Category: Catholicism

Saw this online…

1. Calvin thought that the Church had the power of excommunication: “The Church binds him whom she excommunicates, not by plunging him into eternal ruin and despair, but condemning his life and manners, and admonishing him, that, unless he repent, he is condemned.” (Institutes, IV, 11:2)

2. Calvin believed that there was no salvation outside the Church: “Beyond the pale of the Church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for, . . .” (IV, 1:4)

3. Calvin thought weekly Holy Communion was the minimum frequency: “The sacrament might be celebrated in the most becoming manner, if it were dispensed to the Church very frequently, at least once a-week.” (IV, 17:43)

4. Calvin believed in the primacy of St. Peter, as leader of the apostles: “There is no senate without a consul, no bench of judges without a president or chancellor, no college without a provost, no company without a master. Thus there would be no absurdity were we to confess that the apostles had conferred such a primacy on Peter.” (IV, 6:8)

5. Calvin accepted the primacy of the Roman Church in early Christian history: “I deny not that the early Christians uniformly give high honour to the Roman Church, and speak of it with reverence. . . . [it] adhered more firmly to the doctrine once delivered, . . .” (IV, 6:16)

6. Calvin believed in the indefectibility of the Church: “I always hold that the truth does not perish in the Church . . .” (IV, 9:13)

7. Calvin utterly detested denominations and sectarianism: “Hence the Church is called Catholic or Universal (August. Ep. 48), for two or three cannot be invented without dividing Christ; and this is impossible. All the elect of God are so joined together in Christ, that as they depend on one head, . . .” (IV, 1:2)

8. Calvin thought that sacraments produce real, beneficial effects: “They, by sealing it to us, sustain, nourish, confirm, and increase our faith.” (IV, 14:7) / “That sacred communion of flesh and blood by which Christ transfuses his life into us, just as if it penetrated our bones and marrow, . . .” (IV, 17:10)

9. Calvin taught that there was such a thing as a holy, sacred place: “God . . . descend[s] to us, that he may be near to us, and yet neither change his place nor affect us by earthly means, but rather, . . . raise us aloft to his own heavenly glory, . . .” (IV, 1:5)

10. Calvin believed that human beings could be distributors or mediators of salvation: “In several passages he [St. Paul] . . . attributes to himself the province of bestowing salvation (1 Cor. 3:9).” (IV, 1:6)

11. Calvin seemingly accepted the notion of baptismal regeneration: “. . . forgiveness, which at our first regeneration we receive by baptism alone . . . we are washed from our sins by the blood of Christ.” (IV, 15:4)

12. Calvin approved of bodily mortification as spiritually beneficial: “In like manner, therefore, as persons accused were anciently wont, . . . to humble themselves suppliantly with . . . coarse garments, . . . weeping and fasting, and the like, undoubtedly belong, in an equal degree, to our age, whenever the condition of our affairs so requires.” (IV, 12:17)

13. Calvin believed that there was a profound causal connection between Holy Eucharist and salvation: “Nay, the very flesh in which he resides he makes vivifying to us, that by partaking of it we may feed for immortality. . . . by this food believers are reared to eternal life.” (IV, 17:8) / “. . . the food of eternal life.” (IV, 17:19) / “. . . secures the immortality of our flesh, . . .” (IV, 17:32)

14. Calvin held that contraception was gravely sinful: “It is a horrible thing to pour out seed besides the intercourse of man and woman. Deliberately avoiding the intercourse, so that the seed drops on the ground, is double horrible. For this means that one quenches the hope of his family, and kills the son, which could be expected, before he is born. This wickedness is now as severely as is possible condemned by the Spirit, through Moses, that Onan, as it were, through a violent and untimely birth, tore away the seed of his brother out the womb, and as cruel as shamefully has thrown on the earth. Moreover he thus has, as much as was in his power, tried to destroy a part of the human race. When a woman in some way drives away the seed out the womb, through aids, then this is rightly seen as an unforgivable crime.” (Commentary on Genesis [38:10], translated by John King)

15. Calvin accepted the Catholic and scriptural belief of the perpetual virginity of Mary: “[On Matthew 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called ‘first-born’; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation.” (Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, Geneva, 1562, Vol. I, p. 107; from Calvin’s Commentaries, translated by William Pringle, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1949)

Tonight I saw a post on Facebook and thought I would reply. The resulting threads were rather disappointing and messy, but I thought I’d share the original post and my replies in case they garner some reasoned responses here.

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I recently heard the following question asked on The Gray Havens Podcast:

There is actually a lot of Christian (and pre-Christian) teaching related to the East, particularly in relation to the practice of facing eastwards when praying…

If you visit a church which follows one of the older liturgies, you’ll notice that both the priest and the people face the same direction. This is known as “Ad Orientem” – ad (toward) and oriens (rising, sunrise, east). Historically, churches have been built (where possible) so that during the worship everyone faces eastwards. In the ancient Coptic Rite, a deacon even calls out in the middle of the service, “Look towards the East!”

The importance of the East dates back to the earliest years of the Church when Christians still met in private homes. In the Fourth Century, Saint Basil the Great wrote that “facing the east to pray was among the oldest unwritten laws of the Church”. You find it discussed in the Didascalia, as well as in the Early Church Fathers, such as St. Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine. In the Second Century, the apologist Tertullian actually had to write a refutation against the Pagans who saw this and falsely accused Christians of worshiping the sun.

But why is the East important? In the Seventh Century, in An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book IV, Chapter 12), St. John of Damascus gave three reasons for Christians facing the east to pray:

1. By turning their faces towards the dawn, Christians are affirming that Christ is the “light of the world” (John 8:12), “the Sun of Righteousness” (Malachi 4:2) and “the Dayspring from on high” (Luke 1:78). 

2. Your listener mentioned the Garden of Eden… Scripture tells us the garden was planted in the east (Genesis 2:8), but after the Fall, Adam and Eve are exiled and move to the west. Therefore, Christians face the east as a reminder of our lost home.

3. Referring to His Second Coming, Jesus said “For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:27). Christians therefore look to the east as an expression of hope for the coming of Christ. 

He got my name wrong, but he read out some of my answer in the following episode: