christian@topaz.UUCP (03/29/87)
To continue the discussion on the issues related to scripture and its interpretation, I would like to pick up where Charles Hedrick left off. I'm afraid that the quote he gave might leave some with the impression that Calvin believed there were errors in the Bible. When we consider Calvin's view of scripture we must remember two things. First, Calvin held to a belief in accommodation. That is, when God revealed Himself to man through the writers of scripture He spoke to us on our level, in our own terms. God condescended in revealing Himself to us. The illustration might be made of a university professor of physics teaching a class of second graders on the nature of light. The professor must certainly make accommodations in order that the children might understand some of what he is saying. If he says that light is like the waves on the ocean he certainly doesn't mean that light is made of water. He's merely bring his speech down to the level of the listeners. God used human authors to reveal His truth to us. The authors used various forms of speech and wrote from a particular historical and cultural perspective. In order to understand scripture we must have some knowledge of the time and place of the writer. Secondly, Calvin also believed that a correct interpretation of scripture involved the work of the Holy Spirit. He is our teacher and our guide as we study the Bible. This should not be confused with the notion put forth by the Anabaptists of Calvin's time that all you needed was the Holy Spirit to guide you. Calvin put great emphasis on the tools of learning; philosophy, language, rhetoric, etc., as being invaluable to the interpreter of scripture. This gets us back to the issue of accommodation. He believed that you must study the historical settings of the biblical passages in order to gain insight into the writer's intent. But for Calvin, the work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in order to understand what the Bible says. Calvin would give no comfort to our non-Christian friends when they attempt to point out "contradictions" in scripture. Calvin believed that God was the author of scripture and for that reason it did not suffer from the deficiencies of mere human writings. We must also have spiritual eyes in order to understand it. In his Institutes (4.8.8), Calvin wrote in countering the unbridled license of the Papal church with regard to doctrine and discussing the doctrine of the apostles: Hence we also infer that nothing else was permitted to the apostles than was formerly permitted to the prophets [namely, declaring the word of God] ... this, however, they could not do ... unless the Spirit of Christ went before them, and in a manner dictated words to them. He also says, in Institutes (1.6.1): God therefore bestows a gift of singular value, when, for the instruction of the church, he employs not dumb teachers merely, but opens his own sacred mouth. To Calvin, then, the Bible is the very word of God. I don't believe that this understanding of Calvin can leave us with the impression that he believed that the scripture contains error. It is not an error when a NT passage which quotes the OT does not match word for word. Even today we may paraphrase a verse to suit our purpose. This is undoubtedly what the NT authors did. For instance, Calvin said, in his commentary on I Peter 3:14: He [Peter] departs from the sense in which the word is taken by the Prophet; but in this there is nothing unreasonable; for his object was not to explain the words of the Prophet; he wished only to show that nothing is fitter to produce patience that what Isaiah prescribes, even to ascribe to God his honor by resting in full confidence on his power. Thus, the author of the preface which Charles quotes seems to go beyond the intent of Calvin when he says that, "he [Calvin] goes so far to accuse Peter of misconstruing Isaiah." I cannot find this thought in Calvin's remarks! Even Jesus freely altered the wording in order to make a point. I submit that this is not an admission of errancy. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God and His will to us. We must treat the Bible as though our very lives depend upon a proper understanding of it. It we admit that there is error then we must throw up our hands in futility because we can never know that it true and what is not. One more quote from Calvin. In his commentary on II Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is inspired by God [God-breathed] ...", he says: In order to uphold the authority of scripture, he [Paul] declares that it is divinely inspired; for, if it be so, it is beyond all controversy that men ought to receive it with reverence. ... We know that God has spoken to us, and we are fully convinced that the prophets did not speak at their own suggestion, but that, being ORGANS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, they only uttered what they had been commissioned from heaven to declare. Whoever then wishes to profit in the scriptures, let him, first of all, lay down this as a settled point, that the Law and the Prophets are not a doctrine delivered according to the will and pleasure of men, but DICTATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. [emphasis mine] Calvin has been called a great Christian humanist for his attempt to bring human endeavors in philosophy, history, etc. to bear on the study of scripture. The result was a type of Christianity that was to influence all areas of human life. Calvin charted that middle road (via media) between the extreme errors of Anabaptists on one hand and Papists on the other. Many of the problems he faced as an pastor in Geneva and the way he went about solving them should speak to us today in the 20th century. -- Tom Albrecht