John Calvin: Model for the Moral Majority
Charles Edward White
Boston University
(This paper is written for the Free Methodist pastors of the Southern Michigan Conference. Thus it assumes
fair theological awareness and a slight prejudice against Calvin. It also assumes that the pastors have the goal
of reforming society, and that the kind of society they hope for is similar to that aimed at by the Moral
Majority.)
"John Calvin invented the tulip, and that's why the Dutch people call themselves Calvinists," or so one
young Free Methodist from Grand Rapids claimed. Most of us are more sophisticated. We know that Calvin
really didn't invent the tulip--he only claimed to find it in his Bible. But even if our knowledge about Calvin is
more accurate than was that little boy's, most of us never get beyond TULIP when we think about John Calvin.
I think we should, because God has much to teach us through this man. He, like Wesley after him, shared our
goal of "spreading Scriptural holiness throughout the land," though he never said it in those terms. I have
called him a model for the Moral Majority because that organization, whose goals, if not whose means, most of
us would generally support, also hopes to transform our nation into one that may enjoy the blessing of God. I
believe that the kind of a society Calvin built in Geneva, as well as the means by which he built that society,
can serve as a model for us as we attempt to reform society for the greater glory of God.
Some of you may be wondering why I have chosen to use Calvin as a model of a social reformer.
“Why not Wesley?” you ask. Well, it is not because I am a Calvinist, or regard Calvin's achievement as greater
than Wesley's. Most of us are familiar with the difference Wesley made in England. Those of us who aren't can
make up that deficiency by reading the Wesley chapter in Bailey's The Gospel in Hymns, or investigating the
more detailed England: Before and After Wesley by Bready. Since most of us know about Wesley, let's break
some new ground with Calvin.
Because it has been a few years since most of us sat through CH 102, Church History from the
Reformation, let me refresh your memories about the outlines of Calvin's life. He was French, and attended
one of Paris's finest colleges during the 1520s. In college he was exposed to the ideas of the Reformation, but
the shock waves that spread from the epicenter at Wittenberg were not enough to shake him from what he
calls his "obstinate devotion to the superstitions of Popery."1 Sometime after his college days, he tells us,
“God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame.”2 He then broke with the
Roman Church. Of course, we wish we knew more of his conversion story, but Calvin recorded no "Tower
Experience" as did Luther, no "heart strangely warmed" as did Wesley. This reticence to discuss himself was
characteristic of the man, and we will discuss its significance later.
Both before and after his conversion, Calvin planned to be a scholar. Like many other aspiring young
humanists, he had written a commentary on a classical work to establish his credentials. After his conversion
his interest in the classics remained, but it was eclipsed by an interest in the Scripture. Instead of giving
himself to the study of Greek and Roman literature, he now hoped to devote his life to the quiet study of the
Bible. But God had other plans. Here is how Calvin described what happened:
Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately
inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not
altogether leave off other studies, I yet pursued them with less ardour. I was quite surprised
to find that before a year had elapsed, all who had any desire after purer doctrine were
continually coming to me to learn, although I myself was as yet but a mere novice and tyro.
Being of a disposition somewhat unpolished and bashful, which always led me to love the
shade and retirement, I then began to seek some secluded corner where I might be
withdrawn from public view; but so far from being able to accomplish the object of my
desire, all my retreats were like public schools. In short, whilst my one great object was to
live in seclusion without being known, God so led me through different turnings and
changes, that he never permitted me to rest in any place, until, inspite of my natural
disposition, he brought me forth to public notice.3
Some may think it strange that if Calvin wanted to be left alone to study, he should be publishing books
during this period. But political events forced his hand, and he did try to conceal his authorship by living
under an assumed name.4
Still hoping to live a life of scholarly retirement, Calvin set out for Strasbourg, where the Protestant
government would afford him the peace to pursue his scholarly labors. Because of the fighting between
France and the Empire he had to take a detour through Geneva. He planned to stay there only one night, but
his friend, William Farel, found him at an inn and urged him to help reform the Genevan church. When Calvin
demurred, "finding that he gained nothing by entreaties, Farel proceeded to utter an imprecation that God
1
2
3
4
Commentary on the Psalms, Preface.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
would curse my retirement, and the tranquility of the studies which I sought, if I should withdraw and refuse
to give assistance, when the necessity was so urgent."5 This curse from Farel so terrified Calvin that he set
aside his plans and located in Geneva. Apart from a three-year exile, he remained in that city for the rest of his
life. When he died he was buried in the common cemetery in an unmarked grave, as he had requested. Even
today, the exact spot of his burial is unknown, and the only marker is a small stone with the initials J. C. in the
midst of the graveyard.
Having brought Calvin to his final resting place, Geneva, let's back-track and look at his effect on that
city of 12,000 people. Before we can do so, however, we need to dispel the myths about the nature and extent
of Calvin's power. Many have pictured Geneva as a theocracy with Calvin as the ecclesiastical dictator--sort of
an early Ayatollah Khomeini. This picture is false in two ways: first, Geneva wasn't a theocracy, and second,
Calvin wasn't a dictator.
Rather than being a society in which the will of a few priests is imposed on the masses of the
people--since that's what most people mean when they speak of a theocracy--Geneva was probably the
closest thing to an absolute democracy that the world had seen until that time. As in the city-state of ancient
Athens, in Geneva all power, both civil and ecclesiastical, rested in the General Council, made up of all the
voters. Since it was impractical to have all of Geneva's citizens involved in every policy deliberation, a council
of sixteen, the Ordinary Council, The Council of Sixty, and the Council of the Two Hundred were elected.6
Since 1387 the Council had been gaining power from the Roman Catholic bishop who nominally controlled
the city. By 1533, three years before Calvin arrived, the bishop had lost the last vestige of his power and had
fled the city. In his absence, the Council added control of Geneva's religious life to its civil powers. From this
time on it decided what kind of worship would be performed in the city. It also decided which ministers
would be hired, what their duties would be, what they would be paid, and how long they would serve. The
Genevan Council was determined to bring the Reformation to the city. In May of 1536, two months before
Ibid.
When it is important to differentiate among the councils I
will do so, but ordinarily I will refer to them as if they
were only one council.
5
6
Calvin arrived, the city voted unanimously "to live according to the gospel and the Word of God.”7 As Calvin
later reported:
With unanimous voice it is generally ordered, concluded, promised, and sword to God by
the elevation of hands into the air that all, unanimously, with the help of God, wish to
live in this holy evangelical law and Word of God, as it had been announced to us,
wishing to give up all Masses and other papal ceremonies and abuses, images, idols, and
all that this may involve, to live in union and obedience of justice.8
Thus Geneva was a theocracy only in the sense that its people freely voted to submit themselves to
the authority of God's Word. Everyone admitted that when it came to spelling out and enforcing the
implications of that Word, it was not the ministers, but the democratically-elected city Council that had the
last word.
Not only was Geneva not a theocracy in the sense that the word is normally used, neither was Calvin
a dictator--in any sense of the word. Calvin first came to Geneva to help Farel, who found a position for him
and paid him out of his own pocket.
Or at least that's what we assume because the Council didn't agree to
pay Calvin until he had been there for six months.
Calvin was assigned the post of "Professor of Sacred Letters»" and was not admitted to the company
of pastors until the year after he had arrived. Within a year of his appointment to the
pastorate, Calvin was fired by the Council, and ordered to leave the city.
Two and a half years later» in the fall of 1541, Calvin returned to Geneva at the urging of the Council.
It felt that the four ministers then laboring in Geneva were not up to the task of leading the city spiritually»
and the ministers themselves heartily agreed. Calvin was happy in his new position as the minister to the
French refugees in Strasbourg» and had no desire to return to the place which had treated him so badly. He
displayed that dislike of Geneva in a letter to his former Geneva colleague, Pierre Viret: “I read that passage
of your letter» certainly not without a smile, where you show so much concern about my health, and
recommend Geneva on that ground! Why could you not have said at the cross? For it would have been far
preferable to perish once for all than to be tormented again in that place of torture.”9
7
8
9
Quoted in Graham, p. 35.
Ibid.
Letters, p. 63.
Incidentally, it seems ironic that Viret should recommend that Calvin return to Geneva because it
would be good for his health. While Viret himself was a pastor there, an enemy attempted to kill him by
poisoning his food. Viret survived, but was never well again. And now he claims that Geneva is good for one's
health! One other remark now seems in order: the next time you're about to tell the Superintendent that
you're discouraged because you got a bad vote, remember what a real vote of no-confidence looks like!
Persuaded that God had called him to return to Geneva despite his own dislike for the city, Calvin
agreed to go back, but only temporarily. He retained his citizenship in Strasbourg, and left his wife and
step-daughter there. Geneva welcomed him gladly, and the Council voted him a substantial salary. It also
provided him with a home and furniture, and offered to move his family and goods to Geneva. Its intention
was to "keep Calvin always.”10
Calvin's temporary stay lasted the rest of his life, but despite the warm welcome he had been given,
the next years were filled with trouble with the Council. At one point it called him in to answer for some
letters that he had written several years previously. In these private letters Calvin had been critical of the
Council. It severely admonished him for his words, and forced him to answer point by point for what he had
written. At other times Calvin's popularity fell so low that people expressed public disrespect for him by
shortening his name to Cayn (Cain) and by naming their dogs "Calvin."11 More seriously, people
even set their dogs on him, and some shot guns around his house in an effort to intimidate him.12
Only for the last eight years of his life, from 1556 to 1564, did those who supported Calvin control the
Council. But even then he did not always get his way. He could give his opinion, and that opinion was often
asked for and always respected, but it was not always followed. The Council always jealously guarded its right
to make up its own mind. Neither in theory nor in practice did Calvin possess the kind of power wielded by
such ecclesiastical statesmen as Archbishop Laud in England or Cardinal Richelieu in France.13
I have spent such a long time dispelling the myths that Calvin was a dictator and that Geneva was a
theocracy because it is important to realize how little real political power Calvin had. Otherwise we will look
10
11
12
13
McNeill, p. 160.
Graham, p. 43.
Lettters, p. 258.
Duffield, p. 13.
at his achievements and say, "Sure, his accomplishments were great, but look how much power he was given.
Just make me the dictator and see how much good I accomplish." Let's remember that after he returned to
Geneva, Calvin's only official position was that of pastor. He held no political office, nor was he even made a
citizen until 1559. His influence in the community was only that of persuasion. He was a preacher, just like
me, just like you.
We will look at Calvin's influence on Geneva in the way the city struggled with the problems of
poverty, of labor relations, of education, and of morality.
Many people think that Calvin believed that money is a sign of election. Far from it. In fact he
explicitly condemned the idea:
It is an error which is by far too common among men, to look upon those who are
oppressed with afflictions as condemned and reprobate ... Most men, making judgments
about the favor of God from an uncertain and transitory of prosperity, applaud the rich,
and those upon whom, as they say, fortune smiles; so, on the other hand, they insult
contemptuously the wretched and miserable, and foolishly imagine that God hates them,
because he does not exercise so much forbearance toward them as he does toward the
reprobate. The error of which I speak ... is one which has prevailed in all ages of the
world.14
What Calvin taught is that both wealth and poverty come from God.
He uses each to test people's souls, and
few rich men pass the test.15
Calvin believed that those who have money should use it for the benefit of the poor:
“Let those,
then, that have riches, whether they have been left by inheritance, or procured by industry and efforts,
consider that their abundance was not intended to be laid out in intemperance or excess, but in relieving the
necessities of the brethren.”16
Giving must not be limited to what one can easily spare--in fact Calvin said that if your income doesn't meet
the needs of the poor around you, then you must sell your lands or liquidate your capital to meet their
needs.17 Not only is it the job of the rich to help the poor, the government must also help according to Calvin.
In the Institutes he said that the state must "enable men to breathe, eat, drink, and be warmed.”18
Commentary on Ps. 41:1, quoted in Graham, p. 66.
Sermon on Deut 15, and Commentary on Lk 16:14, quoted in
Graham, p. 67.
16 Commentary on 2 Cor 8:15, quoted in Graham, p. 68.
17 Commentary on Matt 6:19-20, quoted in Graham, p. 69.
18 Institutes, IV, XX, 3.
14
15
In Geneva Calvin's concern for the poor was institutionalized in two ways: through the deacons and
through the sumptuary laws. The office of deacon was established in the Ecclesiastical Ordinances drafted by
Calvin and enacted by the Council. It was the duty of the deacon "to watch diligently that the public hospital is
well maintained, and that this be so both for the sick and the old people unable to work, widowed women,
orphaned children and other poor creatures."19 The ministers were also required to inform the Council of
anyone in need, so that it could care for him. Three sources of income were given to the deacons: money
voted by the Council, revenue from fines, and private charity.
The other attempt to help the poor was the sumptuary laws. In 1558 the Council ordered the
ministers to "find some good means of stopping such superfluities which engender many evils and nourish
gluttonous pride, then bring poverty, high cost of living, and are the cause of the destruction of many." 20
These laws regulated dress and food, and prohibited such outrages as banquets of more than three courses
and courses of more than four dishes. It is generally agreed that while the intention of these laws may have
been commendable, they were not effective.
This concern for the poor in Geneva stands in marked contrast to the treatment of the poor in France.
There the unemployed were chained two by two and forced to labor on public work projects. Those who
refused were whipped or imprisoned.21
Another area in which Calvin influenced Geneva was that of labor relations. The rise of the printing
industry had created the division of labor and management for the first time in a technical industry. The
Geneva Council, at the instigation of Calvin, took action to see that neither group exploited the other. It
prohibited masters from agreeing to limit wages, and it forbad it forbad journeymen to organize to raise
wages. No journeyman could be fired until he had completed the agreed-upon work, but neither could he quit
until the job was done. Masters were required to train apprentices so that they could become journeymen,
and all contracts had to be in writing in order to avoid disputes. Days lost from work had to be paid for by the
offending party; if a master's mistake shut down the shop, he had to pay the workers anyway. But if a
journeyman missed work without a good reason, he would be responsible for the loss. Every Sunday and
every other Wednesday were days-off.
19
20
21
Reid, p. 65.
Quoted in Graham, p. 110.
Graham, p. 98.
These regulations were fair and even handed. They stand in marked
contrast to the laws enacted in France which consistently favored the masters at the expense of the
workers.22
Education was an area which concerned Calvin greatly. Under Farel's influence the Council
established compulsory, free, public education. Under Calvin this rule was extended to the near-by villages,
and those who did not send their children were fined. Seemingly no matter concerning education was too
small to escape Calvin's notice. In 1551 he came to the Council with the complaint that a student was shooting
a peashooter in school. The Council solemnly prohibited such activity.
The crown of Geneva's educational system was the College of Geneva, established in 1559. There the
scholars would receive a Christian humanist education at public expense. Some of the leading lights of the
French Reformation came to teach in it, and its numbers were swelled with refugees from persecution. In
1564 it had 1,200 students.23
It is in the area of morals that Calvin's influence is most notorious. Many think that he is the origin of
the "Blue Laws."
Like most other bits of common knowledge about Calvin, this one is wrong too. Most
sixteenth-century states made laws about every aspect of life, the difference between them and Geneva is
that, in Geneva, they were enforced.
And to the credit of Geneva, they were enforced impartially. More than
one city souncillor spent time in jail for having broken the laws that he himself had passed. What is less
commendable is that in Geneva those who were supposed to admonish the wayward sometimes became a
little over-zealous about their tasks. One Jean Guidon, who was brought before the Consistory for making a
rukus in his house complained, "it is neither fair nor honest to go along the rooftops in order to see what
people are doing,. If he had had a crossbow or a blowgun he would have dishodged those so well informed
about what goes on in his house."24
What Calvin was trying to achieve in the area of morals was a city that was as pure as a church ought
to be. Remember that all the citizens had chosen to be governed by the Word of God and that every citizen
was a member of the church. To keep that church pure Calvin instituted the order of elders in his
Ecclesiastical Ordinances. These elders would be twelve Councillors whose job it would be to "keep an eye on
22
23
24
For this whole section see Graham, pp. 133-144.
For this section see Graham, pp. 145-151.
Quoted in Graham, p. 165.
everybody." They had no power to do anything but admonish, and the only punishment they could assign was
excommunication. The Council retained the rights to all temporal punishment.25 This system was designed to
maintain church discipline, but it led to some obvious abuses.
Let's conclude our thoughts on Calvin by examining six ways in which he can be a model for us as we
hope to reform our society. First, I believe that Calvin is an illustration of the power of preaching. The reforms
that Farel and he brought about in Geneva were effected only by the sword of the Spirit. True, the sword the
magistrate backed up those reforms, but only preaching and personal persuasion convinced the magistrates
to endorse the reforms. Of course God used social, political, and economic factors to persuade Geneva to
embrace the Reformation, but these factors were present elsewhere and no Reformation occurred know that
we may preach like Calvin and not see any reformation. What I am saying is that we\see any reformation if
we don't preach like Calvin.
Second, we see in Calvin an attempt to apply the Gospel to the whole of life. While he could write
great theology, he could also apply that theology to the problems of printers. He was not just concerned with
the personal problems of printers either. He tried to apply God's Law to social problems. We may not always
agree with the way which he applied it, but we must commend and emulate his effort to do so.
Third, Calvin is an example in his concern for economic justice, and in his efforts to help the poor.
Unlike many who claim to preach the evangelical faith today, he thundered against the rich for their misuses
of money. We Free Methodists are still poor enough to escape the "gospel of wealth" that is so often preached
on TV, but given the upward mobility of our people, we may not have much time. We must increase our
personal giving to the poor, and must identify and fight against the sources of economic injustice.
Fourth, I believe that we should emulate Calvin's reticence to make himself famous. The cult of
personality may lead to big churches and big bucks, but it also leads to big egos and big sins. Calvin always
saw himself dwarfed by the great sovereign God. Meditating on Calvin's God can have a beneficial effect on
our inflated views of ourselves.
Fifth, Calvin's less than spectacular success with all the petty rules and regulations that he tried to
enforce in Geneva
25Reid,
pp,63-72.
can be a warning to us. We need to apply the Gospel to the whole of life, but we also need to remember that
only the Biblical principles, not our applications of them, are infallible. We need to be firm where the
Scripture is clear. But where it isn't, we must be flexible. For instance, there is no question that the Bible
prohibits fornication. We can't compromise on that. But to build a fence around the law, and to prohibit
dancing, as Calvin did, is going beyond the Bible's mandate.
Finally, we ought to emulate Calvin's emphasis on a pure church. In this area our task is much easier
than his. We don't have to change the whole town right away. We can begin with our own lives, and then
move to our congregations. God wants all scandals removed from his church, and he has given us church
discipline as the means of doing it. Calvin's elders were quick to admonish the believers. Should we be lax in
that unpleasant task? How many big sins could be nipped in the bud if we watched over each other in love, as
Calvin tr1ed to do in Geneva? How much greater an impact could we make on the world if we were stricter
with ourselves, and more lenient with them? Interestingly, in Geneva, the group that was under the strictest
scrutiny was the ministers. They met each week to check up on each other's doctrine, and quarterly to
examine one another's behavior.
But now I've left preaching and gone to meddlin'.
Bibliography
Primary sources:
John Calvin.
Commentaries. Grand Rapids: Associated
Publishers and Authors, no date.
Institutes. Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers
and Authors, no date.
Letters. Selected from the Bonnet Edition.
Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1980.
Theological Treatises. Ed. by J. K. S. Reid.
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954.
Secondary sources
Ford Battles
The Piety of John Calvin. Grand Rapids: Baker
Book Hook, 1978
G. E. Duffield
John Calvin: A Collection of Essays. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966.
J. McNeill
The History and Character of Calvinism.
London: Oxford University Press, 1954.
W. Walker
John Calvin. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons,
F. Wendel
Calvin. London: William Collins Sons, 1963.