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A Life Of John Calvin, A Study in the Shaping of Western Culture.
By Alister E. McGrath. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1990. 332 pp. $46.95. Paperback.
John Calvin is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented men in history. In some religious groups, it is almost a past-time and an article of faith to malign the theologian of Geneva. Calvin has been accused of drowning Anabaptists in their baptismal waters, decapitating a child for disobeying parents, having Servetus burned for heresy, being a dictator in Geneva, and inventing the doctrine of predestination. None of this, McGrath seeks to demonstrate, is true. McGrath dispels a multitude of false information regarding Calvin and endeavors to uncover the real Calvin in his actual setting. This book is a service to the church in this way.
It is often said of those who essentially agree with Calvin’s theology that they are “following a man” and consequently they are given the expletive, “Calvinist.” McGrath presents Calvin as abhorring personality cults. Calvin, McGrath points out, requested that he be buried in a common grave and that no monuments be erected. Little is know of his childhood or of his education. Calvin was notoriously private and what little he did write regarding himself left many questions. McGrath posits that even the term Calvinist was surprising to Calvin. In fact, this designation was given to Reformed believers by many Lutherans in an effort to slow down the spread of the Reformed Faith in Germany. McGrath rightly points out that Calvin was not the first to believe such doctrines. The Hussites and the Huguenots were pre-Calvin. Calvin was heir, McGrath writes, to this teaching. Calvin was able to arrange it well and utilize avenues at his disposal to propel the Reformed Faith into an international movement.
McGrath’s use of Genevan records is compelling. Much of the inaccurate information about Calvin and his role in Geneva has been cleared due to McGrath’s collating the activities of the City Council. McGrath’s fairness is commendable. It is clear that he holds Calvin in high regard and yet he points out that Calvin was probably not ordained by a religious organization but by the city council. He notes that Calvin was a simple civil servant and was often outranked by the council. He further discusses the weakness of Calvinism to degrade into the secular. On the other hand, McGrath makes a special effort to show Calvin’s many contributions. He especially endeavors to dispel the accusation that Calvinism is devoid of Culture and deplores art.
McGrath’s constant comparison of Calvin and his accomplishments with those of Karl Marx is unsettling. To point out one or more similarities is insightful but a constant comparison would not be a compliment to Calvin and to potentially imply a real similarity between the two that does not exist. The purpose behind so many comparisons was left ambiguous in the book.
Another misconception that McGrath corrects is that “Calvinism” does not mix with a missionary zeal. This is clearly not the case. For example, as soon as Calvin was able to launch a missionary endeavor to France he did so. In fact, the Reformed Faith proved quite capable of international influence contrary to other expressions of Evangelical faith that were more or less local in influence. Calvin’s theology has shown adaptability to differing cultures. It is remarkably versatile and resilient under hardship. It also offered a viable option for socio-economic and governmental concerns for city-states that wanted to embrace the Reformation. The Radical Reformers offered little more than anarchy to those who wanted to leave the fold of Rome. The pattern that was being made at Geneva was showing the way for others and Calvin was giving them the religious expression to guide them.
McGrath’s A Life of John Calvin should be read by every student of Western Civilization and every Christian Minister. John Calvin continues to be a fruitful study to all who love to sit at the feet of the truly great, though, as McGrath notes, Calvin never considered himself to be great but only a humble scholar.
Post tenebras lux,
Scott
