Calvinism

Calvinism
John Calvin
Background Christianity St. Augustine The Reformation Five Solas Synod of Dort
Theology Theology of John Calvin Five Points (TULIP) Covenant theology Regulative principle
Documents Calvin's Institutes Geneva Bible Three Forms of Unity Westminster Standards
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Churches Continental Reformed Presbyterian Congregationalist Reformed Baptist Low church Anglican
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Calvinism (also called the Reformed tradition or the Reformed faith) is a major branch of Western Christianity that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. Calvinists broke with the Roman Catholic church but differed with Lutherans on the real presence of Christ in the Lord's supper, theories of worship, and the use of God's law for believers, among other things.^[1][2] Calvinism is a misleading term because the religious tradition it denotes is and has always been diverse, with a wide range of influences rather than a single founder. The movement was first called "Calvinism" by Lutherans who opposed it, and many within the tradition would prefer to use the word "Reformed" rather than "Calvinist."^[3][4] Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed (as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism) are divided into Arminians and Calvinists, however it is now rare to call Arminians Reformed, as many see these two schools of thought as opposed, making the terms Calvinist and Reformed synonymous.^[5][6]

Early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodor Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B. Warfield, Karl Barth, and Cornelius Van Til were influential, while modern Reformed theologians include J. I. Packer, R. C. Sproul, David F. Wells, and Michael Horton.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Spread 2 Theology 2.1 Scripture 2.1.1 Law and Gospel 2.1.2 Covenant theology 2.2 Salvation 2.2.1 Sovereign grace 2.2.2 Five points of Calvinism 2.2.3 Nature of the atonement 2.2.4 Comparison among Protestants 2.3 Worship 2.3.1 Regulative principle of worship 2.4 Sacraments 2.5 Logical order of God's decree 3 Variants 3.1 Four-point Calvinism 3.2 Hyper-Calvinism 3.3 Neo-Calvinism 3.4 Christian Reconstructionism 3.5 New Calvinism 4 Social and economic influences 4.1 Usury and capitalism 5 Politics and society 6 See also 6.1 Similar groups in other traditions 6.2 Doctrine 6.3 People groups 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External links

History[edit]

First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Martin Bucer (1491–1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), John Oecolampadius (1482–1531), and Guillaume Farel (1489–1565). These reformers came from diverse academic backgrounds, but later distinctives of Reformed theology can already be detected in their thought, especially the priority of scripture as a source of authority. Scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the bodily presence of Christ in the Lord's supper. Each of these theologians also understood salvation to be by grace alone, and affirmed a doctrine of particular election (the teaching that some people are chosen by God for salvation). Martin Luther and his successor Phillip Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, and to a larger extent later Reformed theologians. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther.^[7]

John Calvin (1509–64), Heinrich Bullinger (1504–75), Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563), Peter Martyr Vermigli (1500-62), and Andreas Hyperius (1511–64) belong to the second generation of Reformed theologians. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536–59) was one of the most influential theologies of the era.^[8] Toward the middle of the 16th century, the Reformed began to commit their beliefs to confessions of faith, which would shape the future definition of the Reformed faith. The 1549 Consensus Tigurinus brought together those who followed Zwingli and Bullinger's memorialist theology of the Lord's supper, which taught that the supper simply serves as a reminder of Christ's death, and Calvin's view that the supper serves as a means of grace with Christ actually present, though spiritually rather than bodily. The document demonstrates the diversity as well as unity in early Reformed theology. The remainder of the 16th century saw an explosion of confessional activity. The stability and breadth of Reformed theology during this period stand in marked contrast to the bitter controversy experienced by Lutherans prior to the 1579 Formula of Concord.^[9]

Due to Calvin's missionary work in France, his programme of reform eventually reached the French-speaking provinces of the Netherlands. Calvinism was adopted in the Electorate of the Palatinate under Frederick III, which led to the formulation of the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563. This and the Belgic Confession were adopted as confessional standards in the first synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1571. Leading divines, either Calvinist or those sympathetic to Calvinism, settled in England (Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr, and Jan Laski) and Scotland (John Knox). During the English Civil War, the Calvinistic Puritans produced the Westminster Confession, which became the confessional standard for Presbyterians in the English-speaking world. Having established itself in Europe, the movement continued to spread to other parts of the world including North America, South Africa, and Korea.^[10]

Calvin did not live to see the foundation of his work grow into an international movement; but his death allowed his ideas to break out of their city of origin, to succeed far beyond their borders, and to establish their own distinct character.^[11]

Spread[edit]

Although much of Calvin's work was in Geneva, his publications spread his ideas of a "correctly" reformed church to many parts of Europe. Calvinism became the theological system of the majority in Scotland (see John Knox), the Netherlands, with men such as William Ames, T. J. Frelinghuysen and Wilhelmus à Brakel and parts of Germany (especially those adjacent to the Netherlands) with the likes of Olevianus and his colleague Zacharias Ursinus. It was influential in France, Hungary, then-independent Transylvania, Lithuania and Poland. Calvinism gained some popularity in Scandinavia, especially Sweden, but was rejected in favor of Lutheranism after the Synod of Uppsala in 1593.^[12]

Most settlers in the American Mid-Atlantic and New England were Calvinists, including the English Puritans, the French Huguenot and Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam (New York), and the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the Appalachian back country. Dutch Calvinist settlers were also the first successful European colonizers of South Africa, beginning in the 17th century, who became known as Boers or Afrikaners.

Sierra Leone was largely colonized by Calvinist settlers from Nova Scotia, who were largely Black Loyalists, blacks who had fought for the British during the American War of Independence. John Marrant had organized a congregation there under the auspices of the Huntingdon Connection. Some of the largest Calvinist communions were started by 19th and 20th century missionaries. Especially large are those in Indonesia, Korea and Nigeria.^{[citation needed]}

A 2011 report of the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life estimated that members of Presbyterian or Reformed churches make up 7% of the 801 million Protestants globally, or approximately 56 million people.^[13] Today, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, which includes some United Churches, has 80 million believers.^[14]

Theology[edit]

While the Reformed theological tradition addresses all of the traditional topics of Christian theology, the word Calvinism is sometimes used to refer to Calvinist views on soteriology and predestination, which are summarized in the five points of Calvinism. Some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things – in salvation but also in all of life.

Scripture[edit]

Calvinists believe that the Bible (not including the Deuterocanonicals) is the infallible, inerrant Word of God, and contains all the revelations of God which he designed to be a rule of faith and practice for his Church. The Calvinist doctrine of perspicuity teaches that everything necessary for salvation is taught in the Scriptures plainly enough that special training is not required for interpretation. Church officers are given the authority to preach what is contained within the Scriptures, but this does not permit them to bind Christians to their own interpretation. Christians are to compare interpretations with one another, and even give deference to other Christians and especially the officers ordained above them, but they are always free to personally interpret Scripture.^[15]

Law and Gospel[edit]

Following Lutheran theologians, the Reformed sharply contrast the law and gospel as "the chief and general divisions of the holy scriptures." The law contains the moral requirements of God, and is equated with the decalogue, while the gospel is the free offer of forgiveness of sin.^[16] While there may be subtle differences between the Reformed and Lutheran presentations of this doctrine, it has a prominent place in Reformed theology.^[17]

The law is given three uses: the political or civil use which is a restraint on sin and stands apart from the work of salvation, the elenctical or pedagogical use which confronts sin and points one to Christ for forgiveness of sin, and the didactic use which teaches believers the way of righteousness, but does not have any power to condemn.^[2] Lutheran and Reformed theologians differed primarily on the way in which the third use functions for believers. The Reformed emphasized the third use (tertius usus legis) because the redeemed are expected to bear good works. Some Lutherans saw here the danger of works-righteousness, and argued that the third use should always return believers to the second use and again to Christ rather than being the ultimate norm.^[2]

Covenant theology[edit]

Although the doctrines of grace have generally received the greater focus in contemporary Calvinism, covenant theology is the historic superstructure that unifies the entire system of doctrine.^[18]

Calvinists take God's transcendence to mean that the relationship between God and his creation must be by voluntary condescension on God's part. This relationship he establishes is covenantal: the terms of the relationship are unchangeably decreed by God alone.^[19]

Reformed writings commonly refer to an intra-Trinitarian covenant of redemption. The greater focus is the relationship between God and man, which in historic Calvinism is seen as bi-covenantal, reflecting the early Reformation distinction between Law and Gospel. The covenant of works encompasses the moral and natural law, dictating the terms of creation. By its terms, man would enjoy eternal life and blessedness based on his continued personal and perfect righteousness. With the fall of man, this covenant continues to operate, but only to condemn sinful man.^[20] The covenant of grace is instituted at the fall, and administered through successive historic covenants seen in Scripture for the purpose of redemption. By its terms, salvation comes not by any personal performance, but by promise. Peace with God comes only through a mediator, the fulfillment of which is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ is seen as the federal head of his elect people, and thus the covenant is the basis of the doctrines of the substitutionary atonement and the imputation of the active obedience of Christ.^[21][22]

Salvation[edit]

Sovereign grace[edit]

Calvinism teaches that people are totally depraved or totally inadequate in their ethical nature, necessitating the sovereign grace of God for salvation. It states that fallen people are morally and spiritually incapable of following God or redeeming themselves.^[23] They see redemption as the work of God; God changes their unwilling hearts from rebellion to eager obedience.

In this view people are at the complete and total mercy of God, who would be just in condemning all people for their sins, though God has chosen to show mercy to some, not all. Some are saved while others are condemned, not because of inclination, faith or any other virtue in people but because God chooses to have mercy on them (Romans 9:16-17) according to his own purpose which is unknown (Romans 8:28).^[24] A person must believe the gospel and repent to be saved, this compliance of faith is a gift from God, and thus God completely and sovereignly achieves the salvation of sinners. Many Reformed theologians teach that people are predestinated to damnation (as the doctrine of reprobation). There is less agreement among the Reformed regarding reprobation than predestination to salvation (the doctrine of election).

In practice, Calvinists teach sovereign grace mostly for encouragement of the church because Calvinists believe the doctrine validates the extent of God's love for saving those who are not able to follow him, or choose not to do so, as well as defeating pride and self-reliance and stressing Christians' total need for and dependence on the grace of God. In a similar way, sanctification in the Calvinist view involves a frequent dependence on God to eliminate the Christian's immoral heart and their sinful nature, to extend the Christian's joy in their new nature.^[25]

Five points of Calvinism[edit]

The Five Points of Calvinism
Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints
v t e

Most objections to and attacks on Calvinism focus on the "five points of Calvinism," also called the doctrines of grace, and remembered by the mnemonic "TULIP."^[26] The five points are commonly said to summarize the Canons of Dort, however there is no historical relationship between them, and their language distorts the meaning of the Canons, Calvin's theology, and the theology of 17th-century Calvinistic orthodoxy, particularly in the language of total depravity and limited atonement.^[27] The five points were popularized in the 1963 booklet The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended, Documented by David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas. The origin of the five points and the acronym is unknown, but they do not date before the 19th century, and they were very cautiously if ever used by Calvinist apologists and theologians before the booklet by Steele and Thomas.^[28]

The central assertion of these points is that God saves every person upon whom he has mercy, and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or inability of humans.

• "Total depravity," also called "total inability," asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man into sin, every person is enslaved to sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God but rather to serve their own interests and to reject the rule of God. Thus, all people by their own faculties are morally unable to choose to follow God and be saved because they are unwilling to do so out of the necessity of their own natures. (The term "total" in this context refers to sin affecting every part of a person, not that every person is as evil as they could be).^[29] This doctrine is derived from Augustine's explanation of Original Sin.^[30] While the phrases "totally depraved" and "utterly perverse" were used by Calvin, what was meant was the inability to save oneself from sin rather than being absent of goodness. Phrases like "total depravity" cannot be found the Canons of Dort, and the Canons as well as later Reformed orthodox theologians arguably offer a more moderate view of the nature of fallen humanity than Calvin.^[31]

• "Unconditional election" asserts that God has chosen from eternity those whom he will bring to himself not based on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith in those people; rather, his choice is unconditionally grounded in his mercy alone. God has chosen from eternity to extend mercy to those he has chosen and to withhold mercy from those not chosen. Those chosen receive salvation through Christ alone. Those not chosen receive the just wrath that is warranted for their sins against God.^[32]

• "Limited atonement," also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement", asserts that Jesus's substitutionary atonement was definite and certain in its purpose and in what it accomplished. This implies that only the sins of the elect were atoned for by Jesus's death. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its value or power, but rather that the atonement is limited in the sense that it is intended for some and not all. Hence, Calvinists hold that the atonement is sufficient for all and efficient for the elect.^[33] The doctrine is driven by the Calvinistic concept of the sovereignty of God in salvation and their understanding of the nature of the atonement.^{[citation needed]} At the Synod of Dort, both sides agreed that the atonement Christ's death was sufficient to pay for all sin and that it was only efficacious for some (it only actually saved some). The controversy centered on whether this limited efficacy was based on God's election (the view of the Synod and of later Reformed theologians) or on the choice of each person and God's foreknowledge of that choice (the view of Arminius).^[34]

• "Irresistible grace," also called "efficacious grace", asserts that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. This means that when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved. The doctrine holds that this purposeful influence of God's Holy Spirit cannot be resisted, but that the Holy Spirit, "graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ."^{[35][unreliable source]}

• "Perseverance of the saints" (or preservation) of the saints (the word "saints" is used to refer to all who are set apart by God, and not of those who are exceptionally holy, canonized, or in heaven) asserts that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Those who apparently fall away either never had true faith to begin with or will return to the faith.^[36]

Nature of the atonement[edit]

An additional point of disagreement with Arminianism implicit in the five points is the Calvinist understanding of the doctrine of Jesus's substitutionary atonement as a punishment for the sins of the elect, which was developed by St. Augustine and especially St. Anselm and Calvin himself. Calvinists argue that if Christ takes the punishment in the place of a particular sinner, that person must be saved since it would be unjust for him then to be condemned for the same sins.^[37] The definitive and binding nature of this satisfaction model has strong implications for each of the five TULIP points, and it has led some Arminians to subscribe instead to the governmental theory of atonement. Under that theory, no particular sins or sinners are in view, but all of humanity are included in those whose sins have been taken away. The atonement was not the penalty of the law, but a substitute for the penalty, which allows God to remit the penalty by his grace when any sinner repents and believes in Jesus as the Christ.^[38]

Comparison among Protestants[edit]

This table summarizes the classical views of three Protestant beliefs about salvation.^[39]

Topic	Calvinism	Lutheranism	Arminianism
Human will	Total Depravity without free will permanently due to divine sovereignty	Total Depravity without free will until spiritual regeneration	Depravity does not prevent free will
Election	Unconditional election to salvation with those outside the elect foreordained to damnation (double-predestination)[40]	Unconditional predestination to salvation for the elect	Conditional election in view of foreseen faith or unbelief
Justification	Justification is limited to those predestined to salvation, completed at Christ's death	Justification by faith alone, completed at Christ's death.	Justification made possible for all through Christ's death, but only completed upon choosing faith in Jesus
Conversion	Monergistic, through the inner calling of the Holy Spirit, irresistible	Monergistic, through the means of grace, resistible	Synergistic, resistible due to the common grace of free will
Preservation and apostasy	Perseverance of the saints: the eternally elect in Christ will necessarily persevere in faith	Falling away is possible, but God gives assurance of preservation.	Preservation is conditional upon continued faith in Christ; with the possibility of a final apostasy.

Worship[edit]

Regulative principle of worship[edit]

The regulative principle of worship is a teaching shared by some Calvinists and Anabaptists on how the Bible orders public worship. The substance of the doctrine regarding worship is that God institutes in the Scriptures everything he requires for worship in the Church and that everything else is prohibited. As the regulative principle is reflected in Calvin's own thought, it is driven by his evident antipathy toward the Roman Catholic Church and its worship practices, and it associates musical instruments with icons, which he considered violations of the Ten Commandments' prohibition of graven images.^[41]

On this basis, many early Calvinists also eschewed musical instruments and advocated a capella exclusive psalmody in worship,^[42] though Calvin himself allowed other scriptural songs as well as psalms,^[41] and this practice typified presbyterian worship and the worship of other Reformed churches for some time. The original Lord's Day service designed by John Calvin was a highly liturgical service with the Creed, Alms, Confession and Absolution, the Lord's supper, Doxologies, prayers, Psalms being sung, the Lords prayer being sung, Benedictions. The following are Orders of Service for the Lord's Day as designed by John Calvin (Collect is a short prayer; Lection is a Scripture reading; Fraction and Delivery are the breaking of the

bread and distribution thereof, respectively):^[43]

Since the 19th century, however, some of the Reformed churches have modified their understanding of the regulative principle and make use of musical instruments, believing that Calvin and his early followers went beyond the biblical requirements^[41] and that such things are circumstances of worship requiring biblically-rooted wisdom, rather than an explicit command. Despite the protestations of those who hold to a strict view of the regulative principle, today hymns and musical instruments are in common use, as are contemporary worship music styles and worship bands.^[44]

Sacraments[edit]

The Westminster Confession of Faith limits the sacraments to baptism and the Lord's Supper. Sacraments are denoted "signs and seals of the covenant of grace."^[45] Westminster speaks of "a sacramental relation, or a sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified; whence it comes to pass that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other."^[46] Baptism is for infant children of believers as well as believers, as it is for all the Reformed except Baptists and some Congregationalists. Baptism admits the baptized into the visible church, and in it all the benefits of Christ are offered to the baptized.^[46] On the Lord's supper Westminster, takes a position between Lutheran sacramental union and Zwinglian memorialism: "the Lord's supper really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of his death: the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet, as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance as the elements themselves are to their outward senses."^[45]

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith does not use the term sacrament, but describes baptism and the Lord's supper as ordinances, as do most Baptists Calvinist or otherwise. Baptism is only for those who "actually profess repentance towards God," and not for the children of believers.^[47] Baptists also insist on immersion or dipping, in contradistinction to other Reformed Christians.^[48] The Baptist Confession, describes the Lord's supper as "the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally, but spiritually present to the faith of believers in that ordinance," similarly to the Westminster Confession.^[49] There is significant latitude in Baptist congregations regarding the Lord's supper, and many hold the Zwinglian view.

Logical order of God's decree[edit]

There are two schools of regarding the logical order of God's decree to ordain the fall of man: supralapsarianism (from the Latin: supra, "above", here meaning "before" + lapsus, "fall") and infralapsarianism (from the Latin: infra, "beneath", here meaning "after" + lapsus, "fall"). The former view, sometimes called "high Calvinism", argues that the Fall occurred partly to facilitate God's purpose to choose some individuals for salvation and some for damnation. Infralapsarianism, sometimes called "low Calvinism", is the position that, while the Fall was indeed planned, it was not planned with reference to who would be saved.

Supralapsarians believe that God chose which individuals to save logically prior to the decision to allow the race to fall and that the Fall serves as the means of realization of that prior decision to send some individuals to hell and others to heaven (that is, it provides the grounds of condemnation in the reprobate and the need for salvation in the elect). In contrast, infralapsarians hold that God planned the race to fall logically prior to the decision to save or damn any individuals because, it is argued, in order to be "saved", one must first need to be saved from something and therefore the decree of the Fall must precede predestination to salvation or damnation.

These two views vied with each other at the Synod of Dort, an international body representing Calvinist Christian churches from around Europe, and the judgments that came out of that council sided with infralapsarianism (Canons of Dort, First Point of Doctrine, Article 7). The Westminster Confession of Faith also teaches (in Hodge's words "clearly impl[ies]") the infralapsarian^[50] view, but is sensitive to those holding to supralapsarianism.^[51] The Lapsarian controversy has a few vocal proponents on each side today, but overall it does not receive much attention among modern Calvinists.

Variants[edit]

Four-point Calvinism[edit]

Amyraldism (or sometimes Amyraldianism, also known as the School of Saumur, hypothetical universalism,^[52] post redemptionism,^[53] moderate Calvinism,^[54] or four-point Calvinism) primarily refers to a modified form of Calvinist theology. It rejects one of the five points of Calvinism, the doctrine of limited atonement, in favour of an unlimited atonement similar to that of Hugo Grotius. Simply stated, Amyraldism holds that God has provided Christ's atonement for all alike, but seeing that none would believe on their own, he then elected those whom he will bring to faith in Christ, thereby preserving the Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election.

Named after its formulator Moses Amyraut, this doctrine is still viewed as a variety of Calvinism in that it maintains the particularity of sovereign grace in the application of the atonement. However, detractors like B. B. Warfield have termed it "an inconsistent and therefore unstable form of Calvinism."^[55]

R. C. Sproul believes there is confusion about what the doctrine of limited atonement actually teaches. While he considers it possible for a person to believe four points without believing the fifth, he claims that a person who really understands the other four points must believe in limited atonement because of what Martin Luther called a resistless logic.^[56]

Hyper-Calvinism[edit]

Hyper-Calvinism first referred to a view that appeared among the early English Particular Baptists in the 18th century. Their system denied that the call of the gospel to "repent and believe" is directed to every single person and that it is the duty of every person to trust in Christ for salvation. The term also occasionally appears in both theological and secular controversial contexts, where it usually connotes a negative opinion about some variety of theological determinism, predestination, or a version of Evangelical Christianity or Calvinism that is deemed by the critic to be unenlightened, harsh, or extreme.

The Westminster Confession of Faith says that the gospel is to be freely offered to sinners, and the Larger Catechism makes clear that the gospel is offered to the non-elect.^[21][57]

Neo-Calvinism[edit]

Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper. James Bratt has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders—split into the Reformed Church "West" and the Confessionalists; and the Neo-Calvinists—the Positives and the Antithetical Calvinists. The Seceders were largely infralapsarian and the Neo-Calvinists usually supralapsarian.^[58]

Kuyper wanted to awaken the church from what he viewed as its pietistic slumber. He declared:

No single piece of our mental world is to be sealed off from the rest and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'^[59]

This refrain has become something of a rallying call for Neo-Calvinists.

Christian Reconstructionism[edit]

Christian Reconstructionism is a Calvinist theonomic movement that some claim has played a role in promoting the trend toward explicitly Christian politics in the larger U.S. Christian Right.^[60] Christian Reconstructionists are usually postmillennialists and followers of the presuppositional apologetics of Cornelius Van Til. They tend to support a decentralized political order resulting in laissez-faire capitalism.^[61]

New Calvinism[edit]

The New Calvinism is a growing perspective within conservative Evangelicalism that embraces the fundamentals of 16th century Calvinism while also trying to be relevant in the present day world.^[62] In March 2009, TIME magazine described the New Calvinism as one of the "10 ideas changing the world".^[63] Some of the major figures in this area are John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Al Mohler,^[63] Mark Dever,^[64] C.J. Mahaney, Joshua Harris,^[62] and Tim Keller.^[65] New Calvinists have been criticized for blending Calvinist soteriology with popular Evangelical positions on the sacraments and continuationism.^[66]

Social and economic influences[edit]

Usury and capitalism[edit]

One school of thought attributes Calvinism with setting the stage for the later development of capitalism in northern Europe. In this view, elements of Calvinism represented a revolt against the medieval condemnation of usury and, implicitly, of profit in general.^{[citation needed]} Such a connection was advanced in influential works by R. H. Tawney (1880–1962) and by Max Weber (1864–1920).

Calvin expressed himself on usury in a 1545 letter to a friend, Claude de Sachin, in which he criticized the use of certain passages of scripture invoked by people opposed to the charging of interest. He reinterpreted some of these passages, and suggested that others of them had been rendered irrelevant by changed conditions. He also dismissed the argument (based upon the writings of Aristotle) that it is wrong to charge interest for money because money itself is barren. He said that the walls and the roof of a house are barren, too, but it is permissible to charge someone for allowing him to use them. In the same way, money can be made fruitful.^[67]

He qualified his view, however, by saying that money should be lent to people in dire need without hope of interest, while a modest interest rate of 5% should be permitted in relation to other borrowers.^[68]

Politics and society[edit]

Calvin's concept of God and man contained strong elements of freedom that were gradually put into practice after his death, in particular in the fields of politics and society. After the successful fight for independence from Spain (1579), the Netherlands, under Calvinist leadership, became, besides England, the freest country in Europe. It granted asylum to persecuted religious minorities, e.g. French Huguenots, English Independents (Congregationalists), and Jews from Spain and Portugal. The ancestors of philosopher Baruch Spinoza were Portuguese Jews. Aware of the trial against Galileo, René Descartes lived in the Netherlands, out of reach of the Inquisition.^[69] Pierre Bayle, a Reformed Frenchman, also felt safer in the Netherlands than in his home country. He was the first prominent philosopher who demanded tolerance for atheists. Hugo Grotius was able to publish a rather liberal interpretation of the Bible and his ideas about natural law.^[70][71] Moreover, the Calvinist Dutch authorities allowed the printing of books that could not be published elsewhere, e.g. Galileo’s Discorsi. ^[72]

Even more important than the liberal development of the Netherlands was the rise of modern democracy in England and North America. In the Middle Ages state and church had been closely connected. Martin Luther’s doctrine of the two kingdoms separated state and church in principle. ^[73] His doctrine of the priesthood of all believers raised the laity to the same level as the clergy.^[74] Going one step further, Calvin included elected laymen (church elders, presbyters) in his concept of church government. The Huguenots added synods whose members were also elected by the congregations. The other Reformed churches took over this system of church self-government which was essentially a representative democracy.^[75] Baptists, Quakers, and Methodists are organized in a similar way. These denominations and the Anglican Church were influenced by Calvin’s theology in varying degrees.^[76]

Another precondition for the rise of democracy in the Anglo-American world was the fact that Calvin favored a mixture of democracy and aristocracy as the best form of government(mixed government). He appreciated the advantages of democracy.^[77] The aim of his political thought was to safeguard the rights and freedoms of ordinary men and women. In order to minimize the misuse of political power he suggested dividing it among several institutions in a system of checks and balances (separation of powers). Finally, Calvin taught that if worldly rulers rise up against God they should be put down. In this way, he and his followers stood in the vanguard of resistance to political absolutism and furthered the cause of democracy.^[78] The Congregationalists who founded Plymouth Colony (1620) and Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628) were convinced that the democratic form of government was the will of God.^[79][80] Enjoying self-rule they practiced separation of powers.^[81][82] Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, founded by Roger Williams, Thomas Hooker, and William Penn, respectively, combined democratic government with freedom of religion. These colonies became safe havens for persecuted religious minorities, including Jews.^[83][84][85]

In England, Baptists Thomas Helwys and John Smyth influenced the liberal political thought of Presbyterian poet and politician John Milton and philosopher John Locke, who in turn had both a strong impact on the political development in their home country (English Civil War, Glorious Revolution) as well as in North America.^[86][87] The ideological basis of the American Revolution was largely provided by the radical Whigs, who had been inspired by Milton, Locke, James Harrington, Algernon Sidney, and other thinkers. The Whigs’ "perceptions of politics attracted widespread support in America because they revived the traditional concerns of a Protestantism that had always verged on Puritanism."^[88]The United States Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and (American) Bill of Rights initiated a tradition of human and civil rights that was continued in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and the constitutions of numerous countries around the world, e. g. Latin America, Japan, Germany, and other European countries. It is also echoed in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^[89]

In the nineteenth century, the churches that were based on Calvin’s theology or influenced by it were deeply involved in social reforms, e.g. the abolition of slavery (William Wilberforce, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, and others), women suffrage, and prison reforms.^[90][91] Members of these churches formed co-operatives to help the impoverished masses.^[92] Henry Dunant, a Reformed pietist, founded the Red Cross and initiated the Geneva Conventions.^[93][94]

Throughout the world, the Reformed churches operate hospitals, homes for handicapped or elderly people, and educational institutions on all levels. For example, American Congregationalists founded Harvard (1636), Yale (1701), and about a dozen other colleges.^[95] Princeton was a Presbyterian foundation.

See also[edit]

• Molinism

• List of Calvinist educational institutions

• List of Reformed denominations

• Synod of Jerusalem (1672): Orthodox council refuting Calvinist beliefs

Similar groups in other traditions[edit]

• Crypto-Calvinism: German Protestants accused of Calvinist leanings within the Lutheran church in the late 16th century

• Jansenism: a radical Augustinian group within the Catholic Church with doctrinal distinctives very similar to Calvinism

• Calvinistic Methodists

Doctrine[edit]

• Common grace

• Reformed confessions of faith

People groups[edit]

• Boer Calvinists: Boere-Afrikaners that hold to Reformed Theology.

• Huguenots: followers of Calvinism in France, the 16th and 17th century.

• Pilgrims: Puritan separatists who left Europe for America in search of religious toleration.

• Presbyterians: originate in Scotland

• Puritans: English

• Continental Reformed churches: Calvinist churches originating in continental Europe

• Waldensians: Italian, precede Calvinism but some today identify with Reformed theology

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Bagchi, David V. N.; Steinmetz, David Curtis, eds. (2004), The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-77662-7 

• Cottret, Bernard (2000) [1995], Calvin: Biographie [Calvin: A Biography] (in French), Translated by M. Wallace McDonald, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, ISBN 0-8028-3159-1 

• Furcha, E. J., ed. (1985), Huldrych Zwingli, 1484-1531: A Legacy of Radical Reform: Papers from the 1984 International Zwingli Symposium McGill University, Montreal: Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, ISBN 0-7717-0124-1 .

• Holder, R. Ward (2004), "Calvin's heritage", in McKim, Donald K., The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-01672-8 

• Gäbler, Ulrich (1986), Huldrych Zwingli: His Life and Work, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, ISBN 0-8006-0761-9 

• Ganoczy, Alexandre (2004), "Calvin's life", in McKim, Donald K., The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-01672-8 

• McGrath, Alister E. (1990), A Life of John Calvin, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-16398-0 .

• Muller, Richard A. (2004). "John Calvin and later Calvinism". In Bagchi, David; Steinmetz, David C. The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521776622. 

• Parker, T. H. L. (2006), John Calvin: A Biography, Oxford: Lion Hudson plc, ISBN 978-0-7459-5228-4 .

• Stephens, W. P. (1986), The Theology of Huldrych Zwingli, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 0-19-826677-4 .

•  Westminster Confession of Faith. Wikisource. 1646.

Further reading[edit]

• Allen, R. Michael (2010). Reformed Theology. New York: T&T Clark. ISBN 978-0567034304. 

• Alston, Wallace M. Jr.; Welker, Michael, eds. (2003). Reformed Theology: Identity and Ecumenicity. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0802847768. 

• Benedict, Philip (2002). Christ's Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300105070. 

• McNeill, John Thomas (1954). The History and Character of Calvinism. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195007435. 

• Leith, John H. (1980). An Introduction to the Reformed Tradition: A Way of Being the Christian Community. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0804204798. 

• Muller, Richard A. (2001). The Unaccommodated Calvin: Studies in the Foundation of a Theological Tradition. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0195151688. 

• ———————— (2003). After Calvin: Studies in the Development of a Theological Tradition. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0195157017. 

• Small, Joseph D., ed. (2005). Conversations with the Confessions: Dialogue in the Reformed Tradition. Geneva Press. ISBN 978-0664502485. 

External links[edit]

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• Calvinism on In Our Time at the BBC. (listen now)

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