Reformed What?
John Calvin used the writings of Augustine, the Roman Catholic theologian who couldn’t read Greek or Hebrew, and created a system of understanding and teaching the Bible now known as Reformed Theology.
This makes us curious . . . Just what is it that needed to be reformed? We can only think of two possibilities:
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. New Testament Christianity
Reforming the Roman Catholic Church?
The Roman Catholic Church was so corrupt in doctrine and practice that it was beyond reform. They were wrong on salvation, on the Scriptures, on the treatment of non-adherents to their religion. They were wrong on the persecution, torture and murder of millions of Jews, Anabaptists (the Biblical Christians of the day) and others who didn’t believe they way they did. They were wrong on baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the priesthood, the worship of Mary and the “saints.” They were wrong about Heaven, Hell and “Purgatory,” which had become a cash cow to them with the sale of indulgences.
To reform the Catholic church into a Scriptural church would require getting rid of the Pope, the Mass, infant baptism, the entire sacramental system, the worship of Mary and the “saints,” the priesthood and purgatory, among other things. It would be about the same as turning a mosque into a synagogue.
Calvin came out of the Roman church, and he was greatly influenced by Catholic theology in his teachings. Most Calvinists probably would not like to think of their religion as Reformed Romanism, however.
Reforming Historical Biblical Christianity?
The only other option is that Calvin offered a re-formation of Biblical Christianity. Hmmmm. That sounds strange, doesn’t it? What is there about the Bible that needs to be reformed?
Biblical Christianity didn’t need to be reformed. The very thought of re-forming the faith once delivered to the saints is blasphemous. Did the Lord need to be corrected? Does the Bible need to be re-formed? As ludicrous as it sounds, many people have tried to re-form the clear teachings of the Bible. The list includes such people as Joseph Smith (Mormons), Charles Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Alexander Campbell (Church of Christ), Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science), scores of liberal theologians, plus Augustine and Calvin.
John Calvin didn’t know enough about Biblical Christianity to know what it really was. His frame of reference was the Roman Catholic Church of the 16th Century and the fictional theology of Augustine. That’s where he got his understanding of theology and the nature of the church.
John Calvin had a strong disdain for the Biblical Christians of his day. He had nothing good to say about the Anabaptists and Biblical baptism, and he expelled Anabaptists from Geneva when he was in power there.
His theological starting point was Roman Catholicism. His ending point was a mixture of Romanism, Neoplatonism (he got it from Augustine), a little Bible and a lot of his own ideas.
In short, the eternal teachings of the Bible don’t need to be re-formed. So, just what is it that Calvin re-formed?
Reformed Romanism is built on a corrupt foundation
Biblical Christianity should never be re-formed
– It doesn’t need it
– It’s blasphemous to think we can improve on Jesus
– Any reformation of it would be a disastrous downgrade
©2010, 2020 Change the World Team