John Calvin

Christ's true humanity must be defended against any notion that he faced the cross unmoved. Had he felt no real agony, his victory would offer us no comfort. By struggling yet submitting, he sanctifies our own fear and weakness.

@bbwoofield The confessions and the scholastics don't carry the same authority and don't speak the same language. And we can't simply assume they teach the same thing.

@Calvinreformed Let which confessions speak on which terms? The ones written by the 17th century scholastics people are retrieving?

They think they're being historically faithful, but they're actually quite selective. The scholastics were brilliant, but they aren't the magisterium. Even the Reformers didn't always agree with them. Let Scripture and the confessions speak on their own terms.

@JkrGuidoSSO27 Calvin obviously knew the scholastic tradition and used it when he had to, but he always kept it subordinate to plain scriptural reasoning. Making the scholastics the standard just reverses that priority entirely.

@Calvinreformed Luther notoriously despised Scholasticism.

The law shows what God requires but gives no power to obey. The gospel does what the law cannot, changing us inwardly by the Holy Spirit and enabling true obedience (2 Cor 3).

Noah was still alive when his descendants, though saved from the Flood, fell into wicked counsel at Babel. Even the godliest must endure a continual succession of conflicts throughout their lives.

During the First Crusade, Pope Urban II redirected military zeal toward a “holy cause,” promising immediate remission of sins for those who died in battle against the pagans, a precedent later linked to the sale of indulgences.

“By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). Even a single holy thought is beyond human ability, so a rightly directed will toward God is impossible. We cannot produce even the smallest good, neither a holy thought nor a holy will, on our own.

@rultpwrcalvin Calling works "evidence of faith" isn't synergism. Works don't contribute to justification. Scripture teaches the elect are ordained for Christlikeness (Rom 8:29) and good works (Eph 2:10), not a barren life.

@Calvinreformed Declaring works as “evidence of true faith” like some closet synergist! when we all know the decree reigns supreme. If the Potter sovereignly ordains no fruit, barrenness, and a life of rebellion for an elect, then that glorious lack of good works is irrefutable proof of election

Believers are not declared righteous at the last judgment because of their works, but because their names are in the book of life and their participation in Christ’s righteousness; their works are evidence of true faith.

Very good points here. I love and respect many of the early church fathers. But their teachings and writings must always be viewed as below scripture. Not equal with it.

@MitchellHe93733 Because it points to and confirms the benefits of Christ (forgiveness and new birth). It pictures the gospel and personally assures us that its promises are real and ours.

@Calvinreformed If baptism is merely symbolic, why does every New Testament passage about it connect it directly to forgiveness, salvation, and new birth?

There is no biblical support for the idea that baptism always brings regeneration.

Some compare the best (most Protestant-sounding) Catholic writers with the worst (most Catholic-sounding) Protestant writers to make them appear the same.

Whenever people forget their place, they are effectively waging war with God.

@JWHagen04 Newman's conversion to Rome reveals where Tractarian sacramental theology logically leads. Davenant and Ward maintained a view held by few Reformed theologians, that baptismal regeneration is effective only for the elect to my knowledge, a position distinct from Rome's.

@Calvinreformed Davenant and Ward were Tractarians?

The view that grace (forgiveness, regeneration, and justification) is always given through sacraments, especially baptism, was taught at Trent, opposed by the Reformers, and later revived in Tractarian Anglican theology.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10). “Fear of God” means: -Reverence -Worship -A life shaped by obedience You can’t separate true wisdom from godliness.

Great article... however I do not think RZ's heart is in the right place. I think he's a political player who's confusing his love of architecture & institutional power with love for faithful Christianity. I don't trust him at all, leading families towards heterodoxy purposely

God alone is the teacher of the Church. The Apostle Paul says... -He has “no dominion over your faith” (2 Cor 1:24) -He allows others to judge prophetic teaching (1 Cor 14:29–30) -He teaches that faith comes only by hearing God’s Word (Rom 10:17)

The 17th-century Scots were intensely suspicious of anything that looked like a return to Roman Catholic ritual. They referred to the BCP as a "half-mass book."