Tag Archives: John Calvin

Experiential Spirituality: Peter Rollins (Part 7 of 7)

rollins book 2The post-modern pastor and theologian Peter Rollins (1973-Present) is the eleventh and final travel guide along this journey. Growing up in Northern Ireland during the post-Christendom shift of the late-20th century, Rollins embraced the mystical writings of Meister Eckhart and others [2012, xiv]. This led Rollins to promote having a sense of doubt, unknowing and uncertainty within the Christian walk as intellectual theology will never fully capture the Living God. Faith, to Rollins, is “analogous to the experience of an infant feeling the embrace and tender kiss of its mother” [2012, 1].

This does not mean that Rollins is against theology; rather he sees theology as “reflecting upon” the God who “grasps us” [2012, 1]. This embracement of the mystical experience of God all comes down to love. God is personally in love with humanity just as his followers are to be passionately in love with him and their fellow humans. This is a love that “cannot be worked up but is gained only as we give up” and let ourselves become a “dwelling place in which God can reside and from which God can flow” [2015, 75].

Rollins and Williams are fitting ends to this journey along the experiential spirituality path of the last five-hundred years. Both of them are helping the 21st century church retain and explore the value of experiencing the Living God within an intimate ongoing relationship. As St. Ignatius, St. Teresa, Blaise Pascal, Brother Lawrence, St. Thérèse, Martin Luther, John Calvin, George Herbert, and William Seymour taught before them, God is a living God who seeks a personal on-going relationship with his people. Rather than been content to believe a doctrine, however orthodox that doctrine is, or with having a  one-time born-again experience, the people of God are to follow the advice of St. James, the half-brother of Jesus of Nazareth, and “draw near to God” as he “will draw near to [them]” [Ja 4:8].

 

Bibliography

Rollins, Peter. 2012. How (Not) to Speak of God. Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press

Experiential Spirituality: John Calvin and George Herbert (Part 5 of 7)

calvin picJohn Calvin (1509-1564) was another Reformer who laid the foundation for people to experience the Living God in all areas of their lives. In the first chapter of his famous Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life (a booklet containing a central part of his longer Institutes of the Christian Religion), Calvin expands on the danger of an external, purely rational faith. Rather than be content with an intellectual faith, Calvin encourages the followers of Jesus to allow God to transform every part of their lives:

“The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart…our religion will be unprofitable if it does not change our heart, pervade our manners, and transform us into new creatures.” [2008, 20-21]

In writing these words, Calvin was trying to get beyond the tendency of humanity to profess one thing with their mouth and another with their lives. However in doing so, Calvin also laid the foundation for a personal encounter with Jesus that goes beyond anything he would have anticipated.

The foundation laid by both Luther and Calvin for an experiential spirituality came together about a hundred years later within Anglicanism, which retained some of its Roman Catholic roots [Olson 1999,429-449]. The person most readily associated with this experiential mysticism is George Herbert, our eighth travel guide. Born into an aristocratic English family, Herbert (1593-1633) was an Anglican priest and poet who greatly influenced the soul of Anglicanism. His sense of connection and passion with Jesus is so powerful that a reader of his poems cannot but know that Herbert was “truly touched and amazed with the Majesty of God” as he encouraged all parsons and priests to be [1981, 60].

To be continued….

 

Bibliography

Calvin, John. 2008. Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life. Ed. Henry J. Van Andel. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books.

Herbert, George. 1981. George Herbert: The Country Parson, The Temple. Ed. John N. Wall, Jr. New York: Paulist Press.

Kingdom Theology vs. Covenant Theology

Within the Scriptures there are eight major covenants or contracts between the Creator King and humanity. Of these contracts, six of them are given to thirteen individuals: Adam, Eve, Noah and family, Abraham, Phinehas and David. The remaining two covenants were between God and the people of Israel.  Details about each of these covenants can be seen in the below chart. (This chart is a modified version of the one created by Bill Jackson in his book The Biblical Metanarrative.)

Covenant Type Parties in Covenant with the Creator First Scriptural Reference
Adamic Royal Grant Adam and Eve Genesis 1:26-30
Noahic Royal Grant Noah and every living creature Genesis 9:8-17
Abrahamic A Royal Grant Abraham Genesis 15:9-21
Abrahamic B Suzerain-vassal Abraham Genesis 17
Sinaitic Suzerain-vassal The people of Israel (including the non-Abrahamic descendants who left Egypt with the Israelites) Exodus 18-24
Phinehas Royal Grant Phinehas Numbers 25:10-13
Davidic Royal Grant David 2 Samuel 7:5-16
Messianic Royal Grant The people of Israel and Judah Jeremiah 31:31-34

The reason I’m mentioning these eight covenants is that I want to talk briefly about a theological lens that focuses solely on these covenants. This lens is called Covenant Theology and is practiced by a large portion of Protestants. It first gained popularity during the Protestant Reformation through the teaching of John Calvin (1509-1564) and continues under the Reform or Calvinist movements.

Covenant Theology in its simplest form is a theological lens that sees two overarching theological covenants throughout the Bible, the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. The covenant of works basically states that if humanity obeys God, then God would give them the promised life of his Kingdom. If they did not obey, then humanity would receive punishment for disobedience. A lot of covenant theologians say that the covenant of works started with Adam and Eve and continued after the fall as the moral law engrained within humanity. The covenant of grace, on the other hand, states that humanity is to receive the promises of God through faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Both of these covenants are considered ‘theological’ in the sense that they are not explicitly outlined as such within the Bible. Within the Covenant Theology stream there are many, many variations as different groups seek to focus on certain parts of each covenant. There are also disagreements on how the eight covenants specially mentioned in Scriptures related to each other and/or either they fit within the two larger theological covenant systems. Some theologians will even add a third theological covenant called the covenant of redemption which states that God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit all agreed upon who they would rescue humanity from the bondage of sin, evil and death.

Contract_with-_Seal_XLIn contrast to Covenant Theology, Kingdom Theology is an enacted inaugurated eschatology lens with a focus on the Kingship of Jesus. Within this framework, the present time in which we live is caught between two ages – the Present Evil Age ruled by sin and death and the Age to Come, which is ruled by Jesus Christ into eternity. Through the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (plus Pentecost) the Age to Come has broken into this Present Evil Age, existing together in a tension that will be removed at that last day when all is set right and God dwells among His people face-to-face.

The South African theologian Adrio König once said that Covenant Theology and Kingdom Theology are two sides of the same coin. And why that may be true from a purely theoretical theological viewpoint, I can’t help but think about how each system is applied to one’s life. With its emphasis on the covenants, it is easy for folks living under a Covenant Theology system to lose focus on the covenant Giver. Instead, people can (and have) become experts at knowing that rights and privileges are granted to them under one of the eight covenants outlined within Scriptures or the two overarching theological covenants. Covenant Theology also has a tendency to create a barrier between the Old and New Testament with the common church goer thinking that salvation in the Old Testament was based upon works (i.e. the covenant of works) while salvation in the New Testament was about grace (i.e. the covenant of grace).

Kingdom Theology, on the other hand, places the focus on the dynamic rule and reign of the Creator King and not so much on the covenant documents themselves. This shift in emphasis pushes one to know Jesus on a personal level rather than just knowing about the contract under which one lives. This personal relationship is, in fact, the core of the Messianic Covenant outlined by the prophet Jeremiah:

“It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” –Jeremiah 31:32-34

Through Jesus, we all have been given a royal grant of knowing the Creator King in an intimate manner. His laws or ways are now within our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit and we are now his people and he is our God. This was the original goal when the Creator created Adam and Eve and it has continued to be the original goal. Through Jesus, we now have access to the end time reality of a passionate personal relationship with the King while waiting the day when we shall see the Creator face to face on the new earth when all is restored (i.e. the here and not yet of enacted inaugurated eschatology).

Though this may be too simple of a sketch of these two complex theological systems, I would like to suggest that the Kingdom Theology worldview does a better job at emphasizing and connecting people to the person of Jesus than Covenant Theology. This, please hear me, does not mean that folks who see the world through a Covenant Theology lens can’t or don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. Far from it! It is just that Kingdom Theology places the emphasis on the relationship with Creator King rather than on the covenants as does Covenant Theology.

“Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life” by John Calvin

john calvinBased in Geneva, Switzerland, John Calvin became one of the most influential Protestant theologian and pastor of the Reformation. Born in Noyon, France in 1509, Calvin joined the Reformation at an early age after studying to become a humanist lawyer. At twenty-six, he published the first edition of his “Institutes of the Christian Religion” which established him as a major player in the Reformation movement. The “Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life” booklet was published both separately and as part of later editions of the “Institutes of the Christian Religion.”

The booklet itself is divided into five chapters cover different areas of the Christian life. Chapter one talks about the humble obedience of a believer in submitting themselves to the Scriptures and seeking a life of holiness. This life is one that goes beyond external trapping of the faith and touches the inside of a believer. As Calvin puts it, “the gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life” (page 20). To this end, the believer is to always be pushing in and trying to move further along the journey of the faith.

Chapter two builds upon this humility by expounding upon the concept of self-denial, i.e. the life of a believer is no longer their own but belongs to God. To me, this was the best chapter within the booklet as it captured the concept of living for Jesus rather than trying to add Christianity on as just another activity. Instead Calvin tells us that if we are to follow God, then we must be willing to deny the inner most desires of our heart for that of the desires of Jesus. We are also to “voluntarily give up our rights for the sakes of others,” helping them whenever possible (page 35).

The third chapter looks at the concept of crossbearing and preparing oneself for a life that is “hard, difficult, laborious, and full of countless griefs” (page 47). While I disagree with Calvin’s premise that every hardship is ordinated by God (page 46), I do agree with his encouragement to persevere through hardship for the glory of God. All too often Christianity is presented as a way of life that is easy with no troubles. The opposite is true as the cross begs us to “partake of the sufferings of Christ” (page 48).

calvin picChapter four shifts gears a bit and encourages the believer to stay hopeful for the coming of Christ and the New Heaven and Earth. By focusing on the Age to Come, the believer may embrace the self-deny of the cross while overcoming the hardships of this world. “The cross of Christ triumphs only in the hearts of believers over the devil and the flesh, over sin and wickedness, when they life their eyes to behold the power of the resurrection” (page 81). Sadly enough, Calvin uses this chapter to despise the present world and age in which humanity lives in. At one point he even promotes a form of Gnosticism which sets up a dualism between the spirit and the body (page 75).

The last chapter of the booklet deals with practical life items in that Calvin seeks to promote the concept of moderation. In a lot of ways this chapter is counteracting potential extremes that readers may have picked up from the previous chapter. To counteract this, Calvin writes “even if this earth is only a vestibule, we ought undoubtedly to make such a use of its blessings that we are assisted rather than delayed in our journey” (page 84). In order to avoid the extremes of being held captive by the blessing of this life or by denying them totally, Calvin seeks to lay out some “general principles for the lawful use of earthly things” as seen in the Scriptures (page 85). These principles follow the basic outline that all things are gifts from God and are to be used in moderation to help the believer on their journey toward heaven.

Overall there are some great points and concepts within Calvin’s “Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life.” At the same time, there are some key items missing from the booklet. Namely Calvin doesn’t address the battle motifs of the Scripture, choosing instead to claim that all hardships are from God rather than from the evil one or as a result of sin in the world. This is a huge hole in the booklet as it sets God up to be the author or, at the very least, the promoter of evil. To me, there is a big difference between what is permitted and what is ordinated, which is why I do not agree with John Calvin or the Reform tradition he started.