Thanks for this, Judy. Yes, Calvin was a Roman Catholic as a child, though not an ardent one. If one reads his Institutes of the Christian Religion, which he published at the age of 26, his disdain for Roman Catholicism is apparent whereas his love and adherence for the authority of the church is strong. Calvin did not believe anyone should have anything to do with the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly argued for others to leave the RCC. He was never excommunicated from it because he was never really part of it, though as you point out, he had connections to it in his youth before his conversion.
David Miller. ----- Original Message ----- From: Judy Taylor To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 11:04 AM Subject: [TruthTalk] Continuing repentance From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> RE: [TruthTalk] Fw: Fw: Continuing repentanceJudy wrote: > Both Luther and Calvin were Priests of the RCC Actually, Luther was a priest, but Calvin was not. Calvin was a lawyer. If memory serves me correctly, Calvin was never even a member of the RCC. According to David Hunt's book "What Love is This" pp37 Calvin was born to a devoutly religious Roman Catholic family or prominence in an ecclesiastical town dominated by the local bishop and his assisting priests. As secretary and legal advisor to the bishop, Calvin's father Gerald, was an inside participant in a corrupt religiously based political system.... In a bit of nepotism young Calvin was put on the Church payroll at the age of 12, remaining on it for thirteen years until one year after his conversion to Luther's Protestantism" (so I am wrong about the Priest part: jt) Hunt goes on to report that "quite unexpectedly in 1528 Calvin's father Gerald fell into disfavor with the bishop and was excommunicated from the RCC. Shortly thereafter, Calvin's brother, a priest, was also excommunicated on the grounds of heresy. As a result of the sudden change in circumstances Gerald ordered Calvin whom he had previously expected to enter the priesthood, to Orleans for the study of law. Calvin later explained, "My father had intended me for theology from my childhood. But when he reflected that the career of the law proved everywhere very lucrative for its practitioners, the prospect suddenly made him change his mind" When Calvin referred to the church generically, it was not the same thing that Luther referred to as the church. Luther attempted to reform the RCC, but Calvin never did. Judy wrote to Debbie: > why would you think there was no Mardi Gras > mentality back then such as we see in New > Orleans and other places today?? Excellent point, Judy! This is exactly the way I see it. Very good analogy. David Miller ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
