Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Considering Calvin and Servetus

A friend of mine asked me last week about Servetus and John Calvin. This is by far the most infamous event in John Calvin's life. Servetus was a man who denied the trinity and had been condemned by Rome as a heretic. He fled to Geneva hoping to spare his life. However the people of Geneva were not too happy about the denial of the trinity as well. What to do?? By Rome's judgment Servetus is a heretic. By the judgment of scripture Servetus is a heretic. The leadership of Geneva after a trial condemned Servetus to death as a heretic by burning at the stake. John Calvin petitioned for a lesser form of death but Calvin was still in favor of Servetus death. If you know anything about Calvin you know that he was anything but a loose canon or a rebel. It was not in his nature. So why did he side with the majority for death in this instance? We could ask this about a hundred different people and events. Why did good Lutheran pastors side with Hitler? In almost every case the problem arises from what is acceptable within the culture. In Calvin's day heretics were dealt with by burning at the stake. There are two lessons here for us to consider. All men are human and prone to the limitations of human judgment that has been corrupted by our fallen state. Thus we should be careful about how we venerate men. Secondly what exists within our culture that influences our thinking? What will people look back at us from the perspective of their culture and see as a major faux pas? What will cause them to doubt our integrity and fidelity to the Gospel? What will they point to in order to ridicule us?
This seemed like an appropriate topic to consider as I seek to think about how we bring life into focusing on God.

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