Irishanglican's Weblog

The Reformers, Luther, Calvin, etc.

25 Jan 2012 2 Comments

by irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert in Christology, Church, Revelation, Theology Tags: Apostasy, Calvin, Law & Gospel, Luther, Sin, The Reformers

I have been posting a bit on Martin Luther, and he is certainly one of my favorites in the Reformation. But I also love John Calvin, if pressed I confess I am on many biblical and theological issues perhaps closer to Calvin, though both Calvin and Luther were and are certainly Augustinian.  And this is really my closer and common point with both. The Augustinian approach is certainly not infallible, I don’t follow Augustine everywhere, but I do believe his position on the doctrines of grace and God’s glory are closely Pauline overall. And here simply the so-called top-tier Reformers were Augustinian, and thus closely Pauline in my opinion. I have not found any so-called modern theologians that can shake this position, at least for me. Some people try to place N.T. Wright in the Augustinian camp, I suppose this can be done very broadly, but I am not myself convinced of this. I would even place Barth closer here than Wright, with Barth’s “nein” on Natural Theology. But, Calvin like Luther, both held to Law & Gospel, and here there is a great Pauline truth!  Paul certainly used the Law to convince people of sin, then after he brought in the Grace of God.  If we miss the depth of “sin” in God’s judgment of the world, we will always miss the Gospel, certainly.  And today, the Church has in many places lost the Gospel!  Indeed biblical and spiritual apostasy is certainly centre-stage in the Postmodern, Post-Christian Church.  It seems today one can hear almost anything & everything besides the Gospel in the Church!