Celebrate John Calvin as an inspiration not a saint say Reformed church leaders

Worldwide Faith News ^ | 7/7/2009 | World Alliance of Reformed Churches

[Alex Murphy]

As Reformed churches worldwide prepare to celebrate the 500th anniversary on 10 July of the birth of Protestant Reformation leader, John Calvin, leaders of a global movement of Reformed churches have issued a statement calling on Christians to commemorate Calvin not as a saint but as a source of inspiration for responding to contemporary social and environmental concerns.

In a statement released today by leaders of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) which represents 75 million Reformed church members, WARCs president and general secretary link commentaries by the 16th century lawyer and theologian to the current global economic crisis.

In their statement, WARCs president, Clifton Kirkpatrick, and general secretary, Setri Nyomi, quote Calvins instructions to the church about how to respond to 16th century economic and environmental concerns and note that these speak to contemporary concerns about the impact of climate change and the market crisis on the worlds poor.

Saying that people are hurt when there is injustice in the economy, Kirkpatrick and Nyomi note: To this Calvin stated A fair distribution can become reality if the rich do not greedily swallow up whatsoever they can get together; if they do not rake up on every side what belongs to others to satisfy their greed… (Calvins Commentary on Exodus 16:19.)

The statements authors add, In our world today where humanity is blatantly ignoring the environment and in fact destroying Gods creation, Calvins words can be instructive: Whoever owns a piece of land, should harvest the fruits in such a way that the soil does not suffer damage…If we follow this line, nobody will behave immoderately and destroy through misuse what God wishes to preserve. (Calvins Commentary on Genesis 2.15)

In pointing to the relevance of Calvins legacy for today, Kirkpatrick and Nyomi say: It is our hope that inspired by this, we who live in the 21st century will also be faithful … to doing everything we can to be Gods agents of transformation, making a difference in our communities.

The full statement follows.

******

Statement released by the President and General Secretary of WARC

8 July 2009

Dear Sisters and brothers,

Five hundred years ago this Friday, July 10, John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. The Reformed family is commemorating this, not so much to create a Calvin cult or even to hail him as a perfect saint. Calvin certainly was not perfect, and it is against the grain of Reformed Christians to foster personality cults. John Calvin himself would insist Soli Deo Gloria Only to God be the Glory.

We commemorate this day in a spirit of gratitude to God for how what Calvin did has inspired a movement of people committed to living faithfully for God in different contexts, and how his legacy continues to inspire us to be true to God in responding faithfully to current challenges.

In our world today, many are hurting because of injustice in the economy long before the current meltdown in the financial markets. This has indeed been further aggravated by the financial crisis and job losses in many countries while those who benefited from the system before continue to be bailed out. To this Calvin stated A fair distribution can become reality if the rich do not greedily swallow up whatsoever they can get together; if they do not rake up on every side what belongs to others to satisfy their greed…(Calvins Commentary on Exodus 16:19.)

In our world today where humanity is blatantly ignoring the environment and in fact destroying Gods creation, Calvins words can be instructive: Whoever owns a piece of land, should harvest the fruits in such a way that the soil does not suffer and damage…as Gods stewards…If we follow this line, nobody will behave immoderately and destroy through misuse what God wishes to preserve. (Calvins Commentary on Genesis 2.15)

In our world today where even within the church there are so many divisions and many church leaders and Christians do not take seriously the call to Christian unity, we are reminded by Calvin Each time we read the word one, let us be reminded that it is used emphatically. Christ cannot be divided. Faith cannot be rent. There are not various baptisms, but one, which is common to all. God cannot be torn into different parts… Faith and baptism, and God the Father and Christ, ought to unite us… (Calvins commentary on Ephesians 4:5)

John Calvin wrote these commentaries in the 16th century. They continue to be relevant today. That is the legacy for which we thank God. It is our hope that inspired by this, we who live in the 21st century will also be faithful to God in our commitment to Christian unity, to confronting the forces of evil and injustice in society, and to doing everything we can to be Gods agents of transformation, making a difference in our communities.

We take this opportunity to greet all who are organising activities and worship services this week-end (July 10 12, 2009). May God bless you as you commemorate this jubilee. We take this opportunity to greet those who have had some activities earlier this year, or are planning to engage in jubilee activities later this year.

We would also like to thank all those people and congregations who made it a point to give a special Birthday gift in the form of financial resources with which the World Alliance of Reformed Churches can continue to be faithful to God in carrying out mandates that are in part inspired by the life and ministry of John Calvin. For those who want to follow this good example, please visit the WARC website (http://www.warc.ch/) and go to Calvin and WARC. You can also find more information on: http://www.calvin.org/.

As we commemorate 500 years after the birth of Calvin, may all our actions and responses to global and community challenges today give glory to God.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Rev. Dr Clifton Kirkpatrick
President

Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi
General Secretary

[Alex Murphy]

Five hundred years ago this Friday, July 10, John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. The Reformed family is commemorating this, not so much to create a Calvin cult or even to hail him as a perfect saint. Calvin certainly was not perfect, and it is against the grain of Reformed Christians to foster personality cults. John Calvin himself would insist Soli Deo Gloria Only to God be the Glory.

We commemorate this day in a spirit of gratitude to God for how what Calvin did has inspired a movement of people committed to living faithfully for God in different contexts, and how his legacy continues to inspire us to be true to God in responding faithfully to current challenges.

[Augustinian monk]

Joyeaux Anniversaire

[Houghton M.]

Uh, the whole point about saints is that they are inspirations to the rest of us. Methinks the Calvinists doth protest too much.

Anyone who knows anything about the veneration of saints knows that canonized saints frequently were terrible sinners. The point about saints is not that they never sin but that they recognize sin and repent of it.

[lupie]

The point about saints is not that they never sin but that they recognize sin and repent of it.

Which is why the bible clearly states that all those who repent of their sins are saints. That is what makes one a saint - one who responds to the gospel of Christ Jesus. :) It is about Him and not individuals. Always has been, always will be. Anything or anyone in the way between any individual believer and the throne of the Lord God is an idol of some kind. Always has been, always will be.

[Houghton M.]

So John Calvin, not being a saint, didn’t repent of his sins?

Which way is it now? Why do the International Calvinists have to make a big deal out of John Calvin being an inspiration, not a saint, when you Calvinists believe that all Christians are saints?

I’d be glad to agree that all Christians who repent of their sins are saints—at the point at which they repent of their sins and until they commit the next God-alienating sin.

The only difference is that we Catholics realize that until you die, you are capable of committing another God-alienating sin, so we wait until people die to “close the books.” We say that anyone who is in heaven is a saint and will be forever. The canonized saints are the ones we know for sure are there but we know that countless thousands of others are there too. We just don’t know all their names. Canonized saints are a subset of saints in general.

So which is it? Did John Calvin repent of his sins or not? If he did, why is he merely an inspiration and not a saint? And if he didn’t repent, not being a saint, how can he be an inspiration? Just askin’.

The real question is why the International Calvinists had to get in a subtle little anti-Catholic dig. Celebrate your Guy, have your party—I don’t begrudge you at all.

But why do you have to get the little dig in?

[P-Marlowe]

The point about saints is not that they never sin but that they recognize sin and repent of it.

That would make ALL believers Saints.

Which, of course, they are.

[P-Marlowe]

Reformed churches have issued a statement calling on Christians to commemorate Calvin not as a saint...

The Reformed Churches are wrong to insist that Calvin is NOT a saint. I thought Reformed Churches believed that sainthood is conferred upon all believers, not just the special ones. If John Calvin is not a "saint", then who among us is?

[marshmallow]

The real question is why the International Calvinists had to get in a subtle little anti-Catholic dig. Celebrate your Guy, have your party—I don’t begrudge you at all.

I'll try.

Protestantism, by definition, is a protest against something; i.e. Catholicism. IOW, opposing what Catholics believe is an integral part of the Calvinist identity. When one defines oneself in terms which are at least in part, negative, that mindset becomes ingrained and habit forming and it shows itself in varied and different circumstances.

[xzins]

Said St Marlowe to St Xzins

:>)

[lupie]

Of course I know that you know what I meant! You are being rather silly in asking about Calvin not repenting. :) The problem is really the definition one uses of the word saint. The common definition, and one used in the article is one that elevates a man (or woman) as holier than others, as an idol/icon to model one's behavior after, usually in order to find oneself to be more pleasing to God. This, however, is not the biblical defintion, which is the one I gave, and I see that P-Marlow also agrees with.

I am also sorry that you took it personal that I was getting in a "dig" at Roman catholicism. I was not. I was just trying to post the Truth about the biblical use of the word saint for those who have ears. People of many different kinds of Christian religions and Christians in general put something or someone in between them and the throne of God. Maybe it is John Calvin, maybe someone or something else. Doesn't matter - all are wrong, and all are idolatry. It is part of the sin nature of God. Nothing new under the sun.

Again, scripture makes it clear that once a person repents of being a sinner, they are saint. Not a temporary thing, but those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

If you want to debate the preservation of saints, that is fine, but that is not what this thread is about and I won't likely participate because I simply don't have the time. There have been many of those in the past. and many more capable than myself to show that truth.

[sr4402]

The only difference is that we Catholics realize that until you die, you are capable of committing another God-alienating sin...

That's a problem. Because the Lord Jesus Christ said if you even look at a woman with a lustful thought, you have committed Adultery. And if you call someone "Racca" (Idiot) you have committed Murder before God. God does not judge upon a Curve.

Thinking that one can live without committing or omitting enough sins, in a day or even an hour before God, to send one to the Lake of Fire, is Ludicrous.

That's why Jesus words to those who believe are so comforting "Truly Truly, I say unto you, He who Believes HAS ETERNAL LIFE".

Note that the Lord Jesus Christ, did not say 'Will Have' or 'May have' but He says "HAS" - right now and always.

If they could lose it, from that point, then it would not be ETERNAL. But they have it now - in their hearts and in their minds ("I have put Eternity on their minds").

The Reason that people believe that they can lose their Salvation is that they believe in their heart that THY HAVE DONE IT or Have to Do it - rather than Believe that GOD has done it and THAT GOD HAS IMPLATED THE FAITH in the Believer to Believe.

Most do not believe the Apostle Paul's words: "It (faith) is the gift of God ... so that no one should Boast"

If you have that Gift of Faith and believe the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins upon the Cross and have called him Lord of your life - that faith is a GIFT OF GOD.

Your have been GIVEN A NEW HEART (the heart of Stone was taken away) and a new Mind, and the confession was put on your lips, BY GOD.

FOR MANKIND IS SPIRITUALLY DEAD and does not do so willingly.

[lupie]

The Reformed Churches are wrong to insist that Calvin is NOT a saint. I thought Reformed Churches believed that sainthood is conferred upon all believers, not just the special ones. If John Calvin is not a "saint", then who among us is?

I totally agree with you. And I personally believe that Rerformers were more right on more biblical matters than anyone and I align myself with most of what they wrote because that is the place the Lord has led me - through not quite a direct route! I am not familiar with the author, so I am not sure how faithful he is to the true Reformed faith. My guess is that he is with a mainline rather than a conservative group.

[Titanites]

Reformed churches have issued a statement calling on Christians to commemorate Calvin not as a saint

src="http://calvin500blog.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/10054956l.jpg">

Oops, too late. So much for "Soli Deo Gloria".

[Alex Murphy]

Protestantism, by definition, is a protest against something; i.e. Catholicism. IOW, opposing what Catholics believe is an integral part of the Calvinist identity. When one defines oneself in terms which are at least in part, negative, that mindset becomes ingrained and habit forming and it shows itself in varied and different circumstances.

Incorrect. From the thread History Lesson: Positively Protestant:

What do the major historians of Protestantism say? Like almost all their colleagues, John Dillenberger and Claude Welch link the origin of the word Protestant to the ‘Protestation’ of the German evangelical estates in the second Diet of Speyer. But they see in that term “the duality of protest and affirmative witness.” That protest, they write, was

from the standpoint of affirmed faith. Few churches ever adopted the name “Protestant.” The most commonly adopted designations were rather “evangelical” and “reformed.” ... [W]hen the word Protestant came into currency in England (in Elizabethan times), its accepted significance was not “objection” but “avowal” or “witness” or “confession” (as the Latin protestari meant also “to profess”).

That meaning lasted for another century, say Dillenberger and Welch, and it referred to the Church of England’s

making its profession of the faith in the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer. Only later did the word “protest” come to have a primarily negative significance, and the term “Protestant” come to refer to non-Roman churches in general.

....When Edward VI was crowned, the word still had a positive connotation. On the CultureVulture blog for the Guardian, Sean Clarke notes that it was 60 years from the introduction of Protestant in English until its first use in the extended sense of "object, dissent, or disapprove.” That (according to the Collins Etymological Dictionary) was first recorded in English in 1608. The Online Etymological Dictionary places the first use of protest to mean “statement of disapproval” in the year 1751—another century and a half. Through much of that history and well after, protest continued to mean “avow,” “affirm,” “witness,” or “solemnly proclaim.”

Poor, misunderstood protest has had a history something like that of another word—apology. That word has gone from its positive, head-held-high sense of “a formal justification or defense” (as in “the essay was an apology for capitalism”) to something tinged with shame and remorse (“a statement of regret or request for pardon”).

[HossB86]

Nice try, but wrong.

Ever seen a bust of Beethoven on a piano? Ever seen ol’ George Washington on a quarter? Difference is Calvin isn’t being WORSHIPPED. Coins, busts, statues... all made to remember the man, not make him an idol.

As stated above, ALL believers are Saints. Mankind, or a church (any church), CANNOT make a Saint; only God can.

So it IS Sola Deo Gloria!

:D

Hoss

[blue-duncan]

“If John Calvin is not a “saint”, then who among us is?”

Neeners, and we pulled up the ladder after so no one could follow. Every one after is a saintet or saintette (that’s french in honor of Calvin).

[Titanites]

Ever seen a bust of Beethoven on a piano? Ever seen ol’ George Washington on a quarter? Difference is Calvin isn’t being WORSHIPPED. Coins, busts, statues... all made to remember the man, not make him an idol.

You sound like a Catholic apologist.

[Houghton M.]

Except John Calvin, it seems, according to the International Calvinists meeting in Geneva! Unless, of course, they are using a non-biblical definition of “saint.” But I’m sure they wouldn’t do that, now, would they?

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionaries/dict_meaning.php?source=1&wid=T0003183

It would seem to me that every believer in Christ is a saint, some more famous because of their dramatic conversion.

[Houghton M.]

Good Calvinist boilerplate. Congratulations.