by Brenda Nickel

We continue our 11 part weekly series this summer as the Protestant world celebrates the quincentennial birth of John Calvin, one of the 16th century reformers of Catholicism. The purpose of The Subtle Dangers of Spiritual Fusion is to examine more closely the life, theology, and legacy of this man who has greatly impacted the complexion of Christianity these last 500 years.  Brenda, a former follower of Calvin for 14 years shares her insights and research after departing from his teachings.  Picking up from last week's discussion of Calvin's conversion account we now delve into his departure from Roman Catholicism.

In addition to the information in the weekly eblasts click here for additional diagrams, timelines and charts.


Did John Calvin Fully Break from Roman Catholicism?

Reformation movements are not unusual in religious history.   For instance, Buddhism is the reformation of Hinduism. The Judaizers, who plagued Paul's ministry, were reforming Jews who had not fully departed from Judaism and the Mosaic Law to enter into true faith in Jesus Christ.  Referring to these Judaizers, Paul warns in Philippians 3:2-3, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit…." 

Reforming false belief doesn't arrive at truth, no matter how hard one tries because parts of the old system are retained and modified.  Rather, God tears down false belief and begins anew with pure truth.  Strongholds are demolished, not remodeled. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).  Instead of blending with the falsehoods of darkness, light exposes and reveals falsehood for the darkness it is; “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians5:11). Counterfeit faiths present false information about how one is saved yet superficially appear to be ministering truth; "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ..." who "...transform themselves into ministers of righteousness" (2 Co 11:13-15).

Even in the reformation of Catholicism, the mark was missed.  Notice that Martin Luther's (Teaching Tool, pg. 61) clarion cry of “the just shall live by faith ‘alone'” is a reformed distortion of Catholicism  that allowed Luther to not only “be a sinner and sin boldly”1 but also claim, “You must say my sins are not mine; they are not in me at all; they are the sins of another, they are Christ's and none of my business.” 2 Jude’s epistle addresses the issue of turning God's grace into a license to sin in verse 4, ”For certain persons have crept in unnoticed…ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” And Paul addresses this licentiousness in Romans 6:1-2 where he writes, "...Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

Many assume the 16th century Protestant Reformation movement was a complete departure from Catholicism, when in fact, much of Catholicism's doctrine was retained. The reformation of Catholicism essentially departed from the authority of the Papacy and portions of the Mass, then modified rather than reject many of its core beliefs. True protesters separate themselves from all false doctrine and leave the counterfeit in the past.  “... [W]hat agreement has the temple of God with idols? Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN" (2 Corinthians 6:16a-17a).  God is looking for men to completely break from corrupt religion and turn to Him in full faith rather than to partially reform falsity.  Partial reformation produces degrees of separation, which provides the illusion of full departure, and allows for debate over the points of disagreement, when in reality many tenets still remain.  

Absent from Calvin's 'sudden conversion' account is both a clear denunciation of Catholicism as well as a full embracing of the true gospel of Christ.  The absence of these essentials calls his full departure from Catholicism into question.  What exactly did John Calvin depart from and what did he embrace?  History tells us he rejected orthodox Catholicism to identify with reformed Catholicism.  As discussed earlier, the disrepute of his family's name could have easily imposed the necessity to leave orthodox Catholicism.  Did family disgrace, coupled with his unique scholastic aptitude, offer him a clear direction and position of leadership within this new movement?

Interestingly, John Calvin's conversion cannot be pinned to a particular year but is thought to have occurred sometime between the years 1527 to 1533.  His conversion from orthodox Catholicism to reformed Catholicism is generally attributed to many factors by his followers today; teachers and scholars throughout his education, the witnessing of the burning of a Catholic reformer, a cousin who translated the Bible into French, a Lutheran merchant friend whom Calvin stayed with, the writings of other Catholic reformers of his day and the study of very early Roman Catholic writers. 3 None of these factors, which contributed to his departure from Roman Catholicism, can be substituted for coming to Jesus Christ in full faith.

How do we know that Calvin did not make a full break with Catholicism?  In 1531, well within the time frame of his purported conversion, he wrote 'Seneca's De Clementia,' a commentary on the first century Roman stoic philosopher Seneca's letter to Emperor Nero asking for clemency.  This commentary included three incidental Bible references but contained significant Catholic humanist overtones, indicating he was converting to the humanist reformation of Catholicism rather than moving toward the truth of the Bible.  Also as late as June of 1533, he helped a girl enter the nunnery, another indication he did not abhor the Catholic system.  Further, he did not forfeit his boyhood stipend from the Cathedral in Noyon until May of 1534, easily a year, if not longer, after his "conversion."  If he had truly separated from Catholicism, would he have wanted to remain associated with it?  Would he have wanted to take any funds from the Roman Catholic Church?  Where was the evidence of his complete separation from this belief system?  If he had believed the true gospel by faith, he would have removed himself from any connection to or any help from Roman Catholicism.

Calvin's conversion account (The Dangers of Spiritual Fusion - Week #6) also does not reflect a turning to God through the gospel of Christ in faith (Teaching Tool, pg. 32).  John 10:9, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved.” Explaining one's conversion in terms inconsistent with the Bible is, in essence, claiming salvation by another way. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).  The reformation of Romanism was, in part, a failure to recognize the true gospel of faith in Christ's death, burial and resurrection.

Since Calvin's conversion and life's work have significantly impacted western society these past five centuries, it is reasonable and necessary to also examine Calvin’s view of God (Teaching Tool, pg. 25).  If John Calvin did indeed depart from Roman Catholicism, when and how did his understanding of God change from the Romanist view of God to the biblical view of God?   We can look at Calvin's life to see the impact his God made on him which would back up his profession of faith.  "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7a).  John 1:18 tells us that Jesus' life reveals the Father to us: "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." God promises that believers will be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).  Christians desire to walk by faith in the inner man which pleases God (1 Thess 4:1).  Christians are called to represent Christ and His character to the world around us.  1 Peter 2:21, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” Therefore, knowing that our lives demonstrate something about who we believe God to be, one would expect Calvin's conversion to change his youthful stern demeanor to a disposition of graciousness, temperance and forgiveness?  Unfortunately, that was not the case as revealed some years later when he moved to Geneva, Switzerland.   

While the heralded touchstone of the reformation, "the just shall live by faith," rightly resulted in the abandonment of some Catholic concepts of salvation, the reformation movement within Catholicism didn't fully depart from other Romanist contributions to salvation found in "the sacraments."  Both Catholicism and its Reformation embrace sacramentalism (Teaching Tool, pgs.178, 189)  which adheres to rituals that express the "sacred foundations" upon which salvation rests.  In both Catholicism and its Reformation, the sacraments of infant baptism and the Eucharist (Christ's presence in the bread and wine) serve as outward signs of God’s inward grace.  In Roman Catholicism, sacramental rituals bring grace in increments which keep the Catholic returning to the so-called "one true Roman church" for salvation. In Catholicism’s reformation, sacramental rituals also bring grace, but are reinterpreted as signs that point to a greater reality.  The greater reality, not always disclosed, is election; the sovereign predetermined choice of God to save only some. 

In Reformed Catholicism, the "elements" of bread and wine convey grace to the one who partakes with faith.  The Bible teaches the observance of the Lord's Supper; "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).  There is no mention of receiving the Lord's Supper being a means for conveying grace or being a the sign of a greater reality.  The common thread uniting Catholicism and its Reformation in observing the sacraments is Catholicism's revered 4th century father, Augustine.  The Reformers not only followed this Catholic father's example in observing the sacraments, but they also perpetuated his legacy of teaching the predetermined sovereign elective mystery of God.  Today what is commonly referred to as Calvinism, is basically Augustinianism.  

Next in series: Examining the Catholic "saint" Augustine

References:
[1] Martin Luther, Martin Marty, Penguin Group, New York, NY; 2004, Dedication Page
[2] Martin Luther, http://www.hiddenworldnews.info/martinluther.html
[3] The Other Side of Calvinism, Lawrence Vance, Vance Publication, 1999, pg. 78.  
[4] Augustine of Hippo, http://www.bethel.edu/~letnie/AfricanChristianity/WNAAugustine.html