Calvin. History and Reception of a Reformation Week 2. Calvin's Thought Sequence 2. The Institutes of the Christian Religion Today, we will be discussing the book that constitutes, without a doubt, the magnum opus of dogmatic (or doctrinal) theologian John Calvin, his "Institutes of the Christian Religion." The "Institutes" is the best illustration of Calvin's systematic theology -- it is where his thought is presented in the most organized and consistent manner. Theologically, it is a summary (in the sense of a complete exposition), a synthesis. Calvin presents his book as a complete theological summary: in it, he sets forth the entirety of Christian doctrine -- or teaching -- as he conceives it. What kind of summary is it, exactly? The subtitle of the first edition of the "Institutes" refers to it not as a "summa theologica" (or "theologiae") -- like, for example, Thomas Aquinas' 13th century scholastic classic,
"Summa Theologica" -- but as "pietatis summa" (summary of piety). The full title of the 1541 edition was: "Institutes of the Christian Religion: in which is comprised a summary of piety and practically
all that is necessary to know about the teaching of salvation." Why did Calvin write this book? Let's quote him directly: "my purpose was to teach a few basic notions, by which those in whom faith in God has taken hold might be instructed in true piety. And by my labor, I desired above all to serve our
French countrymen, many of whom I saw were hungry and thirsty for Jesus Christ, while very
very few had received any sound knowledge of him." In Calvin's words, the "Institutes" were to serve as a sort of key, or opening, giving the reader access to Scripture (both the Old and New Testaments). The "Institutes" were not meant to compete with the Bible, but to serve it. Indeed, "sola scriptura" (scripture alone) was an absolutely sovereign principle for Calvin. Tradition -- including the tradition being created by the text of the "Institutes" itself -- is always subordinated to Scripture, which retains at all times full and exclusive authority. The first edition of the "Institutes" was published in Basel, in March 1536, in Latin only. Calvin was not yet 27 at the time. It resembled a very long catechism, divided into six chapters: the Law; the Creed (the Christian confession of faith); the Lord's prayer; the Sacraments;
followed by two more polemical chapters on the false sacraments and on Christian liberty. In fact, Calvin referred to his book as a catechism in several of his letters. What exactly did Calvin mean by the words "Institutes" -- in Latin, "Institutio" -- a word perhaps not so evocative to us nowadays? According to Olivier Millet, it was a common word in the field of didactics, and had the same approximate meaning as "compendium." The French word for schoolteacher, "instituteur," is derived from the same root. In modern English editions, the word "instruction" is often used to translate "institutio," or included in the endnotes as a clarification. The second edition of the "Institutes" was published in 1539 in Strasbourg. Again, it was in Latin only, but this time much longer than the first edition, having gained 11 additional chapters. It began with two chapters on the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man. There were also new chapters on the Old and New Testaments, and particularly the relationship between the two -- which we discussed in the preceding sequence --
and an extended chapter on the Trinity. This second edition reflects an increased depth and development in Calvin's theology. In it, he quotes the Latin Fathers, such as the 4th/5th century thinker saint Augustine, but also
-- unlike in the first edition -- the Greek Fathers: 3d century scholar Origen,
a towering figure in the history of Christian theology, and John Chrysostom, whom Calvin admired and the Greek Father he referred to most often in his writings. Platonism also made its appearance, here and there, in the second edition of the "Institutes." Unlike the scholastics (such as Thomas Aquinas, whose thought was firmly
steeped in Aristotelianism), Calvin was influenced by Plato. The first French-language edition of the "Institutes" was published in 1541, in Geneva. shortly after Calvin's return to Geneva from Strasbourg. This French edition had an enormous impact. With it, Calvin became the single most important francophone thinker of the Reformation. The Parliament of Paris condemned the book a few months later, in July of 1542. More editions followed: a Latin edition in 1543, a French edition in 1545, another Latin edition in 1550 and another in French in 1551. Each time, the book grew in size, eventually reaching
24 chapters in all. The final edition -- the one, perhaps, which matters most -- was published in Latin in 1559 and in French in 1560, just four years before his death. This last edition was monumental indeed: four sections divided into 80 total chapters. Let's go over the titles of the four Books that make up the "Institutes of the Christian Religion." Book I: "Of the knowledge of God as creator and sovereign ruler of the world" --
in short, God the Creator. Book II: "Of the knowledge of God as the redeemer in Christ, as first manifested to the fathers under
the law, and thereafter to us under the gospel." Book III: "Of the Mode of obtaining the grace of Christ; the benefits it confers; and the effects
resulting from it." Book IV: "Of the external means or helps by which God calls us into the fellowship of Jesus Christ his son,
and keeps us in it." Calvin built a theological cathedral of sorts -- it is an imposing book. No work by a Protestant theologian ever did more for the development and construction of the Reformed Church than the 1559/1560 editions of the "Institutes." Yet Calvin also wrote numerous sermons and biblical commentaries. Many modern scholars insist that, in order to properly understand Calvin's theology as a whole, it is necessary
to read his sermons and biblical commentaries, and not just the "Institutes." Much of the scholarly research on Calvin in the 20th century (and earlier as well) has focused on whether or not his theology can be characterized as having an identifiable center, a core. Scholars have debated this question almost endlessly, contributing in no small measure to our planet's deforestation. In fact, neither the "Institutes" nor Calvin's theology as a whole can be said to possess a center. Rather, there is a balance among all the major themes of Christian theology: among others, Christology, pneumatology, theo-logy (the study of God himself) and ecclesiology (the doctrine
of the Church). There is one constant, however, that guides all of Calvin's work: "soli Deo gloria" -- for the glory of God alone. This reflects a somewhat different vision than, for example, that of the Jesuits, who, like Calvin, were a product of the 16th century (founded by St Ignatius of Loyola) and whose motto was:
"ad majorem Dei gloriam" -- for the greater glory of God. Calvin does not use the comparative, but the exclusive: soli Deo gloria. For Calvin, everything must serve the glory of God. In 1541, in a letter to king Francis I of France, he wrote these somewhat risky words: "He who reigns for any other purpose than to serve the glory of God does not reign, but acts as a brigand." Several contemporary Dutch scholars have suggested that there are two predominant themes in Calvin's thought: the honor of God and the salvation of man. It is unlikely that this suggestion will achieve any kind of widespread consensus in the academic world. Today, the debate continues as to whether Calvin's theology can be said to possess
a core, or center. As regards the content of the "Institutes of the Christian Religion," we will be exploring it in greater detail throughout this second week of the course. But first, I'd like to spend a little time discussing the authors and thinkers to whom Calvin, in his own theology, was most indebted. Nowadays, we are always looking for something new -- originality is highly valued. But for Calvin, as indeed for the majority of premodern Christian theologians, anything new
was viewed as suspicious and dangerous. The last thing Calvin wanted to do was to write
something new. In a famous dedication to Francis I, he wrote: "The knowledgeable reader shall find nothing new in these pages. No new Gospel shall we here invent." Calvin owed a lot to a lot of people. He owed a lot to St Augustine of Hippo, the towering Latin theologian of the late 4th/early 5th
centuries (who died in 430). He followed Augustine on many points; for instance, on original sin -- which has led to much criticism in modern-day scholarship and theology. He owed much to many of the Church Fathers, both Latin and Greek, in whose works he was extremely well-versed. Calvin read all the major theologians of the Middle Ages,
his favorite being St Bernard of Clairvaux, the great 12th century abbot. Calvin was also very familiar with scholastic theology and was influenced by John Duns Scotus' writings, steeped in nominalism. Calvin's doctrine of God carries the traces of this influence. But to reiterate: his favorite medieval author was Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard insisted that God's grace was given freely; in other words, that it did not have to be deserved and could not be bought. For Bernard, God's grace represented an awakening of human freedom, leading man into a dance of sorts, a relationship of collaboration between God and man. Calvin was also indebted to the humanist movement, as you learned during the first week of the course. This humanist influence is reflected, above all, in Calvin's consistent rejection of any abstract, speculative or theoretical doctrine. For Calvin, true doctrine nourishes, edifies and exists in a constant back-and-forth with experience, directly relating to real life as experienced by humans. Furthermore, Calvin was quite obviously indebted to Luther, whose works he read in Latin (since he did not speak German). He diverged from Luther on certain points -- predestination, Lord's supper, Christology -- which is something we'll allude to in future sequences. Calvin was also indebted to Luther's close collaborator Melanchthon, whose "Loci communes" (first published in 1521; revised in 1535) constituted an earlier attempt to present a synthesis of
Protestant doctrine, i.e., "purified" Christian doctrine. Finally, Calvin was indebted to the Strasbourg-based theologian Martin Bucer. Thus Calvin was intellectually indebted to, and influenced by, a wide array of
sources, both ancient and contemporary. The "Institutes of the Christian Religion" is a massive book. In truth, some passages do not make for very exciting reading, and it is perhaps lacking in concision at times. In fact, the French edition of 1541 has
recently been re-edited, which is quite interesting since it is considerably shorter than its successors. Yet it remains, among Calvin's works, the one in which readers will find the clearest and most complete exposition of his theology. Calvin scholars, for their part, do not stop with the "Institutes," but analyze Calvin's biblical commentaries, his thousands of sermons, his other treatises, and his rich and extensive
correspondence.
