Institutes of the Christian Religion

by John Calvin

spring, immense crowds of gods have issued from the human mind,

Since the human mind, through its weakness, was altogether unable to come to God if not aided and upheld by his sacred word, it necessarily followed that all mankind, the Jews excepted, inasmuch as they sought God without the Word, were labouring under vanity and error.

The authority of Scripture derived not from men, but from the Spirit of God.

Objection, That Scripture depends on the decision of the Church.

When that which professes to be the Word of God is acknowledged to be so, no person, unless devoid of common sense and the feelings of a man, will have the desperate hardihood to refuse credit to the speaker.

If the doctrine of the apostles and prophets is the foundation of the Church, the former must have had its certainty before the latter began to exist.

For if the Christian Church was founded at first on the writings of the prophets, and the preaching of the apostles, that doctrine, wheresoever it may be found, was certainly ascertained and sanctioned antecedently to the Church, since, but for this, the Church herself never could have existed[1].

the foundation goes before the house. scripture founded the church

Nothings therefore can be more absurd than the fiction, that the power of judging Scripture is in the Church, and that on her nod its certainty depends.

He was reasoning against the Manichees, who insisted on being implicitly believed, alleging that they had the truth, though they did not show they had.

Augustine, therefore, does not here say that the faith of the godly is founded on the authority

of the Church;

nor does he mean that the certainty of the gos...

But he nowhere insinuates that the authority which we give to the Scriptures depends on the definitions or devices of men.

He only brings forward the universal judgement of the Church, as a point most pertinent to the cause, and one, moreover, in which he had the advantage of his opponents.

they will be compelled to confess that the Scripture exhibits clear evidence of its being spoken by God, and, consequently, of its containing his heavenly doctrine.

Nay, if we look at it with clear eyes, and unblessed judgement, it will forthwith present itself with a divine majesty which will subdue our presumptuous opposition, and force us to do it homage.

it is certain beyond dispute, that these writings passed down, if I may so express it, from hand to hand, being transmitted in an unbroken series from the fathers,

Add, moreover, that, for the best of reasons, the consent of the Church is not without its weight.

he rather shows that, under the reign of Christ, the true and full felicity of the new Church will consist in their being ruled not less by the Word than by the Spirit of God.

Add to this, that Paul, though carried up even to the third heaven, ceased not to profit by the doctrine of the law and the prophets, while, in like manner, he exhorts Timothy, a teacher of singular excellence, to give attention to reading,

But if it is effectually impressed on the heart by the Spirit; if it exhibits Christ, it is the word of life converting the soul, and making wise the simple.

the law has to be put on the heart by the Holy Spirit. Put in session

For power and energy are comprehended under the name Jehovah.

Loving-kindness, on which alone our entire safety depends: Judgement, which is daily exercised on the wicked,

and awaits them in a severer form, even for eternal destruction:

Righteousness, by which the faithful are preserved, and most ...

that we may thereby learn to worship him with perfect integrity of heart and unfeigned obedience, and also to depend entirely on his goodness.

The simple reason why those who had the charge of churches resigned the office of teaching to idols was, because they themselves were dumb.

Paul declares, that by the true preaching of the gospel Christ is portrayed and in a manner crucified before our eyes, (Gal

Of what use, then, were the erection in churches of so many crosses of wood and stone, silver and gold, if this doctrine were faithfully and honestly preached,

faithful preaching instead of images. 1. preaching must be prophetic 2. deal.with spirtual need 3. Deal with physical need

Christ died that he might bear our curse upon the tree, that he might expiate

our sins by the sacrifice of his body, wash them in his blood, and, in short, reconc...

From this one doctrine the people would learn more than from a thousand cro...

In regard to the origin of idols, the statement contained in the Book of Wisdom has been received with almost universal consent, viz., that they originated with those who bestowed this honour on the dead,

Hence we may infer, that the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols. There

human mind idol factory

In consequence of this blind passion men have, almost in all ages since the world began, set up signs on which they imagined that God was visibly depicted to their eyes.

Therefore, whether it be God or a creature that is imaged, the moment you fall prostrate before it in veneration, you are so far fascinated by superstition.

For as soon as a visible form is given to God, his power also is supposed to be annexed to it.

It makes no difference whether they worship the idol simply, or God in the idol; it is always idolatry when divine honours are paid to an idol,

And because God wills not to be worshipped superstitiously whatever is bestowed upon idols is so much robbed from him.

why worshipping idols is wrong

Nor were the Jews so utterly thoughtless as not to remember that there was a God whose hand led them out of Egypt before they made the calf. Indeed, Aaron saying, that these were the gods which had brought them out of Egypt, they intimated,

The vulgar, when accused, replied that they did not worship the visible object, but the Deity which dwelt in it invisibly.

When once this preposterous representation of God was adopted, there was no limit until, deluded every now and then by new impostures, they came to think that God exerted his power in images[8]

They say, we do not call them our gods. Nor did either the Jews or Gentiles of old so call them; and yet the prophets never ceased to charge them with their adulteries with wood and stone for the very acts which are daily done by those who would be deemed Christians, namely, for worshipping God carnally in wood and stone.

For as a murderer or an adulterer will not escape conviction by giving some adventitious name to his crime, so it is absurd for them to expect that the subtle device of a name will exculpate them,

good point

I am not, however, so superstitious as to think that all visible representations of every kind are unlawful.

But as sculpture and painting are gifts of God, what I insist for is, that both shall be used purely and lawfully,

We think it unlawful to give a visible shape to God, because God himself has forbidden it,

The only things, therefore, which ought to be painted or sculptured, are things which can be presented to the eye; the majesty of God, which is far beyond the reach of any eye, must not be dishonored by unbecoming representations.

only a figure you can see should be painted or sculptured

Visible representations are of two classes, viz., historical, which give a representation of events, and pictorial, which merely exhibit bodily shapes and figures. The

let us remember, that for five hundred years, during which religion was in a more prosperous condition, and a purer doctrine flourished,

was it? there where some huge issues in the early stages of the church