But get a group of Presbyterians together, particularly at some kind of conference with speakers, and it won’t be long — you can lay a bet on this — before someone quotes John Calvin. At the recent Covenant Network of Presbyterians meeting in Minneapolis, it was William Stacy Johnson, a professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, speaking of the importance of Christians standing against injustice.
Calvin wrote “whenever and wherever human beings cry out for justice, a miracle occurs,” Johnson said.
And that’s just it. People quote Calvin — austere, upright, a French Protestant lawyer who served as pastor in Geneva and became an important theologian of the Reformation — because, for those who pay attention, some of the ideas he voiced continue to resonate down through the centuries.
Now, in 2009, the Reformed branch of Protestantism is preparing to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth.
“John Calvin is well known by Presbyterians, but he is not necessarily well understood,” said the Web site of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in announcing the Calvin Jubilee celebration. “Historical caricatures of his harsh and somber reputation have threatened to overshadow his remarkable gifts to the church.”
The PC(USA) is using this 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth to “reintroduce” his legacy to the church: “ … his monumental contributions to theology, church government, education, language, music, and politics as well as the more troubling aspects,” the Web site states.
That mixed legacy includes his role as one of the key Protestant Reformers who broke with the Roman Catholic church; the impact of his writings – including the Institutes of the Christian Religion, biblical commentaries, an extensive correspondence; and his theological views on such sometimes controversial issues as predestination, justification by faith alone, and the shortcomings of Catholic teachings.
A Web site dedicated to the Jubilee celebration describes his contributions this way: “Calvin democratized the ministry of the church and in so doing inaugurated a culture of collegiality in the affairs of a community. Calvin put God above all authority. He strengthened the unity between believing and doing, between freedom and responsibility. Calvin reinforced bridges between humanist thought and Christian conviction.”
Isabelle Graesslé is director of the International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva, which opened in April 2005. It uses interactive displays and artifacts to evoke the history of the Protestant Reformation, including the contributions of Calvin (1509-1564) and of Martin Luther, who in 1517 nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Church and started a movement which revolutionized Christianity.
From the days when he was still alive, Calvin’s views have been scrutinized, both admired and criticized, Graesslé said in a telephone interview.
For many Christians today, the attitudes range from “‘I don’t know anything about him or I’ve heard clichés and bad things,’” to appreciation for his teachings, she said. “The people living in Geneva are ambivalent towards Calvin. He was an ambivalent man, anyway. He had some strong views,” but the more she studies him, the more Graesslé finds that Calvin “was totally different from the image that he gives. We imagine a Calvin who was severe, and probably he was.”
But she also finds evidence, particularly in his letters, of a clear sense of humor and of his warm feelings towards his wife, his family, and others whom he esteemed.
In the Southern hemisphere, “he is seen much more positively than in the United States or in Europe,” Graesslé said. In South Korea, home to many Reformed churches, and China, “they are really respectful” towards Calvin.
And in Africa and Latin America, differing views have emerged regarding Calvin’s views on predestination, leaning more towards the prosperity gospel. “There too, Calvin is used, but sometimes not in the way he would like,” she said. “The idea of predestination switches from something which was only concerning your destiny after death to something which is concerning your human life. People tend to be confused between Calvin’s predestination, which is you are predestined to either finish in heaven or in hell, and you can’t do anything about it, to you’re blessed by God and predestined to have a good life and good money.”
In April 2007, a group of 50 theologians from around the world gathered to consider Calvin’s enduring contributions. They cited eight areas of his thinking that remain of particular interest:
– Calvin’s commitment to proclaiming the glory of God;
– Calvin’s determination to place Jesus Christ at the forefront of all our thinking and living;
– Calvin’s emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit in creation and salvation;
– Calvin’s engagement with Scripture;
– Calvin’s determination that God’s will be brought to bear on all areas of life;
– Calvin’s insistence on God’s gift of creation;
– Calvin’s realization that the church is called to discern, in ongoing ways, its relation to the principalities and powers of the world;
– Calvin’s commitment to the unity of the church.
The theologians also wrote, “Calvin was no saint; and any attempt to draw an idealized picture of him is bound to fail. We recognize that his response to conflicts in Geneva could be harsh, and that his role in the execution of (Michael) Servetus” — a Spanish theologian who was burned at the stake as a heretic — “was, indeed, more than dubious. Even against the yardstick of his own convictions, he failed in decisive moments. His use of language against theological adversaries renders the reading of certain of his writings difficult. As we reflect on the relevance of his heritage, we realize that certain aspects of his teaching are no longer pertinent and cannot be maintained. But, in our view, Calvin remains an outstanding witness of the Christian message and deserves to be carefully listened to today.”
The International Museum of the Reformation, while relatively new, bears its own history. It is housed in the Mallet Mansion, which was built in 1723 on the site of the former cloisters of St. Peter Cathedral, which is where citizens of Geneva adopted the Reformation in 1536. In 2007, the museum was awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize, an award given to a museum that enhances cultural understanding, for its efforts to convey theological concepts through interactive displays.
Visitors can learn about the history and ideas of the Protestant Reformation, and a special Jubilee anniversary exhibition includes a multidimensional, animated simulation of a day in Calvin’s life – representing both his voice and those of people from the city in which he lived and worked.
In Reformed circles, the Jubilee celebration of Calvin’s birth is being marked in a variety of ways. The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is asking Christians to mark the anniversary by pushing for social justice, striving for unity among people of faith, working to protect the environment, and working to end war and violence.
Setri Nyomi, WARC general secretary, wrote in the introduction to a new book marking the 500th anniversary, The Legacy of John Calvin: Some Actions for the Church in the 21st Century, that Calvin’s “life and ministry were focused on glorifying God and he had nothing but disdain for any attempt to elevate any human being.”
On May 31, 2009, Pentecost Sunday, a service at St. Pierre Cathedral commemorating the anniversary will be broadcast on European television.
And an official ceremony will be held in Geneva on July 10, 2009, Calvin’s 500th birthday.
