Calvinism
Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism
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.
Calvinism can be 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. 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.
While the Reformed theological tradition addresses
all of the traditional topics of Christian
theology, the word Calvinism is sometimes
used to refer to particular Calvinist views
on soteriology and predestination, which are
summarized in part by 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.
Early influential Reformed theologians include
John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer,
Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli,
Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth
century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B.
B. Warfield, Karl Barth, and Cornelius Van
Til were influential, while contemporary Reformed
theologians include J. I. Packer, R. C. Sproul,
N. T. Wright, Timothy J. Keller, Alister McGrath,
John Piper, and Michael Horton.
The biggest Reformed association is the World
Communion of Reformed Churches with more than
80 million members in 211 member denominations
around the world. There are more conservative
Reformed federations like the World Reformed
Fellowship and the International Conference
of Reformed Churches.
History
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 Philipp 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.
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. 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.
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 Electoral 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 Łaski) 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.
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.
Spread
Although much of Calvin's work was in Geneva,
his publications spread his ideas of a "correctly"
reformed church to many parts of Europe. In
Switzerland some cantons are still Reformed
and some are Catholic. 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. In Hungary and then independent
Transylvania Calvinism was a significant religion.
In the 16th century the Reformation gained
many supporters especially in Eastern Hungary
and Transylvania. In these parts the Reformed
nobles protected the faith. Today there are
about 3.5 million Hungarian Reformed people
worldwide. It was influential in France, 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.
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. In South Korea
there are 20,000 Presbyterian congregations
in about 9–10 million church members, scattered
in more than 100 Presbyterian denominations.
In Korea Presbyterianism is far the biggest
Christian denomination.
Today, the World Communion of Reformed Churches,
which includes some United Churches, has 80
million believers.
Many conservative Reformed churches wich are
strongly Calvinistic formed the World Reformed
Fellowship wich has about 67 member denominations,
most are not part of the World Communion of
Reformed Churches because of its ecumenial
attire. The International Conference of Reformed
Churches is another conservative association.
Theology
Scripture
Calvinists believe that the Bible (not including
the Deuterocanonicals) is the infallible 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.
Law and Gospel
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. As one author nicely put it, being
under Law amounts to approaching God through
Mount Sinai, whereas being under grace amounts
to approaching God through Mount Calvary.
(John 1:17) While there may be subtle differences
between the Reformed and Lutheran presentations
of this doctrine, it has a prominent place
in Reformed theology.
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. 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.
Covenant theology
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.
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.
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.
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.
Salvation
Sovereign grace
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.
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. In
Calvinism some are saved while others are
condemned, not because of inclination, foreseen
faith, or any virtue in people but because
God chooses to have mercy on them (Romans
9:16–17) according to his own purpose which
is, ultimately, to glorify Himself (Ephesians
1:11–12). A person must believe the gospel
and repent to be saved, but this compliance
of faith is a gift from God (Philippians 1:29;
Ephesians 2:8), and thus God completely and
sovereignly achieves the salvation of sinners,
including the chief (1 Timothy 1:15). In other
words, faith is a fruit of regeneration, not
the cause of it. God saves sinners so that
they will believe, not because they believe
out of their own resources. 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).
Calvinism is distinct from other similar Protestant
theologies such as Molinism, Lutheranism,
and Classical Arminianism in this area, but
they share much common ground with each other.
For instance, the Calvinist doctrine that
God saves some but not all is agreed upon
by Molinists, Classical Arminians, and Lutherans.
Only Universalists would dispute the limitation
of the atonement. The issue disagreed upon
is how and why the atonement is limited. There
is also agreement that faith is not meritorious,
nor does faith initiate God's salvation, because
faith in God is itself a gift from God, received
"as a beggar receives a gift," a description
used by both Calvinists and Arminians. These
branches of Protestant theology agree a person
cannot exercise faith in God without God first
choosing to work spiritually in that person
(as semi-Pelagianism asserted). The history
of Calvinist-Arminian debate here does not
revolve around the five solae or the number
of men saved, or whether people 'merit' salvation
through faith or virtue, but it centers on
other issues surrounding the reason why some
are saved while others are not in the interplay
of God's sovereign will and man's will.
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 gain victory over sin, and experience the
joy of the Lord.
Five points of Calvinism
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." The five points are
popularly said to summarize the Canons of
Dort, however there is no historical relationship
between them, and some scholars argue that
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. 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 uncertain,
but it was used by Cleland Boyd McAfee as
early as circa 1905. An early printed appearance
of the T-U-L-I-P acronym is in Loraine Boettner's
1932 book, “The Reformed Doctrine Of Predestination”.
The acronym was very cautiously if ever used
by Calvinist apologists and theologians before
the booklet by Steele and Thomas.
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). This doctrine
is derived from Augustine's explanation of
Original Sin. 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
in 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.
"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.
"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. Some Calvinists have quipped,
"The atonement is sufficient for all and efficient
for the elect," while other Calvinists find
such wording confusing rather than helpful.
All Calvinists would affirm that the blood
of Christ was sufficient to pay for every
single human being IF it were God's intention
to save every single human being. But Calvinists
are also quick to point out that Jesus did
not spill a drop of blood in vain (Galatians
2:21), and therefore, we can only be sure
that His blood sufficed for those for whom
it was intended, however many (Matthew 26:28)
or few (Matthew 7:14) that may be. Some Calvinists
also teach that the atonement accomplished
certain benefits for all mankind, albeit,
not their eternal salvation. The doctrine
is driven by the Calvinistic concept of the
sovereignty of God in salvation and their
understanding of the nature of the atonement.
At the Synod of Dort, both sides agreed that
the atonement of 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).
"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." This is not
to deny the fact that the Spirit’s outward
call (through the proclamation of the Gospel)
can be, and often is, rejected by sinners;
rather, it’s that inward call which cannot
be rejected. In fact, every saved person can
testify how, at some point in their life,
they “felt overwhelmingly compelled” to
believe in Christ, as if they “had no choice
but to follow Him.” This is what is meant
by the effectual calling of God.
"Perseverance of the saints" (or perseverance
of God with 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 (1 John 2:19),
or, if they are saved but not presently walking
in the Spirit, they will be divinely chastened
(Hebrews 12:5–11) and will repent (1 John
3:6–9).
Nature of the atonement
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. 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.
Comparison among Protestants
This table summarizes the classical views
of three Protestant beliefs about salvation.
Worship
Regulative principle of worship
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.
On this basis, many early Calvinists also
eschewed musical instruments and advocated
a capella exclusive psalmody in worship, though
Calvin himself allowed other scriptural songs
as well as psalms, 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.
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 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 with
elements such as worship bands.
Sacraments
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." 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."
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. 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."
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. Baptists also insist on immersion
or dipping, in contradistinction to other
Reformed Christians. 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. There is significant
latitude in Baptist congregations regarding
the Lord's supper, and many hold the Zwinglian
view.
Logical order of God's decree
There are two schools of thought 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") the infralapsarian view,
but is sensitive to those holding to supralapsarianism.
The Lapsarian controversy has a few vocal
proponents on each side today, but overall
it does not receive much attention among modern
Calvinists.
Variants
Amyraldism
Amyraldism (or sometimes Amyraldianism, also
known as the School of Saumur, hypothetical
universalism, post redemptionism, moderate
Calvinism, or four-point Calvinism) is the
belief that God, prior to his decree of election,
decreed Christ's atonement for all alike if
they believe, 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.
The efficacy of the atonement remains limited
to those who believe.
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."
Hyper-Calvinism
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.
Neo-Calvinism
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.
Kuyper wanted to awaken the church from what
he viewed as its pietistic slumber. He declared:
This refrain has become something of a rallying
call for Neo-Calvinists.
Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a fundamentalist
Calvinist theonomic movement that has remained
rather obscure. Founded by R. J. Rushdoony,
the movement has had an important influence
on the Christian Right in the United States.
The movement declined in the 1990s and was
declared dead in a 2008 Church History journal
article. 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.
New Calvinism
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. In March 2009, TIME magazine described
the New Calvinism as one of the "10 ideas
changing the world". Some of the major figures
in this area are John Piper, Mark Driscoll,
Al Mohler, Mark Dever, C. J. Mahaney, Joshua
Harris, and Tim Keller. New Calvinists have
been criticized for blending Calvinist soteriology
with popular Evangelical positions on the
sacraments and continuationism.
Social and economic influences
Usury and capitalism
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.
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.
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.
Politics and society
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. 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.
Moreover, the Calvinist Dutch authorities
allowed the printing of books that could not
be published elsewhere, e.g. Galileo's Discorsi.
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. His doctrine of the priesthood
of all believers raised the laity to the same
level as the clergy. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. Enjoying
self-rule they practiced separation of powers.
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.
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.
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." 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.
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.
Members of these churches formed co-operatives
to help the impoverished masses. Henry Dunant,
a Reformed pietist, founded the Red Cross
and initiated the Geneva Conventions.
Some sources would view Calvinist influence
as not always being solely positive. The Boers
and so-called Afrikaner Calvinists allegedly
used a twisted form of Calvinism and Kuyperian
theology to justify apartheid in South Africa
(see Afrikaner Calvinism). As late as 1974,
the majority of the Dutch Reformed Church
in South Africa was convinced that their theological
stances (including the story of the Tower
of Babel) could justify apartheid. In 1990,
the Dutch Reformed Church document Church
and Society maintained that although they
were changing their stance on apartheid, they
believed that within apartheid and under God's
sovereign guidance, "...everything was not
without significance, but was of service to
the Kingdom of God." It should be noted that
these views were not universal and were condemned
by many Calvinists outside South Africa. It
was pressure from both outside and inside
the Dutch Reformed Calvinist church which
helped reverse apartheid in South Africa.
Even Calvin was not always above his own time,
and as an influential leader in Geneva he
helped ensure that people were kept under
close watch and that crimes and sins (such
as failure to attend church or laughing in
church) were punished more severely than before
his leadership.
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. Princeton was a Presbyterian
foundation.
