Happy Birthday Calvin

Jean Cauvin, who we know as John Calvin, was born on this day in 1509 – 500 years ago today.

We Protestants owe a lot to Calvin for his work as a reformer and his contributions to the development of Christian theology. His ideas have also been credited with promoting democracy and capitalism in the west. Not bad for a Frenchman!

Thoughts on Calvin

This one goes out to all my Calvinist friends out there:I've had a few posts recently about John Calvin - mostly because of our church moving to a building called the Kálvin Ház in Eger, and every Sunday,there is this picture of John Calvin hanging over my head as I preach, and there is this statue of him in the courtyard. So, Calvin's been on my mind lately, since I see him almost every day of the week.

But in regard to Calvin and Calvinism, I would like to say the following:
I'm not a Calvinist.
But I have friends who are.
A few years ago one of my friends became a Calvinist; not long afterwards, I got an email from someone who knew him, asking me - Hey, I heard that (my friend's name) lost his mind and became a Calvinist. Is that true?
It was like this guy was asking about my friend as if he were Anakin Skywalker, who had just gone over to the dark side and become Darth Vader.

One thing which I make try to make very clear in the church I pastor, is that there is a difference between "primary" and "secondary" theological issues.
Here is an excerpt from a handout we pass out in our church about baptism:
Primary Theological Issues are those which are necessary for Christian Orthodoxy. They include such things as our belief in: One God, the Trinity, Jesus (i.e. His Virgin Birth, sinless life, death for sin, and resurrection), the perfection and authority of the Bible, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Secondary Theological Issues are those matters that are of varying degrees of importance, but which are not necessary for salvation. They are disagreed upon among Christians, and include such issues as speaking in tongues, different worship styles, baptism, and eschatology.

It was in regard to this distinction that Augustine is quoted with the following: In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas. (In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.)
Since Calvinism is a way of interpreting scripture in the areas of the sovereignty of God and often eschatology, which are not necessary for salvation, these are things which fall into the "Secondary" category - topics which are worth studying, debating, discussing and having strong opinions about, but not worth dividing over.

The unfortunate thing, is that some Christians are willing to, even eager to, divide over "Secondary" theological issues.
Not long ago, I was looking at an evangelical apologetics website; on the left-hand side was a long list of articles to choose from, which included Buddhism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, the Baha'i faith, and so on. And there, on this list of non-Christian religions and cults was also "Calvinism."
Now, I understand that this is just a list of things this guy has articles on, and that he is not necessarily saying that Calvinism is heretical, but it bothered me that a position and interpretation of scripture which is not only Christian, but actually Evangelical, would be listed in the same list as non-Christian religions and cults.
This just illustrates for me how some Christians are quick to demonize anyone who has a view which is different from theirs - even if that view is a "secondary" theological issue - and treat them as enemies of the faith, portraying them as people who must not truly love God, the Bible, or people, whose hearts are black, and who hate everything that is good and beautiful, including puppies, babies, kittens, and flowers - and who have some dark agenda.

I think that there are things which are actual threats to Christianity which would be a better use of our time to fight against than to attack those amongst our own ranks who have different methodology or interpretations of secondary issues. The latter is probably much easier to do - although it avails little, if anything, for God's Kingdom.

I recently read this quote by Robert Frost:
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."
I like that. I hope that more of us as Christians could be like that when we encounter those who have different views than we do - and especially those brothers and sisters of ours with whom we have differences of opinion on secondary issues.

John Calvin and Chuck Smith

Here's a picture of the sanctuary at our new church building.
I took it right after the cleaning lady had been there - she always sets up the stage this way with the table, so it looks like its ready to host a talk show or maybe an arm wrestling competition.

Anyways, the reason I posted this was to show that there are 2 portraits hanging on the wall behind the stage.

The one on the right is a picture of John Calvin - reformer and father of Reformed Theology (AKA Calvinism)
So, as you can see in this second picture, John Calvin (or Jancsi bácsi, as I like to call him) looks over my shoulder every Sunday as I preach. Its almost like he's reading over my shoulder the whole time - and I don't really like it when people do that.
Another interesting thing to me about this picture, is that - I don't know when it was made, if it was made during Communism or what, but it seems to me to have a striking similarity to this picture of Hungarian Stalinist leader Rákosi Mátyás.
Having said all that - I actually do like the picture. Its cool that he's pointing to the scriptures and putting his hand on his heart, as if to say that he's touched by it.

The picture on the left is of a man named Kovács Károly, who apparently was the pastor of the Reformed church in Eger from 1889-1901.
What's interesting about him, is that translated to English, Kovács means Smith and Károly is Charles. In other words - his name is Chuck Smith!
And the most ironic thing about it all: In our Calvary Chapel, between "Chuck Smith" and John Calvin on our wall, its Chuck's picture that we take down every week so we can project on the wall!
Don't worry - there's no ideological or theological statement involved in that - just an odd coincidence.

J.C.

This blog post is in honor of 3 people whose initials are J.C., who have been on my mind a lot lately -

1. JC = Jesus Christ
Last week we were in Vajta for the annual Foundations Conference, for church leaders from Eastern Europe.
7 of us from our church went, and we had a really blessed time. For me, this conference is one of the highlights of the year - because its a great time of fellowship with like-minded people whom we don't get to see very often, and the teachings are directed at our unique situation, as missionaries and church planters.
But more than anything else, the conference was great because of the presence of Jesus Christ. The reason the teachings were good, was because they were about Jesus Christ - about living for Him and serving Him. The reason the fellowship was good, was because of our common love for and commitment to Jesus Christ, just like 1.John 1:3 says: That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.


2. JC = Joe Cady
My dad. Last Sunday was Father's Day in America. For me, this was my first Father's Day - and for my dad, it was his first as a grandfather.
Also, last Friday was his B-day. Happy Birthday dad! I love you! Thanks for being a great dad and grandpa.


3. JC = Jean Cauvin (AKA John Calvin)
The building our church meets in now is called the Kálvin Ház (Calvin House). It was built in 1711 originally as a brewery, using the water of the Eger Creek, which flows out of the nearby hills (Hungarians call them mountains - I obviously disagree with that designation!).
The building was later purchased by the local Reformed and Lutheran believers, and they lived there (there weren't all that many of them) and held their church services there. It was during this time that the upper floor was added. Later both the Reformed and Lutherans built their own separate buildings, and used the Kálvin Ház for offices and private residences.
During Communism the building was taken away from the Reformed church, and they were just able to get it back, less than 10 years ago.
We have the great blessing of using this building, which is right in the center of town, for our church.
The building is named after John Calvin (born Jean Cauvin), a French Theologian and Reformer. Calvin's "magnum opus" was Institutes of the Christian Religion, a book about Protestant Systematic Theology; originally published in 1536, and is still widely studied by theology students today.
Although I don't agree with Calvin on every theological point, I look up to him and respect him as the champion of such great doctrines as Justification by faith alone, Christian liberty, and the Sovereignty of God.
And, on top of all that, we have a great statue of JC in the courtyard of the building. Nice beard!