Calvin's Institutes Reading Notes 1

I decided recently to attempt to read John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Since I consider myself a Calvinist, I thought it might be a good idea to actually read the theologian's famous work, rather than just what people say about it or the stray quote here and there. So far, it has proven to be dense but far less difficult to read than someone like Shakespeare, though granted, the version I'm reading was translated in 1845 from the original Latin.

I've been taking notes on the reading just to help my memory, and I thought I'd occasionally share them with you. Some of it is paraphrased in my own words and some of it is direct quotation. I haven't used any sort of fancy citation method (MLA, APA), so you'll just have to forgive me for that and realize I intend no copyright infringement. Calvin has a way of articulating theological beliefs in a very logical way, so I hope you benefit from reading these. I'll post occasionally, but I won't inundate you with Calvin.

Chapter 1.2.2-3.3

• The fact that people are prone to idolatry is evidence for the existence of God and human awareness of Him
• It's foolish to think that people just made up God in order to intimidate/control others; such intimidation/control would not be possible had people not already had a sense of God innately.
• Even non-Christian/pagan philosophers (Plato, Plutarch) have acknowledged that man's greatest good is knowing God, even if they don't identify that God as YHWH

Chapter 1.4.1-5.1

• "[God]" can never deny himself, and is no spectre or phantom, to be metamorphosed at each individual's caprice."
• "No religion is genuine that is not in accordance with truth." ~Lactantius
• Non-believers in the presence of God feel not remorse, but "forced and servile fear which divine judgment extorts--judgment whcih, from the impossibility of escape, they are compelled to dread, but which, while they dread, they at the same time also hate."
• This is actually opposition to God since they wish to overthrow His justice.
• "The author of Hebrews elegantly describes the visible worlds as images of the invisible, the elegant structure of the world serving as a kind of mirror, in which we may behold God, though otherwise invisible."

Chapter 1.5.2-5

• God reveals himself in nature, science, medicine, even the human body
• We have within ourselves evidence of heavenly grace.
• "'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength.' Thus he declares not only that the human race are a bright mirror of the Creator's works, but that infants hanging on their mother's breasts have tongues eloquent enough to proclaim his glory without the aid of other orators."