Posted on 07/03/2009 12:30:14 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Vatican newspaper Friday praised influential French Protestant John Calvin, a critic of the Roman Catholic Church, hailing him an "extraordinary" figure.
The Osservatore Romano, on the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth, said it recognised the theologian as a Christian who had a major impact on European life.
"Considering the strength of arguments against him, we think it necessary to point out that Calvin is a Christian," the daily paper said of the man who played a major role in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
The paper ranked Calvin alongside 18th century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau for his influence on modern European life.
The pair were the "only two men who influenced some Europeans to change course and were strong enough to lead them in a new direction," it wrote.
The "mark left by the reformer was deep," the Osservatore Romano continued, praising Calvinism as a "ingenious creation" which resisted "all the changes or revolutions of modern life."
Calvin, who lived in the 16th century, broke with the Roman Catholic Church and became one of its most ardent critics and helped the Reformation to take root across Europe.
He was a contemporary of the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther.
Calvin's major work is The Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) which advocates a strict form of Protestantism.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
....The "mark left by the reformer was deep," the Osservatore Romano continued, praising Calvinism as a "ingenious creation" which resisted "all the changes or revolutions of modern life."
The Vatican praising Calvin? I didn’t know Calvin was an evolutionist!
in other news - Servetus invited Calvin over for a bbq
This is no time for quibbles when europe is ruled by utterly pagan babaylonian sodomites. What’s more that’s increasingly the case in the USA.
Really, in order to properly grasp the world today — everyone has to kick out their head old prejudices that belong to another age.
It is totally pathetic that the only ones in europe standing up for broad outlines of judeo christian morality are the moslems. and in some places like holland the only ones standing up to the moslems are the faggots.
really understand, what comes round the first time as a tragedy —returns as a farce.
in other news - Servetus invited Calvin over for a bbq
I don’t think that would happen. But the head of the church of england would certainly enjoy tea with Servetus. After all they don’t have any serious doctrinal differences.
So when do they start wiping each other out?
Two points:
1. under its current editor, L’Osservatore Romano is a loose cannon that DOES NOT reflect any official thinking. The editor has repeatedly shown that he doesn’t have a clue about how Catholic faith cashes out in world cultures. He not only is clueless about why the 80 American Catholic bishops stood up against Obama but he actually thinks his cluelessness doesn’t matter much.
2. If the quotations excerpted here are a fair representation of what the article said, then this is a superb example of damning with faint praise. If I were a Calvinist, I’d not be touting this article. It does not make your guy look all that great.
What type of bbq? Would Servetus do to Calvin what Calvin did to Servetus?
***The “mark left by the reformer was deep,” ***
It certainly is. I appreciate that you often bring forth inconsistencies in the Church institutions. Thanks.
The paper ranked Calvin alongside 18th century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau for his influence on modern European life.
I see your point.
To put Calvin in the same company as Rousseau — is no praise at all.
That said Rousseau has been much more influential to European life in the last 200 years than Calvin.
The 17 century wars pushed out all the calvinists in france and most of them in Germany. The USA essentially became the home for Calvinism. The Dutch German & Swedish reformed churches were all calvinists. As were the French Huguenots and the English Puritans and of course the scottish Presbyterians.
While the US constitution reflects Calvinist thinking—almost from the day it was written American culture and society began to swing away from Calvinism.imho the reason for this was that Newton was an ardent Arian. Benjamin Franklin brought over the first Arian Unitarian pastor.
In Germany the Higher Criticism school began in the 18th century becoming dominant in the semaries in German at the same time as the atheists became dominant in philosophy departments. This was about the late 1840’s. The higher criticism school used the tools of bacon/decartes on theology. Of course the methodology resulted in all the german pastors become arians.
If you want to see just how Descartes/Bacon screwed up the west in the early 17th century.-take a look sometime at their tree of knowledge.
That tree turns on its head the biblical tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden.
Small wonder Rousseau has been most influential for the last 200 years.
There is no doubt that Calvinism has had a significant affect upon American Christianity. I would say that Evangelicalism has its roots in Calvinism, especially in the realm of political activism, and its emphasis upon sanctification. Except in a few Reformed/Presbyterian denominations in America, there is no pure Calvinism today. The TULIP has died on the vine.
It appears not. I guess the Vatican hasn't got the press release from the FRoman Catholics telling them what to believe.
lol. Just another example of Rome talking out of both sides of its mouth.
We hate him/we like him/we hate him/we like him...
She’s my daughter/she’s my sister/she’s my daughter/she’s my sister...
What? Did they change their mind?
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