutlittleoftheoriginofAmericanliberty.'

Whenwerememberthattwo-thirdsofthepopulationatthetimeof theRevolution had been trained in the school of Calvin, and when weremember how unitedly and enthusiastically the Calvinists labored forthe cause of independence, we readily see how true are the abovetestimonies.

There were practically no Methodists in America at the time of theRevolution; and, in fact, the Methodist Church was not officiallyorganizedassuchinEnglanduntiltheyear1784,whichwasthreeyearsaftertheAmericanRevolutionclosed.JohnWesley,greatandgoodmanthoughhewas,wasaToryandabelieverinpoliticalnon-resistance.Hewrote against the American 'rebellion,' but accepted the providentialresult.McFetridgetellsus: 'TheMethodistshadhardlyafootholdinthe

colonieswhen thewar began. In 1773 they claimed about one hundredand sixty members. Their ministers were almost all, if not all, fromEngland, and were staunch supporters of the Crown against AmericanIndependence.Hence,whenthewarbrokeouttheywerecompelledtoflyfrom the country. Their political views were naturally in accord withthoseoftheirgreatleader,JohnWesley,whowieldedallthepowerofhiseloquence and influence against the independence of the colonies.(Bancroft, Hist. U.S., Vol. VII, p. 261.) He did not foresee thatindependentAmericawastobethefieldonwhichhisnobleChurchwasto reap her largest harvests, and that in that Declaration which he soearnestlyopposedlaythesecurityofthelibertiesofhisfollowers.'15

InEnglandandAmericathegreatstrugglesforcivilandreligiouslibertywerenursedinCalvinism,inspiredbyCalvinism,andcarriedoutlargelybymenwhowereCalvinists.AndbecausethemajorityofhistorianshavenevermadeaseriousstudyofCalvinismtheyhaveneverbeenabletogiveusatruthfulandcompleteaccountofwhatithasdoneinthesecountries.Only the light of historical investigation is needed to show us how ourforefathersbelievedinitandwerecontrolledbyit.Weliveinadaywhenthe services of theCalvinists in the founding of this country have beenlargely forgotten, and one can hardly treat of this subject withoutappearingtobeamereeulogizerofCalvinism.WemaywelldohonortothatCreedwhichhasbornesuchsweetfruitsandtowhichAmericaowessomuch.

Footnotes:1Hist.U.S.,I,p.463.2PresbyteriansandtheRevolution,p.49.3TheySeekaCountry,J.G.Slosser,editor,p.155.4Harper'sMonthly.JuneandJuly,1872.5The'UnitedNetherlands,III.,p.121.6TheUnitedNetherlands,IV.,pp.548,547.7EnglishLiterature,II.,p.472.8 Address on, 'The Westminster Standards and the Formation of theAmericanRepublic.9Hist.U.S.,X.,p.77.

10CalvinisminHistory,pp.85-88.11TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.142.12Id.p.119.13ReformationintheTimeofCalvin,I.,p.5.14TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.132.15CalvinisminHistory,p.74.

CalvinismandRepresentativeGovernment

While religious and civil liberty have no organic connection, theyneverthelesshaveaverystrongaffinityforeachother;andwhereoneislacking the otherwill not long endure.History is eloquent in declaringthatonapeople'sreligioneverdependstheirfreedomortheirbondage.Itis a matter of supreme importance what doctrines they believe, whatprinciples theyadopt: for thesemust serveas thebasisuponwhich thesuperstructure of their lives and their government rests. Calvinismwasrevolutionary. It taught the natural equality of men, and its essentialtendency was to destroy all distinctions of rank and all claims tosuperiority which rested upon wealth or vested privilege. The liberty-loving soul of the Calvinist has made him a crusader against thoseartificialdistinctionswhichraisesomemenaboveothers.

Politically, Calvinism has been the chief source of modern republicangovernment. Calvinism and republicanism are related to each other ascause and effect; and where a people are possessed of the former, thelatterwillsoonbedeveloped.CalvinhimselfheldthattheChurch,underGod,wasaspiritualrepublic;andcertainlyhewasarepublicanintheory.James I was well aware of the effects of Calvinism when he said:'Presbytery agreeth as well with the monarchy as God with the Devil.'Bancroft speaksof 'thepolitical characterofCalvinism,whichwithoneconsentandwithinstinctivejudgmentthemonarchsofthatdayfearedasrepublicanism.'AnotherAmericanhistorian,JohnFiske,haswritten, 'Itwouldbehard tooverrate thedebtwhichmankindowes toCalvin.ThespiritualfatherofColigny,ofWilliamtheSilent,andofCromwell,mustoccupyaforemostrankamongthechampionsofmoderndemocracy ....

The promulgation of this theology was one of the longest steps thatmankindhasevertakentowardpersonalfreedom.'1EmilioCastelar,theleaderof theSpanishLiberals, says that 'Anglo-Saxondemocracy is theproduct of a severe theology, learned in the cities of Holland andSwitzerland.' Buckle, in his History of Civilization says, 'Calvinism isessentially democratic,' (I, 669). And de Tocqueville, an able politicalwriter,callsit'&democraticandrepublicanreligion.'2

Thesystemnotonlyimbueditsconvertswiththespiritofliberty,butitgave them practical training in the rights and duties as freemen. Eachcongregation was left to elect its own officers and to conduct its ownaffairs. Fiske pronounces it, 'one of themost effective schools that hasever existed for training men in local serf-government.'3 Spiritualfreedomisthesourceandstrengthofallotherfreedom,anditneedcausenosurprisewhenwearetoldthattheprincipleswhichgovernedtheminecclesiasticalaffairsgaveshapetotheirpoliticalviews.Instinctivelytheypreferredarepresentativegovernmentand.stubbornlyresistedallunjustrulers. After religious despotism is overthrown, civil despotism cannotlongcontinue.

WemaysaythatthespiritualrepublicwhichwasfoundedbyCalvinrestsupon fourbasicprinciples.ThesehavebeensummedupbyaneminentEnglish statesman and jurist, Sir .lames Stephen, as follows: 'Theseprincipleswere,firstlythatthewillofthepeoplewastheone legitimatesource of the power of the rulers; secondly, that the power was mostproperlydelegatedbythepeople,totheirrulers,bymeansofelections,inwhicheveryadultmanmightexercisetherightofsuffrage; thirdly, thatinecclesiasticalgovernment,theclergyandlaitywereentitledtoanequaland co-ordinate authority; and fourthly that between the Church andState, no alliance, or mutual dependence, or other definite relation,necessarilyorproperlyexisted.'4

The principle of the sovereignty of God when applied to the affairs ofgovernmentprovedtobeveryimportant.GodasthesupremeRuler,wasvestedwithsovereignty;andwhateversovereigntywasfoundinmanhadbeen graciously granted to him. The scriptures were taken as the finalauthority, as containing eternal principleswhichwere regulative for allages andon all peoples. In the followingwords theScripturesdeclared

the State to be a divinely established institution: 'Let every soul be insubjectiontothehigherpowers:forthereisnopowerbutofGod;andthepowers that be are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth thepower,withstandeththeordinanceofGod;andtheythatwithstandshallreceive to themselves judgment.For rulers arenot a terror to the goodwork,buttotheevil.Andwouldstthouhavenofearofthepower?dothatwhich is good, and thou shalt have praise for the same: for he is aminister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, beafraid;forhebearethnottheswordinvain:forheisaministerofGod,anavengerforwrathtohimthatdoethevil.Whereforeyemustneedsbeinsubjection,not onlybecause of thewrath, but also for conscience sake.Forthiscauseyepaytributealso;fortheyareministersofGod'sservice,attending continually upon this very thing. Render to all their dues;custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor,'Romans13:1-7.

No one type of government, however, whether democracy, republic, ormonarchy, was thought to be divinely ordained for any certain age orpeople,althoughCalvinismshowedapreferencefortherepublicantype.'Whatever the system of government,' saysMeeter, 'be it monarchy ordemocracyoranyotherform,ineachcasetheruler(orrulers)wastoactasGod's representative, and to administer the affairs of government inaccordance with God's law. The fundamental principle supplied at thesametimetheveryhighestincentiveforthepreservationoflawandorderamong its citizens.Subjectswere forGod's sake to render obedience tothehigherpowers,whicheverthesemightbe.HenceCalvinismmadeforhighlystabilizedgovernments.

'OntheotherhandthisveryprincipleofthesovereigntyofGodoperatedas a mighty defense of the liberties of the subject citizens againsttyrannicalrulers.WheneversovereignsignoredtheWillofGod,trampledupon the rights of the governed and became tyrannical, it became theprivilegeandthedutyofthesubjects,inviewofthehigherresponsibilityof the supreme Sovereign, God, to refuse obedience and even, ifnecessary,todeposethetyrant,throughthelesserauthoritiesappointedbyGodforthedefenseoftherightsofthegoverned.'5

TheCalvinisticideasconcerninggovernmentsandrulershavebeenably

expressed by J.C. Monsma in the following lucid paragraph:'Governments are instituted by God through the instrumentality of thepeople. No kaiser or president has any power inherent in himself;whateverpowerhepossesses,whateversovereigntyheexercises,ispowerandsovereigntyderivedfromthegreatSourceabove.Nomight,butright,andrightspringingfromtheeternalFountainofjustice.FortheCalvinistitisextremelyeasytorespectthelawsandordinancesofthegovernment.Ifthegovernmentwerenothingbutagroupofmen,boundtocarryoutthe wishes of a popularmajority, his freedom-loving soul would rebel.Butnow, to hismind, and according to his fixedbelief ,—back of thegovernmentstandsGod,andbeforeHimhekneelsindeepestreverence.Here also lies the fundamental reason for that profound and almostfanatical love of freedom, also the political freedom, which has alwaysbeena characteristic of the genuineCalvinist.Thegovernment isGod'sservant.Thatmeans thatASMENall government officials standon anequalfootingwiththeirsubordinates;havenoclaimtosuperiorityinanysensewhateverForexactlythesamereasontheCalvinistgivespreferencetoarepublicanformofgovernmentoveranyothertype.Innootherformof government does the sovereignty of God, the derivative character ofgovernmentpowersand the equalityofmenasmen, finda clearerandmoreeloquentexpression.'6

ThetheologyoftheCalvinistexaltedoneSovereignandhumbledallothersovereigns beforeHis awfulmajesty. The divine right of kings and theinfallibledecreesofpopescouldnotlongendureamidapeoplewhoplacesovereigntyinGodalone.ButwhilethistheologyinfinitelyexaltedGodastheAlmightyRulerofheavenandearthandhumbledallmenbeforeHim,itenhancedthedignityoftheindividualandtaughthimthatallmenasmen were equal. The Calvinist feared God; and fearing God he fearednobody else. Knowing himself to have been chosen in the counsels ofeternity andmarked for the glories of heaven, he possessed somethingwhich dissipated the feeling of personal homage for men and whichdulledthelustreofallearthlygrandeur.Ifaproudaristocracytraceditslineage throughgenerationsofhighbornancestry, theCalvinists,withaloftier pride, invaded the invisible world, and from the book of lifebrought down the record of thenoblest enfranchisement, decreed frometernityby theKingofkings.Byahigher thananyearthly lineage they

wereheaven'snoblemenbecauseGod'ssonsandpriests,jointheirswithChrist, kings and priests unto God, by a divine anointing andconsecration.Putthetruthof thesovereigntyofGodintoaman'smindand heart, and you put iron in his blood. The Reformed Faith hasrenderedamostvaluableserviceinteachingtheindividualhisrights.

In striking contrast with these democratic and republican tendencieswhich are found to be inherent in the Reformed Faith we find thatArminianism has a very pronounced aristocratic tendency. In thePresbyterian and Reformed Churches the elder votes in Presbytery orSynod or General Assembly on full equality with his pastor; but inArminianchurchesthepowerislargelyinthehandsoftheclergy,andthelaymen have very little real authority. Episcopacy stresses rule by thehierarchy. Arminianism and Roman Catholicism (which is practicallyArminian) thrive under a monarchy, but there Calvinism finds its lifecramped.On the other handRomanism especially does not thrive in arepublic, but there Calvinism finds itselfmost at home.An aristocraticformofchurchgovernmenttendstowardmonarchyincivilaffairs,whilearepublicanformofchurchgovernmenttendstowarddemocracyincivilaffairs.SaysMcFetridge,'Arminianismisunfavorabletocivilliberty,andCalvinismisunfavorabletodespotism.Thedespoticrulersofformerdayswere not slow to observe the correctness of these propositions, and,claiming the divine right of kings, feared Calvinism as republicanismitself.'7

Footnotes:1BeginningsofNewEngland,p.58.2Democracy,I.,p.884.3TheBeginningsofNewEngland,p.59.4LecturesontheHistoryofFrance,p.415.5TheFundamentalPrinciplesofCalvinism,H.H.Meeter,p.92.6WhatCalvinismHasDoneforAmerica,p.6.7CalvinisminHistory,p.21.

CalvinismandEducation

Again, history bears very clear testimony that Calvinism and educationhave been intimately associated. Wherever Calvinism has gone it hascarried the schoolwith it and has given a powerful impulse to populareducation.Itisasystemwhichdemandsintellectualmanhood.Infact,wemaysaythatitsveryexistenceistiedupwiththeeducationofthepeople.Mentaltrainingisrequiredtomasterthesystemandtotraceoutallthatit involves. Itmakes the strongestpossible appeal to thehuman reasonandinsiststhatmanmustloveGodnotonlywithhiswholeheartbutalsowithhiswholemind.Calvinheldthat'atruefaithmustbeanintelligentfaith';andexperiencehasshownthatpietywithoutlearningisinthelongrunaboutasdangerousaslearningwithoutpiety.Hesawclearlythattheacceptance and diffusion of his scheme of doctrine was dependent notonlyuponthetrainingofthemenwhoweretoexpoundit,butalsouponthe intelligence of the greatmasses of humanitywhowere to accept it.CalvincrownedhisworkinGenevaintheestablishmentoftheAcademy.Thousands of pilgrim pupils from Continental Europe and from theBritishIslessatathisfeetandthencarriedhisdoctrinesintoeverycornerof Christendom. Knox returned from Geneva fully convinced that theeducationofthemasseswasthestrongestbulwarkofProtestantismandthesurestfoundationoftheState.'WithRomanismgoesthepriest;withCalvinism goes the teacher,' is an old saying, the truthfulness ofwhichwillnotbedeniedbyanyonewhohasexaminedthefacts.

This Calvinistic love for learning, putting mind above money, hasinspired countless numbers of Calvinistic families in Scotland, inEngland,inHolland,andinAmerica,topinchthemselvestotheboneinordertoeducatetheirchildren.ThefamousdictumofCarlyle,'Thatanybeing with capacity for knowledge should die ignorant, this I call atragedy,' expresses an idea which is Calvinistic to the core. WhereverCalvinismhasgone,thereknowledgeandlearninghavebeenencouragedandthereasturdyraceofthinkershasbeentrained.Calvinistshavenotbeenthebuildersofgreatcathedrals,buttheyhavebeenthebuildersofschools,colleges,anduniversities.WhenthePuritansfromEngland,theCovenanters from Scotland, and the Reformed from Holland andGermany, came to America they brought with them not only the Bible

andtheWestminsterConfessionbutalsotheschool.AndthatiswhyourAmericanCalvinismnever

'Dreadstheskeptic'spunyhands,Whilenearherschoolthechurchspirestands,Norfearstheblindedbigot'srule,Whilenearherchurchspirestandsaschool.'

Our three American universities of greatest historical importance,Harvard, Yale, andPrinceton,were originally founded by Calvinists, asstrong Calvinistic schools, designed to give students a sound basis intheologyaswellasinotherbranchesoflearning.Harvard,establishedin1636,was intendedprimarily to be a training school forministers, andmorethanhalfofitsfirstgraduatingclasseswentintotheministry.Yale,sometimesreferredtoas'themotherofColleges,'wasforaconsiderableperiodarigidPuritaninstitution.AndPrinceton,foundedbytheScotchPresbyterians,hadathoroughlyCalvinisticfoundation.

'Weboast,'saysBancroft,'ofourcommonschools;Calvinwasthefatherof popular education — the inventor of the system of free schools.'1'Wherever Calvinism gained dominion,' he says again, 'it invokedintelligence for the people and in every parish planted the commonschool.'2

'Our boasted common-school system,' says Smith, 'is indebted for itsexistencetothatstreamofinfluenceswhichfollowedfromtheGenevaofCalvin, throughScotlandandHollandtoAmerica;and, forthefirst twohundred years of our history almost every college and seminary oflearning and almost every academy and common school was built andsustainedbyCalvinists.'3

TherelationshipwhichCalvinismbearstoeducationhasbeenwellstatedinthetwofollowingparagraphsbyProf.H.H.Meeter,ofCalvinCollege:'Science and artwere the gifts ofGod's common grace, andwere to beused and developed as such. Nature was looked upon as God'shandiwork,theembodimentofHisideas, initspureformthereflectionofHisvirtues.Godwastheunifyingthoughtofallscience,sinceallwastheunfoldingofHisplan.Butalongwithsuchtheoreticalreasonsthere

are very practical reasons why the Calvinist has always been intense1yinterested in education, and why grade schools for children as well asschools of higher learning sprang up side by side with Calvinisticchurches, andwhyCalvinistswere in so largemeasure the vanguard ofthemodernuniversal educationmovement.Thesepractical reasons areclosely associated with their religion. The Roman Catholics mightconvenientlydowithouttheeducationofthemasses.Forthemtheclergy—indistinctionfromthelaity—weretheoneswhoweretodecideuponmatters of church government and doctrine. Hence these interests didnotrequirethetrainingofthemasses.Forsalvation,allthatthelaymanneeded was an implied faith in what the church believed. It was notnecessary to be able to give an intelligent account of the tenets of hisfaith.Attheservicesnotthesermonbutthesacramentwastheimportantconveyoroftheblessingsofsalvation,thesermonwaslessneeded.Andthis sacrament again did not require intelligence, since it operated exopereoperato.

'For the Calvinist matters were just reversed. The government of thechurchwasplaced in thehandsof theelders, laymen,and thesehad todecide upon the matters of church policy and the weighty matters ofdoctrine. Furthermore, the laymanhimself had the grave duty,withoutthe intermediationofasacerdotalorder, toworkouthisownsalvation,andcouldnotsufficewithanimpliedfaith inwhatthechurchbelieved.Hemust read his Bible. Hemust know his creed. And it was a highlyintellectualerredatthat.EvenfortheLutheran,educationofthemasseswasnotasurgentasfortheCalvinist.Itistrue,theLutheranalsoplacedevery man before the personal responsibility to work out his ownsalvation. But the laity were in the Lutheran circles excluded from theoffice of church government and hence also from the duty of decidinguponmattersofdoctrine.FromtheseconsiderationsitisevidentwhytheCalvinistmust be a staunch advocate of education. If on the one handGod was to be owned as sovereign in the field of science, and if theCalvinist'sveryreligioussystemrequiredtheeducationofthemassesforitsexistence,itneednotsurpriseusthattheCalvinistpressedlearningtothelimit.EducationisaquestionoftobeornottobefortheCalvinist.'4

The traditionally high standards of the Presbyterian and Reformed

Churchesforministerialtrainingareworthyofnotice.Whilemanyotherchurches ordainmen asministers andmissionaries and allow them topreach with very little education, the Presbyterian and ReformedChurches insist that the candidate for the ministry shall be a collegegraduateandthatheshallhavestudiedforatleasttwoyearsundersomeapprovedprofessoroftheology.(SeeFormofGovernment,Ch.XIV,sec.III & VI). As a result a larger proportion of theseministers have beencapableofmanagingtheaffairsoftheinfluentialcitychurches.Thismaymean fewerministers but it alsomeans a better prepared and a betterpaidministry.

Footnotes:1Miscellanies,p.406.2Hist.ofU.S.,II.,p.463.3TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.148.4TheFundamentalPrinciplesofCalvinism,p.96-99

JohnCalvin

John Calvin was born July 10, 1509, at Noyon, France, an ancientcathedralcityaboutseventymilesnortheastofParis.Hisfather,amanofratherhardandseverecharacter,heldthepositionasapostolicsecretaryto the bishop ofNoyon, andwas intimatewith the best families of theneighborhood.Hismotherwasnotedforherbeautyandpiety,butdiedinhisearlyyouth.

He received the best education which France at that time could give,studying successively at the three leading universities of Orleans,Bourges, and Paris, from 1528 to 1533.His father intended to preparehim for the legal profession since that commonly raised those whofollowed it to positions of wealth and influence. But not feeling anyparticular calling to that field, young Calvin turned to the study ofTheology and there found the sphere of labor for which he wasparticularly fitted by natural endowment and personal choice. He is

describedashavingbeenofashyandretiringnature,verystudiousandpunctualinhiswork,animatedbyastrictsenseofduty,andexceedinglyreligious. He early showed himself possessed of an intellect capable ofclear, convincing argument and logical analysis. Through excessiveindustryhestoredhismindwithvaluable information,butunderminedhishealth.Headvancedsorapidlythathewasoccasionallyaskedtotaketheplaceoftheprofessors,andwasconsideredbytheotherstudentsasadoctorratherthananauditor.Hewas,atthistime,adevoutCathodeofunblemished character. A brilliant career as a humanist, or lawyer, orchurchman,wasopeningbeforehimwhenhewassuddenlyconvertedtoProtestantism,andcastinhislotwiththepoorpersecutedsect.

Without any intention on his part, and even against his own desire,Calvin became the head of the evangelical party in Paris in less than ayear after his conversion. His depth of knowledge and earnestness ofspeech were such that no one could hear him without being forciblyimpressed.ForthepresentheremainedintheCatholicChurch,hopingtoreform it fromwithin rather than fromwithout.Schaff remindsus that'all theReformerswere born, baptized, confirmed, and educated in thehistoric Catholic Church, which cast them out; as the Apostles werecircumcisedandtrainedintheSynagogue,whichcastthemout.'1

The zeal and earnestness of the new Reformer did not long gounchallengedand it soonbecamenecessary forCalvin to escape for hislife.ThefollowingaccountofhisflightfromPadsisgivenbytheChurchhistorian, Philip Schaff: 'Nicholas Cop, the son of a distinguished royalphysician (William Cop of Basel), and a friend of Calvin was electedRectoroftheUniversity,Oct.10,1533,anddeliveredtheusualinauguralorationonAllSaints'Day,Nov.1,beforealargeassemblyintheChurchoftheMathurins.Thisoration,attherequestofthenewRector,hadbeenprepared byCalvin. Itwas a plea for a reformation on the basis of theNewTestament, and a bold attack on the scholastic theologians of theday,whowererepresentedasasetofsophists,ignorantoftheGospel....The Sorbonne and the Parliament regarded this academic oration as amanifesto of war upon the Catholic Church, and condemned it to theflames.CopwaswarnedandfledtohisrelativesinBasel.(Threehundredcrownswereofferedforhiscapture,deadoralive.)Calvin,therealauthor

of themischief, is said to have descended from awindow bymeans ofsheets,andescaped fromParis in thegarbof a vine-dresserwithahoeuponhis shoulder.His roomswere searched andhis books andpaperswere seized by the police .... Twenty-four innocent Protestants wereburnedalive inpublic places of the city fromNov. 10, 1534, tillMay5,1535....Many more were fined, imprisoned, and tortured, and aconsiderable number, among them Calvin and Du Tillet, fled toStrassburg . . . For nearly three years Calvin wandered as a fugitiveevangelistunderassumednamesfromplacetoplaceinsouthernFrance,Switzerland,andItaly,tillhereachedGenevaashisfinaldestination.'2

Shortlyafter,ifnotbefore,thefirsteditionofhisInstitutesappeared,inMarch,1536,CalvinandLouisDuTilletcrossedtheAlpsintoItalywherethe literaryandartisticRenaissancehad itsor/gin.Therehe laboredasanevangelistuntiltheInquisitionbeganitsworkofcrushingoutboththeRenaissanceandtheReformationastwokindredserpents.Hethenbenthis way, probably through Asota and over the Great St. Bernard, toSwitzerland.FromBaselhemadealastvisittohisnativetownofNoyoninordertomakeafinalsettlementofcertainfamilyaffairs.Then,withhisyounger brother Antoine and his sister Marie, he left France forever,hopingtosettleinBaselorStrassburgandtoleadtherethequietlifeofascholarandauthor.OwingtothefactthatastateofwarexistedbetweenCharlesV.andFrancisI.,thedirectroutethroughLorrainewasclosed,sohemadeacircuitousjourneythroughGeneva.

Calvin intended to stop only a night in Geneva, but Providence haddecreedotherwise.HispresencewasmadeknowntoFarel,theGenevanreformer,whoinstinctivelyfeltthatCalvinwasthemantocompleteandsave the Reformation in Geneva. A fine description of this meeting ofCalvin and Farel is given by Schaff. Says he: 'Farel at once called onCalvin and held him fast, as by divine command. Calvin protested,pleadinghisyouth,hisinexperience,hisneedoffurtherstudy,hisnaturaltimidityandbashfulness,whichunfittedhimforpublicaction.Butallinvain. Farel, 'who burned of a marvelous zeal to advance the Gospel,'threatenedhimwiththecurseofAlmightyGodifhepreferredhisstudiestotheworkoftheLord,andhisowninteresttothecauseofChrist.Calvinwasterrifiedandshakenbythesewordsofthefearlessevangelist,andfelt

'asifGodfromonhighhadstretchedoutHishand.'Hesubmitted,andacceptedthecalltotheministry,asteacherandpastoroftheevangelicalChurchofGeneva.'3

Calvinwas twenty-fiveyearsyounger thanLutherandZwingli,andhadthe great advantage of building on the foundationwhich theyhad laid.Thefirst tenyearsofCalvin'spubliccareerwerecontemporarywiththelast ten of Luther's although the two nevermet personally. CalvinwasintimatewithMelanchthon,however,andkeptupacorrespondencewithhimuntilhisdeath.

At thetimeCalvincameuponthescene ithadnotyetbeendeterminedwhetherLutherwas tobe theheroof agreat successor thevictimofagreat failure. Luther had produced new ideas; Calvin's work was toconstructthemintoasystem,topreserveanddevelopwhathadbeensonoblybegun.TheProtestantmovementlackedunityandwasindangerofbeingsunkinthequicksandofdoctrinaldispute,butwassavedfromthatfatechieflybythenew:impulsewhichwasgiventoitbytheReformerinGeneva.TheCatholicChurchworkedasonemightyunitandwasseekingtostampout,byfairmeansorfoul,thedifferentProtestantgroupswhichhadarisen in theNorth.Zwingli had seen thisdanger and had tried tounite the Protestants against their common foe. At Marburg, afterpleadingsandwith tears inhiseyes,heextendedtoLuther thehandoffellowship regardless of their difference of opinion as to the mode ofChrist's presence in theLord's Supper; but Luther refused it under therestraint of a narrow dogmatic conscience. Calvin also, working inSwitzerland with abundant opportunity to realize the closeness of theItalianChurch,sawtheneedforunionandlaboredtokeepProtestantismtogether. To Cranmer, in England, he wrote, 'I long for one holycommunionofthemembersofChrist.Asforme,ifIcanbeofservice,Iwould gladly cross ten seas in order to bring about this unity.' Hisinfluence as exerted through his books, letters, and students, waspowerfullyfeltthroughoutthevariouscountries,andthestatementthathe saved the Protestant movement from destruction seems to be noexaggeration.

For thirtyyearsCalvin'soneabsorbing interestwas theadvancementoftheReformation. Reed says, 'He toiled for it to the utmost limit of his

strength, fought for itwith a courage thatneverquailed, suffered for itwithafortitudethatneverwavered,andwasreadyatanymomenttodiefor it. He literally poured every drop of his life into it, unhesitatingly,unsparingly. History will be searched in vain to find a man who gavehimself to one definite purposewithmore unalterable persistence, andwith more lavish serf-abandon than Calvin gave himself to theReformationofthe16thcentury.'4

ProbablynoservantofChristsincethedaysoftheApostleshasbeenatthesametimesomuchlovedandhated,admiredandabhorred,praisedandblamed, blessed and cursed, as the faithful, fearless, and immortalCalvin.Livinginafiercelypolemicage,andstandingonthewatchtowerof the reformmovement inWesternEurope,hewas theobservedofallobservers,andwasexposedtoattacksfromeveryquarter.Religiousandsectarianpassionsarethedeepestandstrongest,andinviewofthegoodand thebadwhich is known to exist inhumannature in thisworldweneed not be surprised at the reception given Calvin's teachings andwritings.

When only twenty-six years of age Calvin published in Latin his'Institutesof theChristianReligion.'The firsteditioncontained inbriefoutline all the essential elements of his system, and, considering theyouthfulnessoftheauthor,wasamarvelofintellectualprecocity.Itwaslater enlarged to five times the size of the original and published inFrench, but never did he make any radical departure from any of thedoctrinessetforthinthefirstedition.AlmostimmediatelytheInstitutestookfirstplaceasthebestexhibitionanddefenseoftheProtestantcause.Otherwritingsbaddealtwith certainphasesof themovementbutherewas one that treated it as a unit. 'The value of such a gift to theReformation,' saysReed, 'cannot easily be exaggerated. Protestants andRomanists bore equal testimony to its worth. The one hailed it as thegreatest boon; the other execrated it with the bitterest curses. It wasburntbyorderoftheSorbonneatParisandotherplaces,andeverywhereit called forth the fiercest assaults of tongue and pen. Florimond deRaemond,aRomanCatholictheologian,callsit'theKoran,theTalmudofheresy, the foremost cause of our downfall.' Kampachulte, anotherRomanCatholic,testifiesthat'itwasthecommonarsenalfromwhichthe

opponentsoftheOldChurchborrowedtheirkeenestweapons,'andthat'nowritingoftheReformationerawasmorefearedbyRomanCatholics,more zealously fought against, andmore bitterly pursued thanCalvin'sInstitutes.'Itspopularitywasevidencedbythefactthateditionfollowededitioninquicksuccession; itwastranslatedintomostofthelanguagesofwesternEurope;itbecamethecommontext-bookintheschoolsoftheReformedChurches,andfurnishedthematerialoutofwhichtheircreedsweremade.'5

'OfalltheserviceswhichCalvinrenderedtohumanity,'saysDr.Warfield,'—andtheywereneitherfewnorsmall—thegreatestwasundoubtedlyhisgifttoitafreshofthissystemofreligiousthought,quickenedintonewlifebytheforcesofhisgenius.'6

TheInstituteswereatoncegreetedbytheProtestantswithenthusiasticpraise as the clearest, strongest, most logical. and most convincingdefense of Christian doctrines since the days of the Apostles. Schaffcharacterizes them well when he says that in them 'Calvin gave asystematic exposition of the Christian religion in general, and avindicationoftheevangelicalfaithinparticular,withtheapologeticandpracticalaimofdefendingtheProtestantbelieversagainstcalumnyandpersecutiontowhichtheywerethenexposed,especiallyinFrance.'7Thework is pervaded by an intense earnestness and by fearless and severeargumentationwhichproperly subordinates reasonand tradition to thesupremeauthorityoftheScriptures.Itisadmittedlythegreatestbookofthecentury,andthroughittheCalvinisticprincipleswerepropagatedonanimmensescale.AlbrechtRitschlcallsit'themasterpieceofProtestanttheology.' Dr.Warfield tells us that 'after three centuries and a half itretainsitsunquestionedpreeminenceasthegreatestandmostinfluentialofalldogmatictreatises.'Andagainhesays,'Evenfromthepointofmereliterature, itholdsapositionsosupremein itsclassthateveryonewhowouldfainknowtheworld'sbestbooks,mustmakehimselffamiliarwithit. What Thucydides is among Greek, or Gibbon among eighteenth-centuryEnglishhistorians,whatPlatoisamongphilosophers,ortheIliadamongepics,orShakespeareamongdramatists,thatCalvin's 'Institutes'is among theological treatises.'8 It threwconsternation into theRomanChurchandwasapowerfulunifyingforceamongProtestants.Itshowed

CalvintobetheablestcontroversialistinProtestantismandasthemostformidable antagonist with which the Romanists had to contend. InEnglandtheInstitutesenjoyedanalmostunrivaledpopularity,andwasusedasa textbook in theuniversities. Itwas soon translated intoninedifferentEuropeanlanguages;anditissimplyduetoaseriouslackinthemajority of historical accounts that its importance has not beenappreciatedinrecentyears.

AfewweeksafterthepublicationoftheInstitutes,Bucer,whoranksthirdamongtheReformersinGermany,wrotetoCalvin:'ItisevidentthattheLord had elected you as His organ for the bestowment of the richestfulnessofblessingtoHisChurch.'Lutherwrotenosystematictheology.Althoughhiswritingswerevoluminous, theywereonscatteredsubjectsandmanyofthemdealwiththepracticalproblemsofhisday.ItwasthuslefttoCalvintogiveasystematicexhibitionoftheevangelicalfaith.

Calvinwas,firstofall,atheologian.HeandAugustineeasilyrankasthetwooutstandingsystematicexpoundersoftheChristiansystemsinceSt.Paul.Melanchthon,whowashimselftheprinceofLutherantheologians,andwho,after thedeathofLuther,was recognizedas the 'PreceptorofGermany,'calledCalvinpreeminently'thetheologian.'

If the language of the Institutes seems harsh in places we shouldremember that this was the mark and weakness of theologicalcontroversy in that age. The times inwhich Calvin livedwere polemic.TheProtestantswereengagedinalifeanddeathstrugglewithRomeandthe provocations to impatience were numerous and grievous. Calvin,however,was surpassed by Luther in the use of harsh language aswillreadilybeseenbyanexaminationofthelatter'swork,TheBondageoftheWillwhichwasapolemicwrittenagainstthefree-willideasofErasmus.And furthermore,noneof theProtestantwritingsof theperiodwere soharsh and abusive as were the Roman Catholic decrees ofexcommunication, anathemas, etc., which were directed against theProtestants.

InadditiontotheInstitutes,CalvinwrotecommentariesonnearlyallofthebooksofboththeOldandNewTestaments.Thesecommentaries inthe English translation comprise fifty-five large volumes, and, taken in

connectionwith his otherworks, are nothing less thanmarvelous. Thequalityofthesewritingswassuchthattheysoontookfirstplaceamongexegetical works on the Scriptures; and among all the oldercommentators no one is more frequently quoted by the best modernscholarsthanisCalvin.Hewasbeyondallquestionthegreatestexegeteof the Reformation period. As Luther was the prince of translators, soCalvinwastheprinceofcommentators.

Furthermore, in order to estimate the true value of Calvin'scommentaries, it must be borne in mind that they were based onprinciplesofexegesiswhichwererareinhisday.'Heledtheway,'saysR.C.Reed,'indiscardingthecustomofallegorizingtheScriptures,acustomwhich had come down from the earliest centuries of Christianity andwhich had been sanctioned by the greatest names of the Church, fromOrigentoLuther,acustomwhichconvertstheBibleintoanoseofwax,andmakesa lively fancy theprimequalificationof anexegete.'9 Calvinadheredstrictlytothespiritandletteroftheauthorandassumedthatthewriterhadonedefinitethoughtwhichwasexpressedinnaturaleverydaylanguage.HemercilesslyexposedthecorruptdoctrinesandpracticesoftheRomanCatholicChurch.Hiswritings inspiredthe friendsofreformand furnished them with most of their deadly ammunition. We canhardly overestimate the influence of Calvin in furthering andsafeguardingtheReformation.

Calvin was a master of patristic and scholastic learning. Having beeneducatedintheleadinguniversitiesofhistime,hepossessedathoroughknowledge of Latin and French, and a good knowledge of Greek andHebrew.HisprincipalcommentariesappearedinbothFrenchandLatinversions and are works of great thoroughness. They are eminently fairand frank, and show the author to have been possessed of a singularbalanceandmoderationinjudgment.Calvin'sworkshadafurthereffectingivingformandpermanencetothethenunstablizedFrenchlanguageinmuchthesamewaythatLuther'stranslationoftheBiblemouldedtheGermanlanguage.

Oneother testimonywhichweshouldnotomit is thatofArminius, theoriginatoroftherivalsystem.Certainlyherewehavetestimonyfromanunbiasedsource. 'Next to the studyof theScriptures,'he says, 'I exhort

mypupilstopursueCalvin'scommentaries,whichIextolinloftiertermsthanHelmickhimself(HelmickwasaDutchtheologian);forIaffirmthatheexcelsbeyondcomparisonintheinterpretationofScripture,andthathiscommentariesoughttobemorehighlyvaluedthanallthatishandeddown to us by the library of the fathers; so that I acknowledge him tohavepossessed abovemost others, as rather above all othermen,whatmaybecalledaneminentgiftofprophecy.'10

The influence of Calvin was further spread through a voluminouscorrespondence which he carried on with church leaders, princes, andnobles throughout Protestant Christendom. More than 300 of theselettersarestillpreservedtoday,andasaruletheyarenotbrieffriendshipexchangesbutlengthyandcarefullypreparedtreatisessettingforth inamasterly way his views of perplexing ecclesiastical and theologicalquestions. In thismanneralsohis influence inguidingtheReformationthroughoutEuropewasprofound.

DuetoanattemptofCalvinandFarel toenforceatooseveresystemofdiscipline in Geneva, it became necessary for them to leave the citytemporarily. This was two years after Calvin's coming. Calvin went toStrassburg,insouthwesternGermany,wherehewaswarmlyreceivedbyBucerandthe leadingmenof theGermanReformation.Therehespentthenext threeyears inquietanduseful laborsasprofessor,pastor,andauthor,andcameintocontactwithLutheranismatfirsthand.Hehadagreat appreciation for the Luthern leaders and felt closely allied to theLutheranChurch,althoughhewasunfavorably impressedwith the lackof discipline and with the dependence of the clergy upon the secularrulers.HelaterfollowedtheprogressoftheReformationinGermanystepbystepwiththewarmestinterest,asisshowninhiscorrespondenceandvariouswritings.DuringhisabsencefromGenevaaffairsreachedsuchacrisisthatitseemedthatthefruitsoftheReformationwouldbelostandhewasurgentlyrequestedtoreturn.Afterrepeatedurgingsfromvarioussourceshedidsoandtookuptheworkwherehehadleftoffbefore.

ThecityofGeneva,locatedontheshoresofalakewhichbearsthesamename,wasCalvin'shome.There,amongthesnow-cappedAlps,hespentmost ofhis adult life, and from there theReformedChurchhas spreadoutthroughEuropeandAmerica.IntheaffairsoftheChurch,aswellas

intheaffairsoftheState,thelittlecountryofSwitzerlandhasexertedaninfluencefaroutofproportiontoitssize.

Calvin's influence inGeneva gives us a fair sample of the transformingpowerofhissystem. 'TheGenevese,'saystheeminentchurchhistorian,Philip Schaff, 'were a light-hearted, joyous people, fond of publicamusements,dancing,singing,masquerades,andrevelries.Recklessness,gambling, drunkenness, adultery, blasphemy, and all sorts of viceabounded.ProstitutionwassanctionedbytheauthorityoftheState,andsuperintendedbyawomancalledtheReinedebordel.Thepeoplewereignorant. The priest had taken no pains to instruct them, and had setthemabadexample.'Fromastudyofcontemporaryhistorywefindthatshortly before Calvin went to Geneva the monks and even the bishopwereguiltyofcrimeswhichtodayarepunishablewiththedeathpenalty.The result of Calvin's work in Geneva was that the city became morefamed for the quiet, orderly lives of its citizens than it had previouslybeenfortheirwickedness.JohnKnox,likethousandsofotherswhocametositasadmiringstudentsatCalvin's feet, found therewhathe termed'themost perfect school of Christ that ever was on the earth since thedaysoftheApostles.'

ThroughCalvin'sworkGenevabecameanasylumforthepersecuted,andatrainingschoolfortheReformedFaith.RefugeesfromallthecountriesofEuropefledtothisretreat,andfromittheycarriedbackwiththemtheclearly taught principles of the Reformation. It thus acted as a centeremanating spiritual power and educational forces which guided andmoulded the Reformation in the surrounding countries. Says Bancroft,'MoretrulybenevolenttothehumanracethanSolon,moreself-denyingthanLycurgus, the geniusofCalvin infusedenduring elements into theinstitutionsofGenevaandmadeitforthemodernworldtheimpregnablefortressofpopularliberty,thefertileseed-plotofdemocracy.'11

Witness as to the effectiveness of the influences which emanated fromGeneva is found inoneof the letters of theRomanCatholicFrancisdeSales to the duke of Savoy, urging the suppression of Geneva as thecapitalofwhattheRomishChurchcallsheresy.'Alltheheretics,'saidhe,'respectGeneva as the asylumof their religion.... There is not a city inEuropewhichoffersmorefacilitiesfortheencouragementofheresy,for

itisthegateofFrance,ofItaly,andofGermany,sothatonefindstherepeople of all nations — Italians, French, Germans, Poles, Spaniards,English,andofcountriesstillmoreremote.Besides,everyoneknowsthegreat number ofministers bred there. Last year it furnished twenty toFrance.EvenEnglandobtainsministersfromGeneva.WhatshallIsayofitsmagnificentprintingestablishments,bymeansofwhichthecityfloodstheworldwithitswickedbooks,andevengoesthelengthofdistributingthematthepublicexpense?....AlltheenterprisesundertakenagainsttheHolySee and theCatholicprinceshave theirbeginnings atGeneva.NocityinEuropereceivesmoreapostatesofallgrades,secularandregular.FromthenceIconcludethatGenevabeingdestroyedwouldnaturallyleadtothedissipationofheresy.'12

AnothertestimonyisthatofoneofthemostbitterfoesofProtestantism,PhilipIIofSpain.HewrotetothekingofFrance:'Thiscityisthesourceof allmischief forFrance, themost formidable enemyofRome.At anytime,Iamreadytoassistwithallthepowerofmyrealminitsoverthrow.'Andwhen theDukeofAlvawasexpected topassnearGenevawithhisarmy,PopePiusVaskedhimtoturnasideand'destroythatnestofdevilsandapostates.'

The famousacademyofGenevawasopened in 1558.WithCalvin therewereassociatedtenableandexperiencedprofessorswhogaveinstructionin grammar, logic, mathematics, physics, music, and the ancientlanguages. The school was remarkably successful. During the first yearmore than nine hundred students, mostly refugees from the variousEuropean countries,were enrolled, and almost asmanymore attendedhis theological lectures preparing themselves to be evangelists andteachers in their native countries and to establish churches after themodelwhichtheyhadseeninGeneva.Formorethantwohundredyearsit remained the principal school of Reformed Theology and literaryculture.

Calvin was the first of the Reformers to demand complete separationbetweenChurchandState,andthusheadvancedanotherprinciplewhichhasbeenofinestimablevalue.TheGermanReformationwasdecidedbythewilloftheprinces;theSwissReformation,bythewillofthepeople;although ineachcase therewasa sympathybetween the rulersand the

majorityof thepopulation.TheSwissReformers,however, living in therepublicatGeneva,developedafreeChurchinafreeState,whileLutherandMelanchthon,withtheirnativereverenceformonarchialinstitutionsandtheGermanEmpire,taughtpassiveobedienceinpoliticsandbroughttheChurchunderbondagetothecivilauthority.

Calvindiedintheyear1564,attheearlyageoffifty-five.Beza,hisclosefriendandsuccessor,describeshisdeathashavingcomequietlyassleep,and then adds: 'Thuswithdrew into heaven, at the same timewith thesetting sun, that most brilliant luminary, which was the lamp of theChurch. On the following night and day there was intense grief andlamentationinthewholecity;fortheRepublichadlostitswisestcitizen,the Church its faithful shepherd, and the Academy an incomparableteacher.'

In a comparatively recentbookProfessorHarknesshaswritten: 'Calvinlived, and died, a poorman.His house was scantily furnished, and hedressedplainly.Hegavefreelytothoseinneed,buthespent littleuponhimself.TheCouncilatonetimegavehimanovercoatasanexpressionoftheiresteem,andasaneededprotectionagainstthewinter'scold.Thisheacceptedgratefully,butonotheroccasionsherefusedprofferedfinancialassistance and declined to accept anything in addition to his modestsalary.DuringhislastillnesstheCouncilwishedtopayforthemedicinesused but Calvin declined the gift, saying that he felt scruples aboutreceiving even his ordinary salary when he could not serve. When hedied,he leftaspiritual inheritanceofunestimatedvalueandamaterialestateoffromfifteenhundredtotwothousanddollars.'13

SchaffdescribesCalvinas'oneofthosecharactersthatcommandrespectandadmiration rather thanaffection,and forbid familiarapproach,butgain upon closer acquaintance. The better he is known, themore he isadmired and esteemed.' And concerning his death Schaff says: 'Calvinhadexpressly forbiddenallpompathis funeraland theerectionof anymonument over his grave. He wished to be buried, likeMoses, out ofreachof idolatry.Thiswasconsistent,withhistheology,whichhumblesman and exalts God.'14 Even the spot of his grave in the cemetery atGenevaisunknown.Aplainstone,withtheinitials'J.C.,'ispointedoutto strangers asmarking his resting-place, but it is not known onwhat

authority. He himself requested that no monument should mark hisgrave. His real monument, however, says S. L. Morris, is 'everyrepublicangovernmentonearth,thepublicschoolsystemofallnations,and 'The Reformed Churches throughout the world holding thePresbyterianSystem.''

And again Harkness, although not always a friendly writer, says this:'Those who see in Calvin only unfeeling sternness overlook the almostfeminine gentleness which he displayed in many of his parishrelationships.Hegrievedwithhispeopleintheirsorrowsandrejoicedintheirjoys.Someofhisletterstothosewhohadsuffereddomestic lossesaremasterpiecesoftendersympathy.Whenaweddingoccurredorababycametograceahome,hetookawarmpersonal interest intheevent.Itwas not unusual for him to stop on the street in themidst of weightymatterstogiveaschool-boyafriendlypatandanencouragingword.Hisenemiesmightcallhimpopeorkingorcaliph;hisfriendsthoughtofhimonly as their brother and beloved leader.'15 In one of his letters to afriendhewrote: 'Ishallsooncometovisityou,andthenwecanhaveagoodlaughtogether.'

Wemustnowconsideranevent in the lifeofCalvinwhich to a certainextenthascastashadowoverhisfairnameandwhichhasexposedhimto the charge of intolerance and persecution.We refer to the death ofServetus which occurred in Geneva during the period of Calvin's workthere.That itwasamistake is admittedbyall.Historyknowsonlyonespotlessbeing—theSaviorofsinners.Allothershavemarksofinfirmitywrittenwhichforbididolatry.

Calvinhas,however,oftenbeencriticizedwithundueseverityasthoughthe responsibility rested upon him alone, when as a matter of factServetus was given a court trial lasting over two months and wassentencedbythefullsessionofthecivilCouncil,andthatinaccordancewiththelawswhichwerethenrecognizedthroughoutChristendom.And,farfromurgingthatthesentencebemademoresevere,Calvinurgedthattheswordbesubstituted for the fire,butwasoverruled.Calvinand themenofhistimearenottobejudgedstrictlyandsolelybytheadvancedstandards of our twentieth century, but must to a certain extent beconsideredinthelightoftheirownsixteenthcentury.Wehaveseengreat

developments in regard to civil and religious toleration, prison reform,abolition of slavery and the slave trade, feudalism, witch burning,improvement of the conditions of the poor, etc.,which are the late butgenuineresultsofChristianteachings.Theerrorofthosewhoadvocatedand practiced what would be considered intolerance today, was thegeneralerroroftheage.Itshouldnot,infairness,bepermittedtogiveanunfavorable impression of their character and motives, and much lessshoulditbeallowedtoprejudiceusagainsttheirdoctrinesonotherandmoreimportantsubjects.

The Protestants had just thrown off the yoke of Rome and in theirstruggletodefendthemselvestheywereoftenforcedtofightintolerancewith intolerance. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuriespublic opinion in all European countries justified the right and duty ofcivilgovernmentstoprotectandsupportorthodoxyandtopunishheresy,holding that obstinate heretics and blasphemers should be madeharmless by death if necessary. Protestants differed from Romanistsmainly in their definition of heresy, and by greater moderation in itspunishment.Heresy was considered a sin against society, and in somecasesasworse thanmurder; forwhilemurderonlydestroyed thebody,heresydestroyedthesoul.Todaywehaveswungtotheotherextremeandpublic opinion manifests a latitudinarian indifference toward truth orerror. During the eighteenth century the reign of intolerance wasgraduallyundermined.ProtestantEnglandandHollandtooktheleadinextendingcivil and religious liberty, and theConstitution of theUnitedStatescompletedthetheorybyputtingallChristiandenominationsonaparitybeforethelawandguaranteeingthemthefullenjoymentofequalrights.

Calvin'scourseinregardtoServetuswasfullyapprovedbyalltheleadingReformersofthetime.Melanchthon,thetheologicalheadoftheLutheranChurch,fullyandrepeatedlyjustifiedthecourseofCalvinandtheCouncilofGeneva,andevenheldthemupasmodelsforimitation.NearlyayearafterthedeathofServetushewrotetoCalvin:'Ihavereadyourbook,inwhichyoudearly refuted thehorridblasphemiesofServetus ....ToyoutheChurchowesgratitudeatthepresentmoment,andwilloweittothelatestposterity.Iperfectlyassenttoyouropinion.Iaffirmalsothatyour.

magistratesdid right inpunishing, after regular trial, thisblasphemousman.' Bucer, who ranks third among the Reformers in Germany,Bullinger, the close friend and worthy successor of Zwingli, as well asFarelandBezainSwitzerland,supportedCalvin.LutherandZwingliweredead at this time and it may be questioned whether they would haveapproved this executionornot, althoughLuther and the theologians ofWittenberg had approved of death sentences for some Anabaptists inGermanywhomtheyconsidereddangerousheretics,—addingthatitwascrueltopunishthem,butmorecrueltoallowthemtodamntheministryoftheWordanddestroythekingdomoftheworld;andZwinglihadnotobjected to a death sentence against a group of six Anabaptists inSwitzerland. Public opinion has undergone a great change in regard tothisevent,andtheexecutionofServetuswhichwasfullyapprovedbythebest men in the sixteenth century is entirely out of harmony with ourtwentiethcenturyideas.

As stated before, the Roman Catholic Church in this period wasdesperately intolerant toward Protestants; and the Protestants, to acertainextentandinself-defense,wereforcedtofollowtheirexample.InregardtoCatholicpersecutionsPhilipSchaffwritesasfollows:'WeneedonlyrefertocrusadesagainsttheAlbigensesandWaldenses,whichweresanctioned by Innocent III, one of the best and greatest of popes; thetortures and autos-da-fé of the Spanish Inquisition, which werecelebrated with religious festivities; and fifty thousand or moreProtestantswhowereexecutedduringthereignoftheDukeofAlvaintheNetherlands(1567-1573);theseveralhundredmartyrswhowereburnedinSmithfieldunderthereignofbloodyMary;andtherepeatedwholesalepersecutionsof the innocentWaldenses inFranceandPiedmont,whichcriedtoheavenforvengeance. It isvain toshift theresponsibilityuponthecivilgovernment.PopeGregoryXIIIcommemoratedthemassacreofSt. Bartholomewnot only by a TeDeum in the churches of Rome, butmore deliberately and permanently by a medal which represents 'TheSlaughteroftheHuguenots'byanangelofwrath.'16

And thenDr.Schaff continues: 'TheRomanChurchhas lost thepower,andtoalargeextentalsothedisposition,topersecutebyfireandsword.Some of her highest dignitaries frankly disown the principle of

persecution, especially inAmerica,where theyenjoy the fullbenefitsofreligiousfreedom.ButtheRomancuriahasneverofficiallydisownedthetheory on which the practice of persecution is based. On the contrary,severalpopessincetheReformationhaveindorsedit....PopePiusIX.,intheSyllabusof1864,expresslycondemned,amongtheerrorsofthisage,the doctrine of religious toleration and liberty. And this pope has beendeclared to be officially infallible by the Vatican decree of 1870, whichembraces all of his predecessors (notwithstanding the stubborn case ofHonoriusI)andallhissuccessorsinthechairofSt.Peter,'(p.669).AndinanotherplaceDr.Schaffadds, 'IfRomanistscondemnedCalvin, theydid it fromhatred of theman, and condemned him for following theirownexampleeveninthisparticularcase.'

ServetuswasaSpaniardandopposedChristianity,whetherinitsRomanCatholicorProtestant form.Schaffrefers tohimas 'a restless fanatic,apantheistic pseudo-reformer, and the most audacious and evenblasphemoushereticofthesixteenthcentury.'17AndinanotherinstanceSchaff declares that Servetus was 'proud, defiant, quarrelsome,revengeful,irreverentintheuseoflanguage,deceitful,andmendacious';and adds that he abused popery and the Reformers alike withunreasonablelanguage.18BullingerdeclaresthatifSatanhimselfshouldcomeoutofhell,hecouldusenomoreblasphemouslanguageagainsttheTrinity than this Spaniard. TheRomanCatholic Bolsec, in hiswork onCalvin, calls Servetus 'a very arrogant and insolentman,' 'amonstrousheretic,'whodeservedtobeexterminated.

ServetushadfledtoGeneva fromVienne,France;andwhile the trialatGenevawasinprogresstheCouncilreceivedamessagefromtheCatholicjudgesinViennetogetherwithacopyofthesentenceofdeathwhichhadbeenpassedagainsthimthere,askingthathebesentbackinorderthatthesentencemightbeexecutedonhimasithadalreadybeenexecutedonhiseffigyandbooks.ThisrequesttheCouncilrefusedbutpromisedtodofull justice. Servetus himself preferred to be tried in Geneva, since hecould see only a burning funeral pyre for himself in Vienne. ThecommunicationfromVienneprobablymadetheCouncilinGenevamorezealous for orthodoxy since they did notwish to be behind theRomanChurchinthatrespect.

BeforegoingtoGenevaServetushadurgedhimselfupontheattentionofCalvinthroughalongseriesofletters.ForatimeCalvinrepliedtothesein considerable detail, but finding no satisfactory results were beingaccomplished he ceased. Servetus, however, continued writing and hisletters took on a more arrogant and even insulting tone. He regardedCalvinasthepopeoforthodoxProtestantism,whomhewasdeterminedto convert or overthrow. At the time Servetus came to Geneva theLibertineparty,whichwasinoppositiontoCalvin,wasincontrolofthecityCouncil.ServetusapparentlyplannedtojointhispartyandthusdriveCalvinout.CalvinapparentlysensedthisdangerandwasinnomoodtopermitServetustopropagatehiserrorsinGeneva.Henceheconsideredit his duty to make so dangerous a man harmless, and determined tobringhimeithertorecantationortodeservedpunishment.Servetuswaspromptlyarrestedandbroughttotrial.Calvinconductedthetheologicalpart of the trial and Servetus was convicted of fundamental heresy,falsehood and blasphemy. During the long trial Servetus becameemboldened and attempted to overwhelm Calvin by pouring upon himthecoarsestkindofabuse.19Theoutcomeofthetrialwaslefttothecivilcourt,whichpronounced the sentenceofdeathby fire.Calvinmadeanineffectualpleathattheswordbesubstitutedforthefire;hencethefinalresponsibilityfortheburningrestswiththeCouncil.

Dr. Emilé Doumergue, the author of Jean Calvin, which is beyondcomparison themost exhaustive and authoritativework ever publishedonCalvin, has the following to say about thedeath of Servetus: 'Calvinhad Servetus arrested when he came to Geneva, and appeared as hisaccuser.Hewantedhimtobecondemnedtodeath,butnottodeathbyburning.OnAugust20,1553,CalvinwrotetoFarel:'IhopethatServetuswill be condemned to death, but I desire that he should be spared thecrueltyofthepunishment'—hemeansthatoffire.FarelrepliedtohimonSeptember8th:'Idonotgreatlyapprovethattendernessofheart,'andhegoesontowarnhimtobecareful that 'inwishingthatthecrueltyofthe punishment of Servetus be mitigated, thou art acting as a friendtowards aman who is thy greatest enemy. But I pray thee to conductthyselfinsuchamannerthat,infuture,noonewillhavetheboldnesstopublish suchdoctrines, and to give troublewith impunity for so long atimeasthismanhasdone.'

'Calvindidnot,onthisaccount,modifyhisownopinion,buthecouldnotmake it prevail. On October 26th he wrote again to Farel: 'TomorrowServetuswillbeledouttoexecution.Wehavedoneourbesttochangethekindofdeath,butinvain.Ishalltelltheewhenwemeetwhywehadnosuccess.'(Opera,XIV,pp.590,613-657).

'Thus, what Calvin is most of all reproached with — the burning ofServetus—Calvinwasquiteopposedto.Heisnotresponsibleforit.Hedidwhat he could to save Servetus frommounting the pyre. But,whatreprimands, more or less eloquent, has this pyre with its flames andsmokegivenriseto,maderoomfor!ThefactisthatwithoutthepyrethedeathofServetuswouldhavepassedalmostunnoticed.'

DoumérguegoesontotellusthatthedeathofServetuswas'theerrorofthetime,anerrorforwhichCalvinwasnotparticularlyresponsible.Thesentence of condemnation to death was pronounced only afterconsultation with the Swiss Churches, several of which were far frombeingongoodtermswithCalvin(butallofwhichgavetheirconsent)....Besides, the judgment was pronounced by a Council in which theinveterateenemiesofCalvin,thefreethinkers,wereinthemajority.'20

That Calvin himself rejected the responsibility is clear from his laterwritings. 'FromthetimethatServetuswasconvictedofhisheresy,'saidhe, 'Ihavenotutteredawordabouthispunishment,asallhonestmenwillbearwitness.'21Andinoneofhislaterrepliestoanattackwhichhadbeenmadeuponhim,hesays:'ForwhatparticularactofmineyouaccusemeofcrueltyIamanxioustoknow.Imyselfknownotthatact,unlessitbewithreferencetothedeathofyourgreatmaster,Servetus.ButthatImyself earnestlyentreated thathemightnotbeput todeathhis judgesthemselvesarewitnesses,inthenumberofwhomatthattimetwowerehisstaunchfavoritesanddefenders.'22

Before the arrest of Servetus and during the earlier stages of the trialCalvinadvocated thedeathpenalty,basinghis argumentmainlyon theMosaic law,whichwas, 'He that blasphemeth thename of Jehovah, heshallsurelybeputtodeath,'Lev.24:16—alawwhichCalvinconsideredasbindingasthedecalogueandapplicabletoheresyaswell.Yethe leftthepassingofsentencewhollytothecivilcouncil.tieconsideredServetus

thegreatestenemyoftheReformationandhonestlybelievedittobetheright and duty of the State to punish those who offended against theChurch.HealsofelthimselfprovidentiallycalledtopurifytheChurchofall corruptions, and to his dying day he never changed his views norregrettedhisconducttowardServetus.

Dr. Abraham Kuyper, the statesman-theologian from Holland, inspeaking to anAmerican audiencenotmany years ago expressed somethoughtsinthisconnectionwhichareworthrepeating.Saidhe:'Thedutyof the government to extirpate every formof false religion and idolatrywasnot a find of Calvinism, but dates fromConstantine theGreat andwas the reaction against the horrible persecutions which his paganpredecessors on the Imperial throne had inflicted upon the sect of theNazarene. Since that day this systemhadbeendefendedby allRomishtheologians and applied by all Christian princes. In the time of LutherandCalvin, itwas a universal conviction that that systemwas the trueone. Every famous theologian of the period, Melanchton first of all,approved of the death by fire of Servetus; and the scaffold, which waserectedbytheLutherans,atLeipzigforKreel,thethoroughCalvinist,wasinfinitely more reprehensible when looked at from a Protestantstandpoint.

'But whilst the Calvinists, in the age of the Reformation, yielded upthemselvesasmartyrs,bytensofthousands,tothescaffoldandthestake(those of the Lutherans and Roman Catholics being hardly worthcounting),historyhasbeenguiltyofthegreatandfar-reachingunfairnessof ever casting in their teeth this one executionby fire of Servetus as acrimennefandum.

'Notwithstanding all this I not only deplore that one stake, but Iunconditionallydisapproveofit;yetnotasifitweretheexpressionofaspecialcharacteristicofCalvinism,butonthecontraryasthefatalafter-effect of a system, grey with age, which Calvinism found in existence,underwhich it hadgrownup, and fromwhich ithadnot yetbeenableentirelytoliberateitself.'23

Hencewhenweviewthisaffair inthelightofthesixteenthcenturyandconsiderthesedifferentaspectsofthecase,—namely,theapprovalofthe

otherreformers,apublicopinionwhichabhorredtolerationasinvolvingindifference to truthandwhich justified thedeathpenalty forobstinateheresy and blasphemy, the sentence also passed on Servetus by theRoman Catholic authorities, the character of Servetus and his attitudetowardCalvin,hisgoingtoGenevaforthepurposeofcausingtrouble,thepassing of sentence by a civil court not under Calvin's control, andCalvin's appeal for a lighter form of punishment, — we come to theconclusion that there were numerous extenuating circumstances, andthatwhateverelsemaybesaidCalvinhimselfactedfromastrictsenseofduty.Viewhimfromanyangleyouplease;painthimasCromwellaskedhimself to be painted— 'warts and all' — and, as Schaff has said, 'Heimproves upon acquaintance.'Hewas, beyond all question, aman sentfromGod,aworldshaker,suchasappearsonlyafewtimesinthehistoryoftheworld.

Footnotes:1TheSwissReformation,p.312.2Schaff,TheSwissReformation,p.322.3TheSwissReformation,p.3484CalvinMemorialAddresses,p.34.5CalvinMemorialAddresses,p.20.6Article,TheTheologyofCalvin,p.1.7TheSwissReformation,p.330.8CalvinandCalvinism,pp.8,374.9CalvinMemorialAddresses,p.22.10QuotedbyJamesOrr,CalvinMemorialAddresses,p.92.11Miscellanies,p.406.12Viedeste.FrancoisdeSales,parsonneveu,p.20.13JohnCalvin,TheManandHisEthics,p.54.14TheSwissReformation,p.826.15JohnCalvin,TheManandHisEthics,p.55.16HistoryoftheSwissReformation,II.,p.698.17TheCreedsofChristendom,I.,p.464.18TheSwissReformation,II.,p.787.19SeeSchaff,TheSwissReformation,II.,p.778.20Doumergue, Article,WhatOught to beKnownAbout Calvin, in the

EvangelicalQuarterly,Jan.1929.21Opera,VIII.,p.461.22Calvin'sCalvinism,p.346.23LecturesonCalvinism,p.129.

Conclusion

WehavenowexaminedtheCalvinisticsysteminconsiderabledetail,andhave seen its influence in the Church, in the State, in society, and ineducation.Wehavealsoconsideredtheobjectionswhicharecommonlybrought against it, andhave considered thepractical importance of thesystem. It now remains for us to make a few general observations inregardtothesystemasawhole.

A sure test of the character of individuals or of systems is found inChrist's own words: 'By their fruits ye shall know them.' By that testCalvinists and Calvinism will gladly be judged. The lives and theinfluencesofthosewhohaveheldtheReformedFaithisoneof thebestandmostconclusiveargumentsinitsfavor.Smithrefersto'thatdivinelyvital and exuberant Calvinism, !he creator of the modern world, themotherofheroes,saintsandmartyrsinnumberwithoutnumber,whichhistory, judging the tree by its fruits, crowns as the greatest creed ofChristendom.'1 The impartial verdict of history is that as a characterbuilder and as a proclaimer of liberty to men and nations Calvinismstandssupremeamongall the religioussystemsof theworld. IncallingtherollofthegreatmenofourowncountrythenumberofPresbyterianpresidents, legislators, jurists, authors, editors, teachers and businessmen isvastlydisproportionate to themembershipof theChurch.Everyimpartial historian will admit that it was the Protestant revolt againstRomewhichgavethemodernworlditsfirsttasteofgenuinereligiousandcivil liberty, and,that the nationswhich have achieved and enjoyed thegreatest freedomhavebeen thosewhichweremost fullybroughtunderthe influenceofCalvinism.Furthermore that great life-giving streamofreligiousandcivillibertyhasbeenmadebyCalvinismtoflowoverallthebroad plains of modern history. When we compare countries such as

England,ScotlandandAmerica,withcountriessuchasFrance,SpainandItaly,whichnevercameundertheinfluencesofCalvinism,wereadilyseewhat the practical results are. The economic and moral depression inRomanCatholiccountrieshasbroughtaboutsuchadecreaseeveninthebirth rate that the population in those countries hah become almoststationary, while the population in these other countries has steadilyincreased.

A brief examination of Church history, or of the historic creeds ofProtestantism,readilyshowsthatthedoctrineswhichtodayareknownasCalvinism were the ones which brought about the Reformation andpreserveditsbenefits.HewhoismostfamiliarwiththehistoryofEuropeand America will readily agree with the startling statement of Dr.Cunningham that, 'next to Paul, John Calvin has done most for theworld.'AndDr.Smithhaswellsaid:'SurelyitshouldstopthemouthsofthedetractorsofCalvinismtorememberthatfrommenofthatcreedweinherit,asthefruitsof theirbloodandtoil, theirprayersandteachings,ourcivilliberty,ourProtestantfaith,ourChristianhomes.Thethoughtfulreader,notingthatthesethreeblessingslieattherootofall that isbestandgreatest in themodernworld,maybe startledat the implied claimthatourpresentChristiancivilizationisbutthefruitageofCalvinism.'2

Wedo but repeat the very clear testimony of historywhenwe say thatCalvinismhasbeenthecreedofsaintsandheroes.'Whateverthecause,'saysFroude,'theCalvinistsweretheonlyfightingProtestants.ItwastheywhosefaithgavethemcouragetostandupfortheReformation,andbutforthemtheReformationwouldhavebeenlost.'Duringthosecenturiesinwhichspiritual tyrannywasnumbering its victimsby the thousands;wheninEngland,Scotland,HollandandSwitzerland,Protestantismhadtomaintainitselfwiththesword,CalvinismproveditselftheonlysystemabletocopewithanddestroythegreatpowersoftheRomishChurch.Itsunequalledarrayofmartyrsisoneofitscrownsofglory.Intheaddressofthe Methodist Conference to the Presbyterian Alliance of 1896 it wasgraciouslysaid:'YourChurchhasfurnishedthememorableandinspiringspectacle, not simply of a solitary heroic soul here and there, but ofgenerationsoffaithfulsoulsreadyforthesakeofChristandHistruthtogocheerfullytoprisonandtodeath.Thisrarehonoryourightlyesteem

as themost preciouspart of yourpricelessheritage.' 'There is no othersystem of religion in the world,' says McFetridge, which has such agloriousarrayofmartyrstothefaith.'Almosteverymanandwomanwhowalked to the flames rather than deny the faith or leave a stain onconsciencewasthedevoutfollower,notonly,andfirstofall,oftheSonofGod, but also of that minister of God who made Geneva the light ofEurope, John Calvin.'3 To the Divine vitality and fruitfulness of thissystemthemodernworldowesadebtofgratitudewhichinrecentyearsitisslowlybeginningtorecognizebutcanneverrepay.

Wehave said thatCalvinistic theology develops a liberty lovingpeople.Where it flourishes despotism cannot abide. As might have beenexpected,itearlygaverisetoarevolutionaryformofChurchgovernment,inwhichthepeopleoftheChurchweretobegovernedandministeredto,notbytheappointeesofanyonemanorsetofmenplacedoverthem,butbypastorsandofficerselectedbythemselves.Religionwasthenwiththepeople, not over them. Testimony from a remarkable source as to theefficiencyofthisgovernmentisthatofthedistinguishedRomanCatholic,ArchbishopHughesofNewYork:'Thoughitismyprivilegetoregardtheauthority exercisedby theGeneralAssembly as usurpation, still Imustsay,witheverymanacquaintedwith themode inwhich it isorganized,that forthepurposeofpopularandpoliticalgovernment itsstructure islittle inferior to that of Congress itself. It acts on the principle of aradiating center, and is without an equal or a rival among the otherdenominationsofthecountry.'4

From freedom and responsibility in the Church it was only a step tofreedom and responsibility in the State; and historically the cause offreedom has found no braver nor more resolute champions than thefollowersofCalvin.

'Calvinism,'saysWarburton,'isnodreamy,theoreticalcreed.Itdoesnot,—despitealltheassertionsofitsadversaries,—encourageamantofoldhisarmsinaspiritoffatalisticindifference,andignoretheneedsofthosearoundhim,togetherwiththecryingevilswhichlie,likeputrifyingsores,upontheopen face of society.'5Wherever it has gonemarvelousmoraltransformations have followed in its wake. For purity of life, fortemperance, industry, and charity, the Calvinists have stood without

superiors.

James Anthony Froude has been recognized as one of England's mostable historians and men of letters. For a number of years he wasprofessor of History at Oxford, England's greatest university.While heacceptedanothersystemforhimself,andwhilehiswritingsaresuchthathe is often spoken of as an opponent of Calvinism, he was free fromprejudice,and the ignorantattacksuponCalvinismwhichhavebeen socommon in recent years aroused in him the learned scholar's justimpatience.

'Iamgoingtoaskyou,'saysFroude,'toconsiderhowitcametopassthatif Calvinism is indeed the hard and unreasonable creed whichmodernenlightenmentdeclaresittobe,ithaspossessedsuchsingularattractionsin past times for some of the greatestmen that ever lived; and how—beingasweare told, fatal tomorality,because itdenies freewill— thefirst symptom of its operation, wherever it established itself, was toobliteratethedistinctionbetweensinsandcrimes,andtomakethemorallaw the rule of life for States aswell as persons. I shall ask you, again,why, if it be a creedof intellectual servitude, itwas able to inspire andsustainthebravesteffortsevermadebymantobreaktheyokeofunjustauthority.When all else has failed, — when patriotism has covered itsfaceandhumancouragehasbrokendown,—whenintellecthasyielded,asGibbon says, 'with a smile or a sigh,' content to philosophize in thecloset, and abroad worship with the vulgar, — when emotion, andsentiment,and tender imaginativepietyhavebecomethehandmaidsofsuperstition,andhavedreamtthemselvesintoforgetfulnessthatthereisanydifferencebetweenliesandtruth,—theslavishformofbeliefcalledCalvinism,inoneorotherofitsmanyforms,hasborneeveraninflexiblefronttoillusionandmendacity,andhaspreferredrathertobegroundtopowder like flint than tobendbeforeviolenceormeltunderenervatingtemptation.'

To illustrate this Froude mentions William the Silent, Luther, Calvin,Knox,Coligny,Cromwell,Milton,andBunyan,andsaysofthem:'Thesemenarepossessedofallthequalitieswhichgivenobilityandgrandeurtohuman nature, —men whose life was as upright as their intellect wascommanding and their public aims untainted with selfishness;

unalterably just where duty required them to be stern, but with thetendernessofawomanintheirhearts;frank,true,cheerful,humorous,asunlikesourfanaticsasitispossibletoimagineanyone,andableinsomeway to sound the key-note to which every brave and faithful heart inEuropeinstinctivelyvibrated.'6

WeshallnowturnourattentiontoCalvinismasanevangelizingforce.Avery practical test for any system of religious doctrine is, 'Has it, incomparison with other systems, proved itself a success in theevangelization of the world ?' To save sinners and convert them topracticalgodliness is thechiefpurposeof theChurchinthisworld;andthesystemwhichwillnotmeasureup to this testmustbe set aside,nomatterhowpopularitmaybeinotherrespects.

The first great Christian revival, in which three thousand people wereconverted, occurred under the preaching of Peter in Jerusalem, whoemployed such language as this: 'Him being delivered up by thedeterminate council and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hands oflawless men did crucify and slay,' Acts 2:23. And the company ofdisciples,wheninearnestprayershortlyafterward,spokeinthesewords:'ForofatruthinthiscityagainstthyholyservantJesus,whomthoudidstanoint,bothHerodandPontiusPilate,withtheGentilesandthepeoplesof Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thycounsel foreordained to come topass,'Acts 4:27, 28.That isCalvinismrigidenough.

ThenextgreatrevivalintheChurch,whichoccurredinthefourthcenturythrough the influenceofAugustine,wasbasedon thesedoctrines, as isreadily seen by anyone who reads the literature on that period. TheReformation, which is admitted by all to have been incomparably thegreatest revival of true religion since New Testament times, occurredunder the soundly predestinarian preaching of Luther, Zwingli, andCalvin. To Calvin and Admiral Coligny belongs the credit of havinginspiredthefirstProtestantforeignmissionaryenterprise,theexpeditiontoBrazilin1555.True,theventureprovedunsuccessful,andthereligiouswarsinEuropepreventedtherenewaloftheenterpriseforaconsiderableperiod.

McFetridge has given us some interesting and comparatively unknownfactsabout the riseof theMethodistChurch.Sayshe: 'We speakof theMethodistChurchbeginninginarevival.Andsoitdid.Butthefirstandchief actor in that revival was not Wesley, but Whitefield (anuncompromisingCalvinist).ThoughayoungermanthanWesley, itwashewhofirstwentforthpreachinginthefieldsandgatheringmultitudesof followers,and raisingmoneyandbuildingchapels. ItwasWhitefieldwho invoked the twoWesleys to his aid. And he had to employmuchargument and persuasion to overcome their prejudices against themovement.Whitefield began the great work at Bristol and Kingswood,andhadfoundthousandsflockingtohisside,readytobeorganizedintochurches,whenheappealedtoWesleyforassistance.Wesley,withallhiszeal,hadbeenquiteaHigh-Churchmaninmanyofhisviews.Hebelievedin immersingeventhe infants,anddemandedthatdissentersshouldberebaptized before being taken into the Church. He could not think ofpreaching inanyplacebut inachurch. 'Heshouldhave thought,'ashesaid,'thesavingofsoulsalmostasinifithadnotbeendoneinachurch.'HencewhenWhitefieldcalledonJohnWesleytoengagewithhiminthepopularmovement, he shrank back. Finally, he yielded toWhitefield'spersuasions, but, he allowed himself to be governed in the decision bywhatmanywouldrateasasuperstition.HeandCharlesfirstopenedtheirBibles at random to see if their eyes should fall on a textwhichmightdecide them.But the textswere all foreign to the subject. Thenhe hadrecourse to sortilege, and cast lots to decide thematter. The lot drawnwastheonemarkedforhimtoconsent,andsoheconsented.Thushewasled to undertake theworkwithwhich his namehas been so intimatelyandhonorablyassociatedeversince.

'SolargelywastheMethodistmovementowingtoWhitefieldthathewascalled'theCalvinisticestablisherofMethodism,'andtotheendofhislifehe remained the representative of it in the eyes of the learned world.Walpole,inhisLetters,speaksonlyonceofWesleyinconnectionwiththeriseofMethodism,whilehefrequentlyspeaksofWhitefieldinconnectionwithit.Mant,inhiscourseoflecturesagainstMethodism,speaksofitasanentirelyCalvinisticaffair.Neitherthemechanismnortheforcewhichgave rise to it originated withWesley. Field-preaching, which gave thewhole movement its aggressive character, and fitted and enabled it to

copewiththepowerfulagencieswhichwerearmedagainstit,wasbegunbyWhitefield,whilst'Wesleywasdraggedintoitreluctantly.'Inthepolitelanguageoftheday'Calvinism'and'Methodism'weresynonymousterms,andtheMethodistswerecalled'anothersectofPresbyterians.'....

'ItwasCalvinism,andnotArminianism,whichoriginated(sofarasanysystemofdoctrineoriginated)thegreatreligiousmovementinwhichtheMethodistChurchwasborn.

'While, therefore,Wesley is tobehonoredforhiswork inbehalfof thatChurch, we should not fail to remember the great Calvinist, GeorgeWhitefield, who gave that Church her first beginnings and her mostdistinctive character. Had he lived longer, and not shrunk from thethoughtofbeingthefounderofaChurch,fardifferentwouldhavebeentheresultsofhislabors.Asitwas,hegatheredcongregationsforotherstoformintoChurches,andbuiltchapelsforotherstopreachin.'7

It should also be said at this point that Wesley was a believer inwitchcraft. Failure to believe in witches was looked upon by him as aconcession to infidels and rationalists. Many of his biographers havepassedoverthissubjectinsilence,althoughsomeofthosemostfriendlyto his cause have admitted that he stated his beliefs in words whichcannotbemisunderstood.InhisJournalwereadthisreportofagirlwhowas subject to fits: 'When old Doctor Alexander was asked what herdisorderwas, he answered, 'It iswhat formerly theywould have calledbeingbewitched.'Andwhy should theynot call it so now?Because theinfidels have hooted witchcraft out of the world; and the complaisantChristians, in large numbers, have joined them in the cry.' AlthoughCalvin lived twoandaquartercenturiesbeforeWesleyandhadnot theadvantagesofthescientificandintellectualprogressthathadbeenmadeduringthattime,wefindnosuchstrangecredulity inhim.Hiswritingsarenotonlyfreefromwitchcraftbutcontainnumerouswarningsagainstsuchbelief.

ThefamousEnglishBaptistCharlesHaddenSpurgeon(1834-1892),oneoftheworld'sgreatestpreachers,spokeasfollows:'IamneverashamedtoavowmyselfaCalvinist.IdonothesitatetotakethenameofBaptist;butifIamaskedwhatismycreed,Ireply,'ItisJesusChrist.''

Andagain, 'ManyofourCalvinisticpreachersdonot feedGod'speople.They believe election, but they do not preach it. They think particularredemption true, but they lock it in the chest of their creed, and neverbring it out in their ministry. They hold final perseverance, but theypersevere inkeepingquiet about it.They think there is sucha thingaseffectualcalling,buttheydonotthinktheyarecalledfrequentlytopreachit.Thegreatfaultwefindwiththemis,thattheydonotspeakrightoutwhattheybelieve.Youcouldnotknowifyouheardthemfiftytimeswhatwerethedoctrinesof theGospel,orwhatwas their systemof salvation.AndhenceGod'speoplegetstarved.'

WhenwecometoastudyofforeignmissionswefindthatthissystemofbeliefhasbeenthemostimportantagencyincarryingtheGospel totheheathennations.St.Paul,whomthemoreliberalopponentsofCalvinismadmittohavebeenresponsiblefortheCalvinisticcastofthetheologicalthought of the Church, was the greatest and most influential ofmissionaries. Ifwe call the roll of thehemes of ProtestantMissionswefindthatalmostwithoutexceptiontheyhavebeendisciplesofCalvin.Wefind Carey and Martyn in India, Linvingstone and Moffat in Africa,Morrison inChina,Paton in theSouthSeas,andagreathostofothers.ThesemenprofessedandpossessedaCalvinismwhichwasnotstaticbutdynamic;itwasnottheircreedonly,buttheirconduct.

Andinregardtoforeignmissions,Dr.F.W.Loetscherhassaid:'ThoughlikealloursisterChurcheswehavereason,inviewofourunprecedentedresources and the appalling needs of heathen lands, to lament that wehave not accomplished more, we may at least thank God that ourveneratedfathersmadesogoodabeginninginestablishingmissionsallovertheworld; thattheCalvinisticChurchestodaysurpassallothers intheirgiftstothiscause;andinparticularthatourowndenominationhasthe unique honor and privilege of discharging her far-reachingresponsibities by actually confronting every one of the great non-Christian religions, and preaching the gospel on more continents, andamongmore nations, peoples, and tongues, than any other evangelicalChurchintheworld.'8

Although to some it may sound like an unwarranted exaggeration, wehave no hesitation in saying that through the centuries Calvinism,

fearlessly and ringingly polemic in its insistence upon, and defense of,sounddoctrine,hasbeentherealstrengthof theChristianChurch.Thetraditionally high standards of the Calvinistic Churches in regard toministerial training and culture have borne a great harvest in bringingmultitudes to the feet of Jesus, not in temporary excitement, but inperpetual covenant. Judged by its fruits Calvinism has proven itselfincomparablythegreatestevangelizingforceintheworld.

TheenemiesofCalvinismarenotablehonestlytoconfrontthetestimonyofhistory.Certainlyagloriousrecordbelongstothissysteminthehistoryofmoderncivilization.Nonemorenoblecanbefoundanywhere. 'Ithaseverbeenamysterytotheso-calledliberals,'saysHenryWardBeecher,'thattheCalvinists,withwhattheyhaveconsideredtheirharshlydespoticand rigid views and doctrines, should always have been the staunchestandbravestdefendersoffreedom.Theworkingforlibertyofthesesevereprinciplesinthemindsofthosethatadoptedthemhasbeenapuzzle.Butthe truth lieshere:Calvinismhasdonewhatnoother religionhas everbeen able to do. It presents the highest human ideal to theworld, andsweepsthewholeroadtodestructionwiththemostappallingbatterythatcanbeimagined.

'Itintensifies,beyondallexample,theindividualityofman,andshowsinaclearandoverpoweringlighthisresponsibilitytoGodandhisrelationsto eternity. It points out man as entering life under the weight of atremendous responsibility, having on his march toward the grave, thisonesolesolace—ofsecuringheavenandofescapinghell.

'Thus theCalvinist seesmanpressed, burdened, urgedon, by themostmightyinfluencingforces.Heisonthemarchforeternity,andissoontostandcrownedinheavenortolieswelteringinhell,thustocontinueforeverandever.Whoshalldaretofettersuchabeing?Getoutofhisway!Hinderhimnot,ordoitattheperilofyourownsoul.LeavehimfreetofindhiswaytoGod.Meddlenotwithhimorwithhisrights.Lethimworkouthisownsalvationashecan.Nohandmustbelaidcrushinglyuponacreaturewhoisonsucharaceasthis—aracewhoseendistobeeternalgloryorunutterablewoeforeverandever.'9

'This tree,' to adopt the eloquent paragraph of another, 'may have, to

prejudicedeyes,aroughbark,agnarledstem,andboughstwistedofteninto knotted shapes of ungraceful strength. But, remember, it is not awillow-wandofyesterday.Theseboughshavewrestledwiththestormsofathousandyears;thisstemhasbeenwreathedwiththeredlightningandscarredbythethunderbolt;andallover itsroughrindare themarksofthebattle-axeand thebullet.This old oakhasnot thepliant grace andsilkysoftnessofagreenhouseplant,butithasamajestyabovegrace,andagrandeurbeyondbeauty.Itsrootsmaybestrangelycontorted,butsomeofthemarerichwiththebloodofgloriousbattlefields,someofthemareclasped around the stakes ofmartyrs; some of them hidden in solitarycellsandlonelylibraries,wheredeepthinkershavemusedandprayed,asin some apocalyptic Patmos; and its great tap-root runs back, until ittwines in living and loving embrace around the cross of Calvary. Itsboughsmay be gnarled, but they hang cladwith all that is richest andstrongestinthecivilizationandChristianityofhumanhistory.'10

Aswesurveythissystemwefeelasonesittingat themanualofagreatorgan.Our fingers touch thekeys,asstopafterstopopensof the swell,until the full chorus responds, a grand harmony. Calvinism touches allthemusicoflifebecauseitseekstheCreatorfirstandaboveallandfindsHim everywhere.Or again,we have been out upon the deep, the greatcelestialdomeoverhead,thewideexpanseofeternityallaroundoursoulsandinandaboveall,thereisGOD.Oragain,westand,asitwere,attheriftingof the rocks,with the landscapebehind, thegorgebeforeus, themightyriveroftimeflowingforthoutofandintoeternity,thesuninitszenithoverhead,allablazewithlightandwarmth,andinawhisperfirst,our souls have echoed back the words, '0 the depth of the riches!' ForCalvinism shows us God and traces His footsteps, — God, in all Hisgreatness,majesty, wisdom, holiness, justice, love. Calvinism shows usGodhighand liftedup; andour souls cryout again, 'What isman thatTHOU...artmindfulofhim?'

ThisisnovainandemptyeulogyofCalvinism.Withtheabovefactsandobservationseveryenlightenedandimpartialreaderofhistorywillagree.Furthermore,theauthorwouldsayofthisbookwhatDr.E.W.Smithinhisbook,'TheCreedofPresbyterians,'saidatthecloseofthechapteron,'The Creed Tested By Its Fruits,' — namely that these facts and

observationsare'setforth,nottostimulatedenominationalvanity,buttofill us with gratitude to God for that past history and that presenteminence which should be to every one of us 'A vantage-ground fornobleness'; and above all to kindle in our hearts a holy enthusiasm forthat Divine system of truth, which, under God, has been the foremostfactorinthemakingofAmericaandthemodernworld.'

Inconclusionwewouldsaythatinthisbookthereaderhasfoundsomeveryold-fashioneddivinity—divinityasoldastheBible,asoldandolderthan the world itself, since this plan of redemption was hidden in theeternalcounselsofGod.Noattempthasbeenmadetocloakthefactthatthedoctrinesadvocatedanddefendedinthesepagesarereallywonderfuland startling. They are enough to electrify the sleepy sinner who hastakenitforgrantedallhislifelongthathecansquarematterswithGodany timehepleases, and they are sufficient to horrify the sleepy 'saint'who has been deluding himself in the deadening repose of a carnalreligion.Butwhyshouldtheynotcauseastonishment?Doesnotnatureteemwithwonders?Whyshouldnotrevelation?Oneneedstoreadbutlittle to become aware that Science brings to light many astonishingtruths which an uneducated man finds it hard, if not impossible, tobelieve;andwhyshoulditnotbesowiththetruthsofRevelationandthespiritually uneducated ? If the Gospel does not startle and terrify andamazeamanwhenpresentedtohim, it isnotthetrueGospel.ButwhowaseveramazedatArminianismwithitsdoctrinethateverymancarvesouthisowndestiny?Itwillnotsufficemerelytoignoreorridiculethesedoctrinesasmanyareinclinedtodo.Thequestionis,Arethesedoctrinestrue? If theyare true,why ridicule them? If theyarenot true, disprovethem. We close with the statement that this great system of religiousthoughtwhichbearsCalvin'snameisnothingmoreorlessthanthehopeoftheworld.

Footnotes:1TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.vii.2TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.74.3CalvinisminHistory,p.113.4PresbyteriansandtheRevolution,p.140.

5Calvinism.p.786Calvinism,p.8.7CalvinisminHistory,pp.151-153.8 Address before the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church,U.S.A.,1929.9PlymouthPulpit,article,Calvinism.10PowerandClaimsofaCalvinisticLiterature,p.35,quotedfromSmith,TheCreedofPresbyterians,p.105.