Institutes of the Christian Religion Volume II John Calvin John Allen 9781117681849 Books
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This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
Institutes of the Christian Religion Volume II John Calvin John Allen 9781117681849 Books
John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French theologian, and a key figure of the Protestant Reformation. He wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible [e.g., Matthew, Mark, and Luke], and various other theological treatises. After he broke from the Catholic Church in 1530, he moved to Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of this book. He was then recruited to help reform the church in Geneva, and his views were very influential upon the political authorities. [NOTE: page numbers below refer to a 698-page hardcover edition; the first part is Institutes of the Christian Religion: Vol. 1]He acknowledges, “I do not deny, that whatever excellences appear in unbelievers, they are the gifts of God. I am not so at variance with the common opinion of mankind, as to contend that there is no difference between the justice, moderation, and equity of Titus or Trajan, and the rage, intemperance, and cruelty of Caligula, or Nero, or Domitian; between the obscenities of Tiberius and the continence of Vespasian… between the observance and the contempt of moral obligation and positive laws. For so great is the difference between just and unjust, that it is visible even in the lifeless image of it. For what order will be left in the world, if these opposites be confounded together? Such a distinction as this… has not only been engraven by the Lord in the heart of every man, but has also been frequently confirmed by his providential dispensations.” (Bk. III, Ch. XIV, II, pg. 4)
He says of the statements of Paul in Romans 4-5:1, contrasted with James in 2:14-26, “I deny, therefore, that the assertion of James, which they hold up against us as an impenetrable shield, afford them the least support. To evince this, we shall first examine the scope of the apostle, and then remark wherein they are deceived. Because there were many persons at that time, and the Church is personally infested with similar characters who, by neglecting and omitting the proper duties of believers, manifestly betrayed their real infidelity, while they continued to glory in the false pretense of faith. James here exposes the foolish confidence of such persons. It is not his design, then, to diminish, in any respect, the virtue of true faith, but to show the folly of these triflers, who were content with arrogating to themselves the vain image of it, and securely abandoned themselves to every vice.” (Bk. III, Ch. XVII, XI, pg. 45)
He summarizes, “we clearly perceive how utterly destitute man is of every good, and in what of all the means of salvation. Wherefore, if he seek for relief in his necessities, he must go out of himself, … the Lord … manifests himself in his Christ, in whom he offers us all felicity instead of our misery, and opulence, instead of our poverty; in whom he opens to our view the treasures of heaven, that our faith may be wholly engaged in the contemplation of his beloved Son… This, indeed, is that secret and recondite philosophy, which cannot be extracted from syllogisms; but is well understood by those whose eyes God has opened, that in his light they may see light.” (Bk. III, Ch. XX, I, pg. 76)
He explains, If it be evidently the result of the Divine will, that salvation is freely offered to some, and others are prevented from attaining it, this immediately gives rise to important and difficult questions, which are incapable of any other explication, than by the establishment of pious minds in what ought to be received concerning election and predestination---a question, in the opinion of many, full of perplexity; for they consider nothing more unreasonable, than that, of the common mass of mankind, some should be predestinated to salvation, and others to destruction… We shall never be clearly convinced… that our salvation flows from the fountain of God’s free mercy, till we are acquainted with his eternal election, which illustrates the grace of God by this comparison, that he adopts not all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but gives to some what he refuses others. Ignorance of this principle evidently detracts from the Divine glory, and diminishes real humility.” (Bk. III, Ch. XXI, I, pg. 140-141)
He continues, “When we attribute foreknowledge to God, we mean that all things have ever been, and perpetually remain, before his eyes, so that to his knowledge nothing is future or past, but all things are present; and present in such a manner, that he does not merely conceive of them from ideas formed in his mind, as things remembered by us appear present to our minds, but really beholds and sees them as if actually placed before him. And this foreknowledge extends to the whole world, and to all the creatures. Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he has determined in himself, what he would have become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny; but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestinated either to life or to death.” (Bk. III, Ch. XXI, V, pg. 145)
He outlines evidence for the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection: “The truth is, therefore, that Pilate by his seal attested the resurrection of Christ; and the guards who were placed at the sepulchre, either by their silence or by their falsehood, were in reality so many heralds to publish the same fact. In the mean time, the voice of the angels loudly proclaimed, ‘He is not here, but is risen.’ Their celestial splendor showed them to be angels, and not men… More than once, his disciples saw, and even felt and handled him; and their unbelief has eminently contributed to the confirmation of our faith… Paul, in his way to Damascus, was not prostrated to the ground by the influence of a dead man, but felt that the person whom he was opposing was armed with supreme power… To refuse credit to testimonies so numerous and authentic, is not diffidence, but perverse and unreasonable obstinacy.” (Bk. III, Ch. XXV, III, pg. 203-204)
He argues, “certainly [there] can be no Church where delusion and falsehood have usurped the dominion. As this is the state of things under the Papacy, it is easy to judge how much of the Church remains there. Instead of the ministry of the word, there reigns a corrupt government, composed of falsehoods… The worship of God is deformed by a multifarious and intolerable mass of superstitions… The public assemblies have become schools of idolatry and impiety. IN withdrawing ourselves, therefore, from the pernicious participation of so many enormities, there is no danger of separating ourselves from the Church of Christ… They call the Greeks schismatics… Because, it is pretended they have lost their privilege by revolting from the Apostolic see. But do not they much more deserve to lose it, who have revolted from Christ himself. It follows, therefore, that their plea of uninterrupted succession if a vain pretence, unless the truth of Christ, which was transmitted from the fathers, be permanently retained pure and uncorrupted by their posterity.” (Bk. IV, Ch. II, I-II, pg. 248-250)
He charges, “While we refuse… to allow to the Papists the title of the Church… we do not deny that there are Churches among them. We only contend for the true and legitimate constitution of the Church… Daniel and Paul had predicted that Antichrist would sit in the temple of God. The head of that cursed and abominable kingdom, in the Western Church, we affirm to be the Pope…. we by no means deny that Churches may exist, even under his tyranny; but he has profaned them by sacrilegious impiety… in such Churches, Christ lies half buried… I affirm that they are Churches, inasmuch as God has wonderfully reserved among them a remnant of his people, though miserably dispersed and dejected…” (Bk. IV, Ch. II, XII, pg. 258)
He admits of Matthew 16:18, “This belongs to Peter, they say, above the rest, because it is expressly attributed to him in particular. I readily allow Peter the honor of being placed among the first in the structure of the Church, or, if they insist upon it, the very first of all the faithful; but I will not permit them to infer from this that he possessed a primacy among the rest… I am willing that Peter should have the precedence, but there is a great difference between the honor of preceding others, and authority over them. We see that the apostles generally paid this deference to Peter, that he used to speak first in their assembly, and took the lead in proposing, exhorting, and admonishing; but we read not a word of his power.” (Bk. IV, Ch. VI, V, pg. 304)
He states, “baptism produces no other purification than by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ; which is emblematically represented by water, on account of its resemblance to washing and cleansing. Who, then, can pretend that we are cleansed by that water, which clearly testifies the blood of Christ to be our true and only ablution? So that… no better argument could be found, than in the signification of baptism itself, which abstracts us, as well from all other means of salvation, that it may fix our minds on Christ alone.” (Bk. IV, Ch. XV, II, pg. 478) Later, he adds, “baptism is justly administered to infants, as that to which they are fully entitled?” (Bk. IV, Ch. XVI, V, pg. 497)
But of the Eucharist, he comments, “What, then, shall we deny it to be a superstitious worship, when men prostrate themselves before a piece of bread, to adore Christ in it?” (Bk. IV, Ch. XVII, XXXVI, pg. 570) And he states, “the mass offers an intolerable blasphemy and insult to Christ.” (Bk. IV, Ch. XVIII, II, pg. 586) He concludes, “that grace of healing has disappeared, like all the other miraculous powers, which the Lord was pleased to exhibit for a time, that he might render the preaching of the gospel, which was then new, the object of admiration for ever.” (Bk. IV, Ch. XIX, XVIII, pg. 618)
This book is “must reading” for any serious historical theological library.
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Institutes of the Christian Religion Volume II John Calvin John Allen 9781117681849 Books Reviews
John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French theologian, and a key figure of the Protestant Reformation. He wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible [e.g., Matthew, Mark, and Luke], and various other theological treatises. After he broke from the Catholic Church in 1530, he moved to Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of this book. He was then recruited to help reform the church in Geneva, and his views were very influential upon the political authorities. [NOTE page numbers below refer to a 698-page hardcover edition; the first part is Institutes of the Christian Religion Vol. 1]
He acknowledges, “I do not deny, that whatever excellences appear in unbelievers, they are the gifts of God. I am not so at variance with the common opinion of mankind, as to contend that there is no difference between the justice, moderation, and equity of Titus or Trajan, and the rage, intemperance, and cruelty of Caligula, or Nero, or Domitian; between the obscenities of Tiberius and the continence of Vespasian… between the observance and the contempt of moral obligation and positive laws. For so great is the difference between just and unjust, that it is visible even in the lifeless image of it. For what order will be left in the world, if these opposites be confounded together? Such a distinction as this… has not only been engraven by the Lord in the heart of every man, but has also been frequently confirmed by his providential dispensations.” (Bk. III, Ch. XIV, II, pg. 4)
He says of the statements of Paul in Romans 4-51, contrasted with James in 214-26, “I deny, therefore, that the assertion of James, which they hold up against us as an impenetrable shield, afford them the least support. To evince this, we shall first examine the scope of the apostle, and then remark wherein they are deceived. Because there were many persons at that time, and the Church is personally infested with similar characters who, by neglecting and omitting the proper duties of believers, manifestly betrayed their real infidelity, while they continued to glory in the false pretense of faith. James here exposes the foolish confidence of such persons. It is not his design, then, to diminish, in any respect, the virtue of true faith, but to show the folly of these triflers, who were content with arrogating to themselves the vain image of it, and securely abandoned themselves to every vice.” (Bk. III, Ch. XVII, XI, pg. 45)
He summarizes, “we clearly perceive how utterly destitute man is of every good, and in what of all the means of salvation. Wherefore, if he seek for relief in his necessities, he must go out of himself, … the Lord … manifests himself in his Christ, in whom he offers us all felicity instead of our misery, and opulence, instead of our poverty; in whom he opens to our view the treasures of heaven, that our faith may be wholly engaged in the contemplation of his beloved Son… This, indeed, is that secret and recondite philosophy, which cannot be extracted from syllogisms; but is well understood by those whose eyes God has opened, that in his light they may see light.” (Bk. III, Ch. XX, I, pg. 76)
He explains, If it be evidently the result of the Divine will, that salvation is freely offered to some, and others are prevented from attaining it, this immediately gives rise to important and difficult questions, which are incapable of any other explication, than by the establishment of pious minds in what ought to be received concerning election and predestination---a question, in the opinion of many, full of perplexity; for they consider nothing more unreasonable, than that, of the common mass of mankind, some should be predestinated to salvation, and others to destruction… We shall never be clearly convinced… that our salvation flows from the fountain of God’s free mercy, till we are acquainted with his eternal election, which illustrates the grace of God by this comparison, that he adopts not all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but gives to some what he refuses others. Ignorance of this principle evidently detracts from the Divine glory, and diminishes real humility.” (Bk. III, Ch. XXI, I, pg. 140-141)
He continues, “When we attribute foreknowledge to God, we mean that all things have ever been, and perpetually remain, before his eyes, so that to his knowledge nothing is future or past, but all things are present; and present in such a manner, that he does not merely conceive of them from ideas formed in his mind, as things remembered by us appear present to our minds, but really beholds and sees them as if actually placed before him. And this foreknowledge extends to the whole world, and to all the creatures. Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he has determined in himself, what he would have become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny; but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestinated either to life or to death.” (Bk. III, Ch. XXI, V, pg. 145)
He outlines evidence for the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection “The truth is, therefore, that Pilate by his seal attested the resurrection of Christ; and the guards who were placed at the sepulchre, either by their silence or by their falsehood, were in reality so many heralds to publish the same fact. In the mean time, the voice of the angels loudly proclaimed, ‘He is not here, but is risen.’ Their celestial splendor showed them to be angels, and not men… More than once, his disciples saw, and even felt and handled him; and their unbelief has eminently contributed to the confirmation of our faith… Paul, in his way to Damascus, was not prostrated to the ground by the influence of a dead man, but felt that the person whom he was opposing was armed with supreme power… To refuse credit to testimonies so numerous and authentic, is not diffidence, but perverse and unreasonable obstinacy.” (Bk. III, Ch. XXV, III, pg. 203-204)
He argues, “certainly [there] can be no Church where delusion and falsehood have usurped the dominion. As this is the state of things under the Papacy, it is easy to judge how much of the Church remains there. Instead of the ministry of the word, there reigns a corrupt government, composed of falsehoods… The worship of God is deformed by a multifarious and intolerable mass of superstitions… The public assemblies have become schools of idolatry and impiety. IN withdrawing ourselves, therefore, from the pernicious participation of so many enormities, there is no danger of separating ourselves from the Church of Christ… They call the Greeks schismatics… Because, it is pretended they have lost their privilege by revolting from the Apostolic see. But do not they much more deserve to lose it, who have revolted from Christ himself. It follows, therefore, that their plea of uninterrupted succession if a vain pretence, unless the truth of Christ, which was transmitted from the fathers, be permanently retained pure and uncorrupted by their posterity.” (Bk. IV, Ch. II, I-II, pg. 248-250)
He charges, “While we refuse… to allow to the Papists the title of the Church… we do not deny that there are Churches among them. We only contend for the true and legitimate constitution of the Church… Daniel and Paul had predicted that Antichrist would sit in the temple of God. The head of that cursed and abominable kingdom, in the Western Church, we affirm to be the Pope…. we by no means deny that Churches may exist, even under his tyranny; but he has profaned them by sacrilegious impiety… in such Churches, Christ lies half buried… I affirm that they are Churches, inasmuch as God has wonderfully reserved among them a remnant of his people, though miserably dispersed and dejected…” (Bk. IV, Ch. II, XII, pg. 258)
He admits of Matthew 1618, “This belongs to Peter, they say, above the rest, because it is expressly attributed to him in particular. I readily allow Peter the honor of being placed among the first in the structure of the Church, or, if they insist upon it, the very first of all the faithful; but I will not permit them to infer from this that he possessed a primacy among the rest… I am willing that Peter should have the precedence, but there is a great difference between the honor of preceding others, and authority over them. We see that the apostles generally paid this deference to Peter, that he used to speak first in their assembly, and took the lead in proposing, exhorting, and admonishing; but we read not a word of his power.” (Bk. IV, Ch. VI, V, pg. 304)
He states, “baptism produces no other purification than by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ; which is emblematically represented by water, on account of its resemblance to washing and cleansing. Who, then, can pretend that we are cleansed by that water, which clearly testifies the blood of Christ to be our true and only ablution? So that… no better argument could be found, than in the signification of baptism itself, which abstracts us, as well from all other means of salvation, that it may fix our minds on Christ alone.” (Bk. IV, Ch. XV, II, pg. 478) Later, he adds, “baptism is justly administered to infants, as that to which they are fully entitled?” (Bk. IV, Ch. XVI, V, pg. 497)
But of the Eucharist, he comments, “What, then, shall we deny it to be a superstitious worship, when men prostrate themselves before a piece of bread, to adore Christ in it?” (Bk. IV, Ch. XVII, XXXVI, pg. 570) And he states, “the mass offers an intolerable blasphemy and insult to Christ.” (Bk. IV, Ch. XVIII, II, pg. 586) He concludes, “that grace of healing has disappeared, like all the other miraculous powers, which the Lord was pleased to exhibit for a time, that he might render the preaching of the gospel, which was then new, the object of admiration for ever.” (Bk. IV, Ch. XIX, XVIII, pg. 618)
This book is “must reading” for any serious historical theological library.
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