Calvin's Legacy Conference Blog from Westminster Seminary California

Calvin, the Friendly Reformer by W. Robert Godfrey

17 Jan 2009 22:01:45 GMT

Back now after lunch. Had a great meeting with a room full of prospective students. It was exciting to see a group of new faces all excited about learning and preparing to preach Christ and to fulfill other vocations.

Calvin, the Friendly Reformer by W. Robert Godfrey, pt. 3

17 Jan 2009 21:43:06 GMT

Here's a man engaged in conversation with people. Not in contention, but conversation. Trying to bring peace among people who ought to be friends. He did this in his contact with fellow reformers.

Calvin, the Friendly Reformer by W. Robert Godfrey, pt. 2

17 Jan 2009 21:21:11 GMT

Calvin urged Farel to be more moderate. He wrote to the Reformed folks at Wezel, where there were Lutheran practices. Where unhappy ceremonies are being introduced they may be tolerated, they should be resisted. Where they already exist, they may be tolerated in favor of not disrupting the church so long as the substance of the faith is not disturbed.

Calvin, the Friendly Reformer by W. Robert Godfrey, pt. 1

17 Jan 2009 21:13:47 GMT

The Lunch Break Saturday

17 Jan 2009 20:05:04 GMT

I'll be back with more after lunch. Bob Godfrey is up next after lunch. If it's possible it's more crowded today than it was yesterday! Apparently we had to turn away a lot of folks. You really shouldn't miss this conference. I hope you're able to come next year.

Calvin and Preaching by Hywel R. Jones

17 Jan 2009 19:49:34 GMT

We're accustomed to thinking about the Reformation in terms of sola Scriptura and sola fide. This conflict for the Word and for faith, called for faith in God and in his Word. Minds had to be instructed and spirits strengthened.

Calvin and Preaching by Hywel R. Jones, pt. 3

17 Jan 2009 19:44:52 GMT

Three adjectives. If we don't believe that Scripture is living and vivifying, our preaching won't be either. The preacher says what he's heard and what he can show from the actual text of Scripture. It's both verbum Dei it's the vox Dei. God spoke. Men wrote. God did not cease to speak, but he speaks through Scripture.

Calvin and Preaching by Hywel R. Jones, pt. 2

17 Jan 2009 19:22:31 GMT

Preaching in Calvin's day wasn't new. There was preaching in the medieval church but it was like the buildings in which it took place, gothic and flamboyant. Calvin regarded it as full of fictions and fables. Traditions placed on a par with Scripture. The Roman church was in view. He attacked the logic chopping of the schools.

Calvin and Preaching by Hywel R. Jones, pt. 1

17 Jan 2009 19:13:14 GMT

Calvin on Law and Gospel by Michael S. Horton

17 Jan 2009 18:46:29 GMT

Mike Horton is up. Calvin on Law and Gospel. It's nice to follow Clark because it makes him (Horton) look moderate! It's good for the soul. Calvin wouldn't like this conference very much because he didn't have time to talk about himself. He was too busy talking about Christ and his gospel. He was so good on the gospel.

Calvin on Law and Gospel by Michael S. Horton, pt. 3

17 Jan 2009 18:44:13 GMT

To get Calvin right we need to distinguish between the law as history and the law as principle. In both sense the law drives us to Christ but in different ways. As history it drives us to law by promises and in the latter by threats.

Calvin on Law and Gospel by Michael S. Horton, pt. 2

17 Jan 2009 18:11:55 GMT

Calvin on law. Inherited threefold distinction (civil, ceremonial, and moral) from Thomas Aquinas. For Calvin, the idea of re-instituting the Mosaic civil law is Anabaptist fanaticism. Civil law comes from "equity."

Calvin on Law and Gospel by Michael S. Horton, pt. 1

17 Jan 2009 18:02:38 GMT

Mike Horton is up. Calvin on Law and Gospel. It's nice to follow Clark because it makes him (Horton) look moderate! It's good for the soul.

Calvin and the Reform of Worship by R. Scott Clark

17 Jan 2009 17:26:32 GMT

The Calvin We Think We Know. 1. The heartless tyrant. In internet speak it's a "meme" that Calvin ruled Geneva with an iron fist. Thanks to Eric Hausler who shared with me copy of a special issue of LIFE from 1955 in which Calvin was described essentially as a tyrant and Molly Worthen said essentially the same thing last week.

Calvin and the Reform of Worship by R. Scott Clark, pt. 2

17 Jan 2009 17:21:50 GMT

Calvin the Churchman. If the picture of Calvin’s civil role is distorted, so is the picture of his ecclesiastical interest. As has been mentioned by previous speakers Calvin led an incredibly full ecclesiastical life. This was, in part, because for Calvin, our private piety, i.e. our growth in godliness and our growth in the knowledge of God, is the direct result, first of all, not of our private prayer life but our attendance to the public worship service, the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments.

Calvin and the Reform of Worship by R. Scott Clark, pt. 1

17 Jan 2009 16:57:32 GMT

I'm cheating a bit out of necessity. I can't blog and talk so I'm just offering a quick synopsis of my talk this AM. The topic is Calvin on worship.

Calvin: Why He Still Matters, pt. 3

17 Jan 2009 04:03:15 GMT

In all this he was a pastor, concerned for changed hearts. He was also a great communicator in his teaching and writing, in recognizing that knowledge needs to be communicated through institutions. We think individualistically. Calvin knew better. He realized that part of effective communication was the existence of institutions to carry on the truth from generation to generation.

Calvin: Why He Still Matters, pt. 2

17 Jan 2009 03:55:44 GMT

The more time Calvin spent with Scripture, the more persuasive it became, the more powerful it became. The more time I spend with Scripture, the more time I am persuaded it is God's Word. How can people read the Word and come away critical of it?

Calvin: Why He Still Matters, pt. 1

17 Jan 2009 03:36:45 GMT

This is Calvin's 500th birthday. It's great to see so many people here to learn about Calvin. We all think he's important but the question about his importance will be answered in July, when we see whether he makes the cover of TIME as the Man of the Year. Luther made it on his birthday and we think our boy deserves a cover too! You should all write to the editor of TIME to insist that they name him Man of the Year.

Did Calvin ever differ on any issues written about in the Heidelberg catechism or the Canons of Dort? If so, were any of the differences of any significance?

17 Jan 2009 05:31:35 GMT

That's the $64,0000 question. It's been asked a lot and answered in a lot of different ways. The two major answers are yes, the HC and the CD are essentially saying the same things Calvin said or what he would have said had he thought of it or had he faced the same questions. The other answer is that Reformed orthodoxy corrupted Calvin in a variety of ways, chiefly through the introduction of Aristotlian philosophy in place of the authority of Scripture.

Calvin as Bible Interpreter by S. M. Baugh

17 Jan 2009 05:09:41 GMT

We opened the second session (plenary) by singing "I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art" not to the familiar, more modern tune but to one of the "Geneva jigs." We struggled a bit but it's a lovely and lovely tune!

The First Session Break

17 Jan 2009 04:31:15 GMT

Bob's plenary is complete. I tried to keep up but I missed a little running spell-check and posting. You should hear the audio for yourself. He did a terrific job. As long as I've known Bob (since 1984) I'm amazed that I always learn from him. Is that a back-handed compliment? He can take it.

Calvin: Why He Still Matters by W. Robert Godfrey

17 Jan 2009 04:05:35 GMT

The first person here is Bob not Clark. This is Calvin's 500th birthday. It's great to see so many people here to learn about Calvin. We all think he's important but the question about his importance will be answered in July, when we see whether he makes the cover of TIME as the Man of the Year.

Is There a Difference Between Calvinist and Reformed?

17 Jan 2009 02:00:40 GMT

In our present context do you think there is a difference between the categories "calvinist" and "reformed"? If so, is this a new distinction?

Was John Calvin a 16th Century Joel Osteen?

17 Jan 2009 02:00:36 GMT

"In a recent documentary on John Calvin on the History Channel, one of the "scholars" interviewed claimed that Calvin taught that if people enjoy material prosperity, then they should consider themselves to be elect. I've read Calvin's Institutes and he says quite the opposite. It seems that the liberal media is trying to pass Calvin off as a 16th century Joel Osteen. Why is there such blatant misrepresentation of Calvin by these so called experts? Is it just ignorance?"

The Conference Begins

17 Jan 2009 02:00:05 GMT

Welcome to the Sixth Annual WSC faculty conference. 2009 is the Year of Calvin and we're observing the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth with a conference devoted to "Calvin's Legacy: Reforming the Church Today."

Escondido Weather

13 Jan 2009 22:03:59 GMT

Currently in Escondido it's 81F. High on Friday is expected to be 79 and on Saturday 77. Not a cloud in sight right now. Bring your sunscreen SPF 17+. It's gorgeous. The Santa Ana winds of the last few days are gone. Right now they're from the SE at 6 mph.

Introductory Note

12 Dec 2008 23:51:48 GMT

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