Questions tagged [calvin]
John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French reformer and a prominent Reformed theologian
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How do Calvinists reconcile Christ's election of Judas Iscariot to be a disciple only to be betrayed by him?
Britannica article on Calvinism states
Calvin had certain approximate and attainable tests. He did not
require the experience of the new birth, which is so inward and
intangible, though to be sure ...
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What do Calvinists think of Isaiah 65:12?
so I find no contradiction between human responsibility and God's election and sovereignty; for context.
I just do not agree with a lot of the "hardline" Calvinist positions, I feel they ...
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What Did the "Geneva Reformers" Have Against Exodus 2:22?
I have been reading The Catholic Controversy by St. Francis de Sales (pdf here). On page 109 one finds:
In Exodus, at Geneva and elsewhere among these reformers, they have cut out the twenty-second ...
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Were the reformers able to ordain other people to be elders, deacons, and bishops?
I know that the major reformers like Martin Luther, Zwingli, John Calvin, etc. were Roman Catholic priests that became Protestant. According to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, priests can't ...
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What were John Calvin's arguments against John of Damascus on Icons?
What were John Calvin's counterarguments for iconoclasm aniconism against John of Damascus' arguments in favor of icon veneration?
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How do Reformed Calvinists interpret 1 Corinthians 10:13?
1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also ...
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Who said, “The exegesis favors the Calvinist”?
I’m trying to find an obscure quote from a particular theologian who in his commentary on a particular verse of Scripture wrote something along the lines of the following:
“The exegesis favors the ...
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According to Reformed Calvinists, are all of a person's volitional states causally determined by prior causes in time?
From the Wikipedia article on Determinism:
Determinism is the philosophical view that all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history ...
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Are Origen's and Calvin's views on God compatible?
The Father, or first person, is ... the only one who is autotheos, God in the fullest sense, whereas the Son is his dunamis or power and the Spirit a dependent being (SEP > Origen)
The Scriptures ...
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What is the biblical basis for believing that some sense of Deity exists in humans?
This view is called “Sensus Divinitatis” and is described as the natural capacity for humans to perceive God.
I understand from this Wikipedia article on Sensus divinitatis that although the concept ...
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Did John Calvin say "The worst of plagues is human reason"?
I have searched high and low for the source of this quote, attributed to John Calvin, but to no avail. This link provides approximately 425 quotes, but I could not find "The worst of plagues is ...
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Was Calvin's statements on church membership consistent across all his versions of the Institutes?
We know that Calvin wrote on church membership:
4.2.8
But as here full certainty was not necessary, he has in its place substituted the judgment of charity, by which we acknowledge all as members of ...
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Did John Calvin teach that souls 'pre-existed'?
My understanding of Calvin's teaching on Paul's expression of foreknowledge, election and predestination is that all of these are within the eternal Deity.
That which occurred within Deity (I ...
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Calvin on Catholicity of a Doctrine
Calvin writes in chapter 7 of his 'Institutes of the Christian Religion:'
... But he [Augustine] nowhere insinuates that the authority which we give to the Scriptures depends on the definitions or ...
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Perowne's quoting John Calvin in Psalm 56
In Perowne's commentary on the Psalms in one volume, he quotes Calvin on page 445 in his treatment of Psalm 56.
"Assuredly," says Calvin, "this is the true test and proof of our faith; when fears ...
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What function does a Council actually serve in Calvinism?
Calvin begins his Antidote1 with the following word (Preface):
The name of Sacred Council2 is held in such reverence in the Christian Church, that the very mention of it produces an immediate effect ...
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Seeking source of a Calvin quote regarding wine in communion
In my denomination (Free Methodist) and a number of other protestant denominations, grape juice is used for communion rather than wine. There is (of course) a longstanding back-and-forth between ...
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Historical origins of the doctrine of God's self glorification
Within the Reformed tradition, it is a considered a fundamental principle of doctrine that the 'Chief End' of Man, of Creation and most importantly of God Himself is His own self glorification. We see ...
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Was there a period in the history when all who believed in Christ allowed infant baptism?
Martin Luther lived from 1483 – 1546 and John Calvin from 1509 – 1564. Both thse men wrote about the importance of infant baptism which can be read in The Large Catechism by Martin Luther & ...
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According to Calvin, how can God be loving if he created people to go to hell?
I struggle with John Calvin writing that God created people to go to the lake of fire (Institues, Volume 3, Chapter 21, Section 5). How could a loving, merciful, and gracious God create people so that ...
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Do Lutherans now consider the followers of Zwingli and Calvin to be their brothers in Christ?
Do Lutherans now consider the followers of Zwingli and Calvin to be their brothers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ?
From here I found out that Luther did not believe that Zwingli was ...
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Calvinism: Dealing with paradoxes
In a video entitled "John MacArthur: Calvinism vs. Arminianism", Todd Friel of Wretched gives a short introduction before showing a clip of John MacArthur at some event several years ago, allegedly ...
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Did John Calvin believe that the grandchildren of a believer are entitled to infant baptism?
In Calvinism, the children of believers are considered "members of the covenant" and as a sign of that covenant, they are baptized as infants.
Practically speaking, this means that if at least one ...
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How do Calvinists explain Calvin's use of Baruch?
In his commentary of 1 Corinthians, Calvin seems to use Baruch to explain verse 20 of chapter 10,
It is certain from the Prophet Baruch, (4:7,) that those things that are sacrificed to idols are ...
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Did John Calvin observe Christmas?
In some strands of Reformed theology, the regulative principle of worship is understood to mean that "church holidays," not specifically established in the Bible, should not be recognized in public ...
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Did Calvin and Luther believe in free will?
According to the Roman Catholic Church, man’s will is in no way determined but that man has the self-power to will good or evil toward God.
Now it seems that Calvin and Luther didn't agree with that....
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Why did Luther not support iconoclasm like some other reformers?
During the Reformation, Protestant reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin promoted Iconoclasm among their followers. I have found information about Luther opposing it, but little about why....
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According to Reformed Theology, why do unbelievers deserve punishment?
I read this quote from John Calvin on some website:
"...we allow that man has choice and that it is self-determined, so that if he does anything evil, it should be imputed to him and to his own ...
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What was the difference between Ratramnus's view of the Eucharist and that of Calvin?
In the First Eucharistic Controversy (ninth century), Paschasius Radbertus wrote a monograph arguing that the elements in communion were nothing less than the physical flesh and blood of Jesus. He ...
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What did Luther and Calvin believe about "Lucifer" in Isaiah 14?
To many Christians Lucifer of Isaiah 14 (not to be confused with Satan) is considered a visually beautiful, Rock n' Rolling cherub who fell from heaven to deceive mankind. And according to a few ...
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Did the original reformers believe in a Magisterium?
I have seen the original reformers referred to as the "Magisterial reformers" a couple of times over the past few years, and I'm only now wondering what the significance of that phrase is.
Does it ...
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How did John Calvin reconcile killing followers of opposing religious views with the New Testament?
I was reading about persecutions by Christians and was wondering if the persecutors justified their violence with passages of the bible and how they reconciled that with the teachings of Jesus.
In ...
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What is the basis for Calvinist double predestination, as opposed to single predestination?
I was reading this question, What were the main doctrinal disagreements between Luther and Calvin?, and one of the differences between the two was Calvin believed in double predestination, while ...
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Where can I find Calvin's commentary on the Hebrew Bible in the original Latin?
Where can I find Calvin's commentary on the Hebrew Bible in the original Latin? I am looking to find his comments on Genesis 12.
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Did John Calvin discourage harmonies in congregational singing?
In many traditional Reformed churches, the songs found in hymnbooks and psalters (collections of Psalms set to music) are written with four parts: a melody/soprano line on the top, and alto, tenor, ...
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Did John Calvin help Nicolas Cop write his infamous inaugural address?
Early in John Calvin's career, he was involved in a controversy that forced him to flee Paris and live in hiding for a time. Calvin's friend, Nicolas Cop, delivered an address that many considered ...
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Did John Calvin believe there was no salvation outside the visible church?
What did John Calvin believe about salvation outside of the church?
He writes in book IV of the Institutes:
But because it is now our intention to discuss the visible church, let us learn even ...
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What was Calvin's view of capital punishment?
What was John Calvin's position on use of the death penalty?
For what offenses did he support its use?
Did he support or oppose any particular methods of execution?
In what ways did his views change ...
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Did Luther say he "might well have entrusted the whole affair of this [Eucharist] controversy to [Calvin] from the beginning"?
I've seen this quote in various internet discussions, and until recently, was only able to trace it back as far as the 1990s. However, the earliest English version of the story that I can find is from ...
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Who is the John Owen that translated Calvin's Commentary on Romans?
I'm reading John Calvin's commentary on Romans, in English, and it has this inscription on the title page: "Translated and Edited by the Rev. John Owen."
Oh, wow, I thought, That's interesting; John ...
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If I seek God, does that mean that I MUST be elect, according to Calvinism? [duplicate]
I want to find God, at least I think I do. I struggle with the different interpretations of the path to salvation and even though I don't LIKE the idea of God electing some and giving others ...
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What books did Calvin consider canonical?
Sometimes it seems that much is made of Calvin's collections of commentaries and sermons not including certain books that are in the Protestant canon (Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, ...
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Did John Calvin ever read Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica?
I've read in a few places online (here, for example), that John Calvin did not have access to Thomas Aquinas's great treatise, Summa Theologica.
This is mind-blowing. Consider: The last edition of ...
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Why did Calvin reject these Catholic doctrines about Mary?
The Catholic Church has a few teachings about the Mother of our Lord that are not accepted by many Protestants. This is not evident in the doctrines of many early Protestant reformers including Luther,...
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Was Calvin a Nestorian?
Was John Calvin a Nestorian? I ask because of the (at least superficial similarity) between the extra calvinisticum and Nestorian thought, and because his theology of the Lord's Supper has ...
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Did Calvinism borrow its scheme of predestination from Valentinian Gnosticism?
How does the Calvinist notion of predestination differ from that of the Valentinian Gnostics' predestination? There are several sources outlining the Valentinian Gnostic system (anti-heretic "church ...
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What evidence is there to show that John Wesley and John Calvin did not believe that Jesus is Michael?
Upon seeing certain statements in John Calvin and John Wesley's writings some have concluded that these men believed Jesus is Michael. What evidence is there to show that John Wesley and John Calvin ...
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Did Martin Luther think John Calvin is a "son of the devil"?
I read from here (a Chinese website) that Martin Luther called John Calvin a son of the Devil.
Now I have never seen this quote anywhere. Did Luther say something like this to Calvin? If yes, why?
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What does John Calvin mean to imply by the "suffrage" of the church?
In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin discusses the idea that the Biblical canon depends on the ratifying action of the Church (Book 1, Chapter 7). He thinks it does not, preferring ...
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Did John Calvin teach that God creates certain souls only to be destroyed?
From what I understand, Calvin not only taught, but effectively systematized the doctrine of "predestinarianism," which holds that:
God for His own glorification, and without any regard to original ...
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