18
votes
Accepted
Why did Calvin reject these Catholic doctrines about Mary?
Calvin did not like appealing to any tradition or authority other than Scripture. He asserts that the Bible teaches that all have sinned and that all continue to sin, and on that basis each facet of ...
- 15.1k
9
votes
Accepted
How do Calvinists explain Calvin's use of Baruch?
Actually, in his magnum opus "Institutes of the Christian Religion" (ICR), he cited Tobit, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Siriach. The Geneva Bible, which Calvin accepted and fostered, also ...
- 4,541
8
votes
What did Calvin think about Knox's "Monstrous Regiment"?
The summary in Mike's answer seems accurate. I would like to add some further background and primary sources.
Evidently, Calvin felt it necessary to write to Sir William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth I's ...
- 15.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Why did Luther not support iconoclasm like some other reformers?
Luther's own words on the subject are quoted in:
The Third Sermon, March 11, 1522, Tuesday after Invocavit
In his sermon on 'How Christians should regard Moses' Luther makes it clear that he does ...
- 21.8k
6
votes
What did Luther and Calvin believe about "Lucifer" in Isaiah 14?
Although Calvin and Luther most certainly believed in an entity called Satan, they deny that Isaiah 14:12 has any connection with the devil or that Lucifer is his name. In Calvin's commentary of ...
- 2,462
6
votes
Accepted
What books did Calvin consider canonical?
We have several pieces of evidence to say that Calvin affirmed the 66-book canon that has become known as the Protestant canon and rejected all other books as canonical.
The first piece of evidence ...
- 15.1k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the biblical basis for believing that some sense of Deity exists in humans?
In the Catholic ‘Encyclopedia of Theoloy’ edited by Karl Rhaner, there is a three-and-a-half page article under ‘God’ called ‘II. Knowability of God’ written by Eberhard Simons. He cites three ...
- 23k
6
votes
What were John Calvin's arguments against John of Damascus on Icons?
John Calvin didn't promote icons in churches as John of Damascus did but he didn't support iconoclasm either.
Calvin against using icons in the church
We can read Calvin's indirect argument against ...
- 20.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Did Luther say he "might well have entrusted the whole affair of this [Eucharist] controversy to [Calvin] from the beginning"?
Original source
Henry's quote is verbatim from Christoph Pezel's 1590 book Außführliche, warhaffte und bestendige Erzehlung, and he mentions Pezel in a footnote to the paragraph prior to the story. ...
- 15.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Did John Calvin observe Christmas?
In Calvin's sermon on Christmas Day (I believe it fell on a Friday) in 1551, he says the following:
In truth, as you have often been admonished, it is good to set aside one day out of the year in ...
- 1,349
5
votes
Accepted
According to Reformed Theology, why do unbelievers deserve punishment?
The simple answer is that God has decided that the wages of sin is death. It is entirely up to God as to what punishment sin deserves, and the punishment God chose was eternal damnation.
The ...
- 1,349
5
votes
Accepted
Did the original reformers believe in a Magisterium?
tldr; No - the Reformers disavowed the concept of the Magisterium.
If you read the Wikipedia article on the Magisterial Reformation it is plain to see that the usual usage of the term "...
- 12.5k
5
votes
Was there a period in the history when all who believed in Christ allowed infant baptism?
Believer's baptism (aka. credo-baptism) was revived by the Anabaptists on January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock. These Anabaptists believed that only believer's baptism was ...
- 605
5
votes
Are Origen's and Calvin's views on God compatible?
Origen's View on God
Origen of Alexandria (185-232) was a great Bible scholar and an influential early Christian theologian whose contributions has been underappreciated, mostly because he was ...
- 20.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What was Calvin's view of capital punishment?
According to a variety of sources, Calvin supported capital punishment in some instances.
As listed here, between 1562 and 1563, the following executions were carried out in "Calvin's Geneva":
...
- 12.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Did John Calvin believe that the grandchildren of a believer are entitled to infant baptism?
John Knox, the leader of the Reformation in Scotland, wrote to Calvin in 1559, asking for his view on whether it be lawful to admit to the Sacrament of Baptism the children of idolators and ...
- 7,512
4
votes
Did John Calvin ever read Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica?
A smoking gun is in the references that John Calvin makes to Thomas Aquinas in his own book, The Institutes of the Christian Religion (II.11.4 and III.22.9). This is evidence that Calvin at least ...
- 14.4k
4
votes
The Servetus Controversy: What was Calvin's involvement?
Michael Servetus denied the deity of Christ and the Trinity doctrine, as well as many other points of orthodox Christian belief. But his challenge to the city Council of Geneva was handled horribly.
...
- 23k
4
votes
Accepted
What is the basis for Calvinist double predestination, as opposed to single predestination?
To begin, let's be sure that we understand what double predestination means in Calvinism. You have it right, that God chooses both who is elect and who is non-elect, but it's important to note that ...
4
votes
Where can I find Calvin's commentary on the Hebrew Bible in the original Latin?
The Post-Reformation Digital Library is the best place I've found for these sorts of documents. And, sure enough, a search for "Calvin" and "Genesis" includes the following results:
In Primum Mosis ...
4
votes
Did John Calvin discourage harmonies in congregational singing?
Did John Calvin discourage harmonies in congregational singing?
He did not discourage congressional singing, but it seems that John Calvin did discourage congressional singing in harmony.
In the ...
- 61.5k
4
votes
Did Luther say he "might well have entrusted the whole affair of this [Eucharist] controversy to [Calvin] from the beginning"?
The earliest source of this story that I have been able to find is a 1621 work entitled Ausführliche Behauptung der verbesserten augsburgischen Konfession, or, roughly translated, a Detailed Statement ...
4
votes
Accepted
Did John Calvin help Nicolas Cop write his infamous inaugural address?
According to Alexandre Ganoczy's Calvin’s Life and Context, chapter 1 in The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin there is no scholarly consensus as to the extent of Calvin's involvement in Nicolas Cop'...
- 187
3
votes
Accepted
Did John Calvin believe there was no salvation outside the visible church?
The text you quoted is certainly clear teaching of John Calvin on the subject. He believed that there was no salvation by remaining outside of the visible church, although it is necessary to ...
- 1,349
3
votes
Accepted
Did John Calvin say "The worst of plagues is human reason"?
Did John Calvin say “the worst of plagues is human reason”?
Although I drew a blank on John Calvin, I pursued the matter by searching through quotes attributed to Martin Luther. There were 950 of ...
- 27.4k
2
votes
What evidence is there to show that John Wesley and John Calvin did not believe that Jesus is Michael?
Regarding the partial quote "Michael may mean an angel; but I embrace the opinion of those who refer this to the person of Christ because it suits the subject best to represent him as standing forward ...
- 27.4k
2
votes
Calvinism: Dealing with paradoxes
Study or Surmise ?
Since my conversion at the age of sixteen, in 1967, I have noticed that many people comment on the Institutes of the Christian Religion who have not properly read them. And thereby ...
- 21.8k
2
votes
Did John Calvin discourage harmonies in congregational singing?
What an intriguing question! Here's an intriguing quote from Doug Floyd:
"You don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same notes."
What would John Calvin have made of that? The point is that ...
- 23k
2
votes
What was the difference between Ratramnus's view of the Eucharist and that of Calvin?
Ligonier Ministries has an article about this question posted on its website, addressing the Eucharistic controversy in which Ratramnus took part and discussing its relationship with Protestantism. ...
- 272
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible