“A world-class theologian, a revered exegete, a renowned teacher, an ecclesiastical statesman, an influential Reformer — he was all of these and more. His name was John Calvin.”- Steven J. Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin
- The banner graphic was lifted straight from the creative minds of Sovereign Grace Ministries New Attitude group. Thanks for the graphic inspiration and the spiritual inspiration to live out humble orthodoxy! (2007.01.09)
We’re in this for the long haul… now if I can just find new copies of the Institutes for under $50 (the cheapest I’ve found them is at wtsbooks.com) so I can better follow along. Glad to see this topic and can’t wait to learn more as the series progresses!
A quote on Calvinism, if you can verify the source. My pastor repeatedly “quotes” (but cannot provide the source) J.I. Packer as saying “There are two kinds of Christians: Calvinists and confused Calvinists.”
Comment by Wayne Hatcher | February 6, 2007
Could you provide me with a brief summary of Calvin’s contribution to the Reformation? Thank you.
Comment by D S | February 27, 2007
DS, hello! I would say in a simply definition: John Calvin helped spread the German Reformation begun by Luther to France (which had not really experienced the Reformation until Calvin came along). Calvin is also the one Reformer who left immense verse-by-verse exegetical writings in his commentaries and the author of the most important codification of the Reformation theology (in the Institutes). Hope this helps. See the biography by Piper linked above for more. Blessings, Tony
[...] on June 10th, 2007 Here is a series on the Shepherd’s Scrapbook blog called Humble Calvinism. Tony Reinke is going through through Calvin’s Institutes and A Life of Calvin by Alister [...]
“God is the decider and the determiner of every man’s destiny, the controller of every detail in every individual’s life, which is another way of saying “He is God.” - John MAcArthur
“I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith.” - Martin Luther
One more: “Those who have received salvation are to attribute it to sovereign grace alone, and to give all the praise to Him, who makes them to differ from others.” - Jonathan Edwards
[...] been enjoying the Humble Calvinism series here. __________________ Dan Pemberton Member, First Baptist Church San Luis Obispo, CA In college [...]
I find this “humble calvinism” ironic in title. John Calvin, in my readings, is anything but. His attitude toward his one town-one order methods and his self-righteous public murder screams of arrogance. I believe in predestination, election and so on (because the Word tells us), but I do not lift this man as an apostle as many “reformed” Christians do. He is best described as a tyrant. Spurgeon said “Whatever he has written lives on,” but so does many other writers works. Spurgeon made an error which lives in my mind…”He called Calvin, “The greatest man of woman born.” Last time I checked the Word it was John the Baptist.
Comment by Jonathan | April 13, 2008
Hello, Jonathan. This series is a celebration of the biblical teaching of John Calvin. We’re not elevating Calvin to the status of untouchable. Were saying how can we learn–humbly!–the content behind the reformed tradition. Calvin was a genius at piecing together the far-reaching implications of theology.
Early in this series I wrote: “We are focusing on Calvin, but not because he was perfect. He had character faults. Calvin was irritable, distant and a bit cold (not unlike myself at times). Nor was Calvin infallible. At some secondary points in his teachings I must disagree. John Owen said of the patristic writers we should take the gold and leave the dung. There is much gold in Calvin, but not all of it. Would Calvin want to be considered an infallibly guide anyways?”
But I don’t believe Calvin is the monster you’ve tried to present. His life bears many marks of humility (and especially in the prayers that flowed from an obviously mature Christian). During one of Calvin’s sermons on Micah he prayed:
“Almighty God, our heavenly Father, seeing that since antiquity it has always pleased You to extend Your grace toward Your people, as perverse and rebellious as they were; and that You have never ceased to exhort them to repentance, but have always taken them by Your hand through Your prophets; grant us also Your grace today, that Your same Word may resound in our ears; and, if at first we should not profit from Your holy teaching as we ought; nonetheless, do not reject us; but by Your Spirit subdue and so reign over our minds and affections, that being truly humbled and brought low, we give You the glory that Your majesty is due; so that being clothed by Your love and fatherly favor, we may submit ourselves totally to You, while at the same time embracing that goodness which You have provided and offered us in our Lord Jesus; that we might never doubt again that You alone are our Father, until that day that we rejoice in Your heavenly promise, which has been acquired for us by the blood of Your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
That prayer is what I seek! I seek to follow this example of humble Calvinism, and this series is a means to it. Blessings, Jonathan.
“If you find me short in things, impute that to my love of brevity. If you find me besides the truth in anything, impute that to my infirmity. But if you find anything here that serves to your furtherance and joy of the faith, impute that to the mercy of God bestowed on you and me. Yours to serve you with what little I have.” John Bunyan (Works, 1:336).
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“In the cross of Christ, as in a splendid theater, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world. The glory of God shines, indeed, in all creatures on high and below, but never more brightly than in the cross, in which there was a wonderful change of things—the condemnation of all men was manifested, sin blotted out, salvation restored to men; in short, the whole world was renewed and all things restored to order.” John Calvin
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Welcome to Miscellanies [formerly The Shepherd's Scrapbook] a blog serving sinners who seek their daily food in the Cross of Christ. Our goal is provide thoughts on Cross-centered living, theology, preaching and pastoral ministry. We review books considered excellent, announce new books that look interesting, and encourage biblical discernment with both. All of this should fuel our pursuit of the Cross. [Meet the winners of our book of the year awards: 2006 winner and the 2007 winners.]
Email: crede.ut.intelligas AT mac.com
Stay on top of the latest posts by subscribing to the RSS feed.
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Current reading …
Robert Louis Wilken, The Spirit of Early Christian Thought
Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (3rd ed.)
F.F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame: The Rise and Progress of Christianity from its First Beginnings to the Conversion of the English
Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms: 73-90, Boulding trans. (vol. III/18 )
Colin Duriez, Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life
Do-it-yourself Blank Bible. Of all the books we promote, none compare with God’s Word. We pursue the Cross as God opens His Word to us. In this anticipation, we encourage you to make your own blank bible like Jonathan Edwards.’ Building a blank bible shows both a commitment to serious, life-long reflection and the anticipation of God’s illuminating Spirit. To date, over 15,000 readers have accessed the Blank Bible Index.
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FREE book! What is God saying to us? How can we know Him? I wrote a little book — Come Unto Me: God’s Invitation to the World — to answer these questions. You can download the book as a PDF and you can read more about the background of the project here.
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Humble Calvinism.Early this year we started a series on Humble Calvinism, a study through John Calvin’s Institutes. Especially noteworthy is Calvin’s experiential sensitivity to the contours of godliness. Join us as we continue learning humble and holistic Calvinism as Calvin intended. See the Humble Calvinism series index here.
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The Puritan Study. The Puritans were Cross-boasters. So how do we use the wealth of Puritan literature in our personal devotions and expositional studies? Our series on building and using a Puritan Study answered this important question. For more see the full Puritan Study series index.
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Who am I? My name is Tony Reinkebut call me “chief of sinners.” For 22-years I hid from God in self-righteous religious ‘faithfulness’ until my stubborn heart was subdued by God’s sovereign grace (Eph. 2). In one moment, after a sermon by Paige Patterson in Lincoln, NE on Luke 18:9-14, I perceived the Gospel as the great exchange, and by God’s grace I released my self-righteousness to cling to the saving righteousness of Jesus Christ. That day I recognized I was a sinner playing the part of the Pharisee. It was the day I was reborn. Now nothing is more precious than knowing Christ — the God-man who died for me and gave me His righteousness in place of my sinfulness (Phil. 3:7-9). Pursuing further up and further into the Cross has become the center of my life and this blog is intended as a place to share this pursuit.
Educationally, I graduated from Bellevue University in Omaha, NE with a degree in Liberal Arts. Theologically, I’m an autodidact under the wise direction of a local church. I’ve been married for 10 years to my best friend, Karalee (a more gifted writer and blogger than myself) and we have three precious kids, a majority of whom are named after dead preachers. Last year I was interviewed by Joshua Sowin about life, books and reading (if you want more info)
God has given me the rare privilege and joy of serving as personal assistant to C.J. Mahaney (if you really want to learn from blogs, navigate away from this sorry one and check out what C.J. is saying on his.)
Misc stuff you don’t need to know but will read because you’re bored and surfing the Internet to kill time anyway: My nicknames include any variation of The Scribe, T-Scribble, Scribs, Big Blog Daddy, Big Honkin Blogdaddy, Big Blog Papi, T-Rex, Blogzilla, and Scribola (take your pick). Curtis Allen calls me by the name Tone Capone. Do I look like an Italian mobster? Here’s my mug.
Email/comments. I’m grateful for your readership and would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment on any post to get in touch. Depending upon time restraints I usually respond to email. You can email me at: crede.ut.intelligas AT mac.com .
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My book wishlist. Hopefully one day these valuable books will be added to my library. All from the The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Yale editions) …
Vol. 10: Sermons and Discourses ( 1720-1723 )
Vol. 14: Sermons and Discourses ( 1723-1729 )
Vol. 19: Sermons and Discourses ( 1734-1738 )
Vol. 25: Sermons and Discourses ( 1743-1758 )
Vol. 17: Sermons and Discourses ( 1730-1733 )
Vol. 22: Sermons and Discourses ( 1739-1742 )
Vol. 13: The ‘Miscellanies’ ( No. 1-500 )
Vol. 18: The ‘Miscellanies’ ( No. 501-832 )
Vol. 20: The ‘Miscellanies’ ( No. 833-1152 )
Vol. 23: The ‘Miscellanies’ ( No. 1153–1360 )
Vol. 15: Notes on Scripture
Vol. 8: Ethical Writings
Vol. 21: Trinity, Grace, and Faith
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Princeton Cemetery. I don’t know how I did it, but in the Spring of 2006 I convinced my wife and kids it would be fun to spend the day at Princeton cemetery. Princeton is famous for its school and less famous for its rich evangelical history. I took several photographs at Princeton Cemetery (where Edwards, Hodge, Warfield and the Alexanders are buried). These photos always remind me to be Cross-centered.
We’re in this for the long haul… now if I can just find new copies of the Institutes for under $50 (the cheapest I’ve found them is at wtsbooks.com) so I can better follow along. Glad to see this topic and can’t wait to learn more as the series progresses!
Tony,
I wanted to make sure you knew about these free resources that have become available:
(http://www.xanga.com/be_mistaken/561928133/sweatin-to-the-oldies.html)
Have a great day!
The Institutes for $28 ?! Can this be true?
http://www.biblio.com/books/109297479.html
Tony
[...] Click here to access previous posts: Humble Calvinism index. [...]
[...] Click here to access previous posts in the Humble Calvinism index. [...]
[...] Click here to access previous posts in the Humble Calvinism index. [...]
A quote on Calvinism, if you can verify the source. My pastor repeatedly “quotes” (but cannot provide the source) J.I. Packer as saying “There are two kinds of Christians: Calvinists and confused Calvinists.”
Could you provide me with a brief summary of Calvin’s contribution to the Reformation? Thank you.
DS, hello! I would say in a simply definition: John Calvin helped spread the German Reformation begun by Luther to France (which had not really experienced the Reformation until Calvin came along). Calvin is also the one Reformer who left immense verse-by-verse exegetical writings in his commentaries and the author of the most important codification of the Reformation theology (in the Institutes). Hope this helps. See the biography by Piper linked above for more. Blessings, Tony
[...] on June 10th, 2007 Here is a series on the Shepherd’s Scrapbook blog called Humble Calvinism. Tony Reinke is going through through Calvin’s Institutes and A Life of Calvin by Alister [...]
[...] came across this little slideshow when I was looking something up on my good friend Tony Reinke’s blog. [...]
“God is the decider and the determiner of every man’s destiny, the controller of every detail in every individual’s life, which is another way of saying “He is God.” - John MAcArthur
“I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith.” - Martin Luther
One more: “Those who have received salvation are to attribute it to sovereign grace alone, and to give all the praise to Him, who makes them to differ from others.” - Jonathan Edwards
[...] been enjoying the Humble Calvinism series here. __________________ Dan Pemberton Member, First Baptist Church San Luis Obispo, CA In college [...]
I find this “humble calvinism” ironic in title. John Calvin, in my readings, is anything but. His attitude toward his one town-one order methods and his self-righteous public murder screams of arrogance. I believe in predestination, election and so on (because the Word tells us), but I do not lift this man as an apostle as many “reformed” Christians do. He is best described as a tyrant. Spurgeon said “Whatever he has written lives on,” but so does many other writers works. Spurgeon made an error which lives in my mind…”He called Calvin, “The greatest man of woman born.” Last time I checked the Word it was John the Baptist.
Hello, Jonathan. This series is a celebration of the biblical teaching of John Calvin. We’re not elevating Calvin to the status of untouchable. Were saying how can we learn–humbly!–the content behind the reformed tradition. Calvin was a genius at piecing together the far-reaching implications of theology.
Early in this series I wrote: “We are focusing on Calvin, but not because he was perfect. He had character faults. Calvin was irritable, distant and a bit cold (not unlike myself at times). Nor was Calvin infallible. At some secondary points in his teachings I must disagree. John Owen said of the patristic writers we should take the gold and leave the dung. There is much gold in Calvin, but not all of it. Would Calvin want to be considered an infallibly guide anyways?”
But I don’t believe Calvin is the monster you’ve tried to present. His life bears many marks of humility (and especially in the prayers that flowed from an obviously mature Christian). During one of Calvin’s sermons on Micah he prayed:
“Almighty God, our heavenly Father, seeing that since antiquity it has always pleased You to extend Your grace toward Your people, as perverse and rebellious as they were; and that You have never ceased to exhort them to repentance, but have always taken them by Your hand through Your prophets; grant us also Your grace today, that Your same Word may resound in our ears; and, if at first we should not profit from Your holy teaching as we ought; nonetheless, do not reject us; but by Your Spirit subdue and so reign over our minds and affections, that being truly humbled and brought low, we give You the glory that Your majesty is due; so that being clothed by Your love and fatherly favor, we may submit ourselves totally to You, while at the same time embracing that goodness which You have provided and offered us in our Lord Jesus; that we might never doubt again that You alone are our Father, until that day that we rejoice in Your heavenly promise, which has been acquired for us by the blood of Your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
That prayer is what I seek! I seek to follow this example of humble Calvinism, and this series is a means to it. Blessings, Jonathan.