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Institutes of the Christian Religion (2 Volume Set)
by John Calvin, John Thomas McNeill
by John Calvin, John Thomas McNeill
Ian's review
bookshelves: society, religion, politics, history, essays-and-autobiographies, classics
Sep 11, 11
bookshelves: society, religion, politics, history, essays-and-autobiographies, classics
Read from January 28 to September 11, 2011
Well, he's certainly...pedantic? I find that Calvin somehow manages to approach a religion grounded in love, mercy, compassion, purity and fidelity as though it were a cold, joyless intellectual exercise. He lacks the zeal of Luther, the passion of Augustine, the skill of Aquinas, and even the intellectualism of Evagrius... Were he alive today I somehow think he would be busy working for the IRS or writing the fine print in legal documents. It amazes me that my ancestors were so passionate about his theology.
UPDATE: Book 4 is, by far, the best of the volumes. His arguments about the Roman Catholic Church's claim to authority (pointing out that their claims of unbroken succession are insufficient to prove themselves the "true" church since the Greek churches could claim the same, yet the Romans considered the Greeks heretics and schismatics) and his arguments about the ways in which pride and hatred towards authority (since justly-used authority is usually exercised to correct and to prevent us from indulging our whims) are the true motivations behind the rejection of communal Christianity in favor of strictly individual worship and meditation (cf. today's "don't-believe-in-organized-religion" assertions) -- these are legitimately compelling.
UPDATE 2: What the...? Abruptly, and without any proof, he begins claiming that the Pope and all cardinals secretly don't believe in God, Jesus, the after-life or the Bible AT ALL! And that they secretly conspired to punish anyone who believes otherwise! Suddenly the origin of European conspiracy theories is laid bare before me...
UPDATE 3: He keeps alternating between excellent points and bizarre, labored interpretations of the Bible motivated (rather obviously) by a desperate desire to justify his own a priori conclusions. One of the silliest is his conclusion that the dietary prohibitions given to Gentiles in Acts were actually part of a commandment to be more charitable.
UPDATE 4: His arguments in favor of paedobaptism are remarkably weak. Their weakness is only exceeded by his vehemence in asserting them.
UPDATE: Book 4 is, by far, the best of the volumes. His arguments about the Roman Catholic Church's claim to authority (pointing out that their claims of unbroken succession are insufficient to prove themselves the "true" church since the Greek churches could claim the same, yet the Romans considered the Greeks heretics and schismatics) and his arguments about the ways in which pride and hatred towards authority (since justly-used authority is usually exercised to correct and to prevent us from indulging our whims) are the true motivations behind the rejection of communal Christianity in favor of strictly individual worship and meditation (cf. today's "don't-believe-in-organized-religion" assertions) -- these are legitimately compelling.
UPDATE 2: What the...? Abruptly, and without any proof, he begins claiming that the Pope and all cardinals secretly don't believe in God, Jesus, the after-life or the Bible AT ALL! And that they secretly conspired to punish anyone who believes otherwise! Suddenly the origin of European conspiracy theories is laid bare before me...
UPDATE 3: He keeps alternating between excellent points and bizarre, labored interpretations of the Bible motivated (rather obviously) by a desperate desire to justify his own a priori conclusions. One of the silliest is his conclusion that the dietary prohibitions given to Gentiles in Acts were actually part of a commandment to be more charitable.
UPDATE 4: His arguments in favor of paedobaptism are remarkably weak. Their weakness is only exceeded by his vehemence in asserting them.
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Reading Progress
| 02/14/2011 | page 763 |
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RandomAnthony
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Aug 03, 2011 01:30pm
Some light summer reading, Ian? Did you feel guilty after you finished?
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Ha! I'm currently studying for my qualifying exams so i can move onto my dissertation. And even though my area of focus is ancient Jewish/Christian relations and the particulars of the Second Temple period, and even though I have NO INTEREST and NO BACKGROUND in the Reformation, i am required to pass an exam focused entirely on Medieval and Reformation theology. Not even as it relates to Jews or Jewish/Christian relations -- just Medieval and Reformation theology. And this is the centerpiece. I also read a bunch of "Summa Theologiae". The exams will take place between mid-September and early October.
Heh...I'm sure you're going to do great, sir. And then you can read Twilight and comic books, if you want.
I don't know why I didn't try this earlier, but I've started buying trade paperback editions of graphic novels on eBay and reading those in-between my studying. It helps mitigate the tedium.
Ian, Just in case you were not aware, this might help with your reading. There is a discussion group called Reformed Readers who have the Institutes on their bookshelf and also a separate thread devoted to it. You might ask them for input. The book is generally admitted to be tough going, so I admire your perseverance. If memory serves, Calvin was trained as a lawyer before he became a theologian; that would explain a lot. Once you've finished, if you've got any energy left, you might try some of Calvin's shorter works, such as the Treatise on Relics. That is very scholarly, witty and sarcastic. I think you might enjoy it and it would tie in totally with both topics of your exams. Good luck!
I'll be honest, my specialty is Early Christianity and Second Temple Judaism. Most of the theological arguments and debates from the Medieval and Reformation periods just sort of baffle me, so focused are they on what seems to be minutiae and internecine conflict. I've got a qualifying exam on the 21st, but afterwards I might take that group up on it. I've read his disputation with Cardinal Sadoleto though and, I'll admit, I found Cardinal Sadoleto's argumentation far more compelling. Same with Luther's disputation over free will with Erasmus. And I'm not even Catholic! Thank you for your suggestion though! If I have to retake the exam, that group might help me tremendously.
