{"id":32708,"date":"2019-05-09T11:07:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T15:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=32708"},"modified":"2019-05-09T11:07:41","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T15:07:41","slug":"calvins-self-contradictory-trashing-of-monasticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/05\/calvins-self-contradictory-trashing-of-monasticism.html","title":{"rendered":"Calvin’s Self-Contradictory Trashing of Monasticism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

I only wished to show, by the way, what kind of monks the early Church had, and what the monastic profession then was, that from the contrast sound readers might judge how great the effrontery is of those who allege antiquity in support of present monkism. Augustine, while tracing out a holy and legitimate monasticism, . . . (Institutes of the Christian Religion<\/em>, Book IV, 13:10)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Observe how Calvin described ancient monasticism as \u201choly and legitimate.\u201d Why, then, doesn\u2019t he advocate its continuance in his time, if it was such a holy, good thing? He roundly refutes his own point of view by (on the one hand) granting that the thing was once holy, and (on the other hand) denying any possibility of, therefore, reforming it and getting it back to the place where it once was.<\/p>\n

He despairs; he lacks hope and faith that the Church can bring this about by God\u2019s grace. It\u2019s an essentially cynical, pessimistic outlook; most contrary to New Testament injunctions of idealistic optimism in the Holy Spirit. The early Protestants loved to call themselves \u201creformers\u201d (and they are called that to this day), yet what they usually advocated was the furthest thing from \u201creform\u201d \u2014 by any reasonable definition of the term.<\/p>\n

Calvin rightly condemns the real sins of the monks and priests of his time, but the reader must remember the sleight-of-hand employed. A large part of what was the entire picture of the early Church \u201choly\u201d monks were those \u201cCatholic\u201d practices which Calvin condemns. But Calvin seems unable or unwilling to note the striking self-contradiction.<\/p>\n

If Calvin grants that the ancient monks were more holy (which was in all likelihood the case, in contrast to the corrupt, decadent period of the 16th century, with personal sin among priests and religious sadly rampant), then it is quite obvious that the answer to the current problem is to find a way to get the current clergy and religious reformed, so that they are like their ancient forebears, whom even Calvin admires and offers as a contrast. This was the solution of the Catholic Reformation later in the 16th century, with the Council of Trent and other reforms, but not of the Protestant Revolution.<\/p>\n

The answer is clearly not to get rid of the categories of priest and nuns and monks altogether. If the categories are essentially wrong and wicked and unnecessary and unbiblical, etc., then they were just as wrong in the 4th and 5th centuries as they were in the 16th (from a Protestant revolutionary perspective). Therefore, Calvin couldn\u2019t have reasoned by way of contrasting the older examples with the newer ones. But Calvin doesn\u2019t reason that way. It would be too logically consistent for his taste. Rather, he argues in the following altogether ridiculous fashion:<\/p>\n

1) The old priests and monks and nuns were holy and pious; good folk.<\/p>\n

2) Today, the same classes are thoroughly corrupt.<\/p>\n

3) Therefore, there is no hope, and we must abolish all three classes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This doesn\u2019t even get into the accompanying ludicrous notions of the Mass being blasphemous, abominable, idolatrous, and so forth; yet the very same Mass with the same beliefs, as celebrated by the ancients, somehow doesn\u2019t make them culpable of the same wickedness that Calvin accuses Catholics in his time of committing every time they go to church. We see contradiction and unfathomable self-contradiction at every turn when closely examining Calvin\u2019s and other Protestant originators\u2019 worldviews.<\/p>\n

What in the world is wrong with separation for the right reasons? One could have a ministry of prayer, which is a non-social thing in and of itself. John the Baptist separated himself. The prophets were usually isolated figures, by the nature of their function. Jesus went away to be by Himself during times of prayer. He fasted 40 days and nights by Himself before He began His public ministry. Again, we observe the rigid legalism and inability to allow different gifts to be exercised in the Church. It\u2019s Calvin\u2019s way or the highway.<\/p>\n

I would say that the principles are eternal and grounded in Scripture and sacred tradition. What we need to reject is secularism, not monasticism. We need to be more like the Bible and the Church, than the world, which will never ever understand monasticism and the evangelical counsels. Even many Protestants (including John Calvin) don\u2019t get it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Related Reading:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Monasticism Defended<\/a>\u00a0from Scripture and Reason<\/a>\u00a0[1997]<\/p>\n

Unbiblical Opposition to Priest\u2019s Vows (vs. Calvin #32)<\/a>\u00a0[9-21-09]<\/p>\n

Evangelical Counsels & Monasticism (vs. Calvin #33)<\/a>\u00a0[9-22-09]<\/p>\n

Tonsure, Holy Oil, and \u201cJudaizing\u201d? (vs. Calvin #54)<\/a>\u00a0[12-22-09]<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

(originally 1-26-19 on Facebook)<\/p>\n

Photo credit:<\/span><\/strong> [Max Pixel<\/a> \/ CCO public domain]<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I only wished to show, by the way, what kind of monks the early Church had, and what the monastic profession then was, that from the contrast sound readers might judge how great the effrontery is of those who allege antiquity in support of present monkism. Augustine, while tracing out a holy and legitimate monasticism, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":32714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,37],"tags":[1898,2107,8615,8612,4326,7561,342,2355,7564,7546,4991,4994,4997,7540,200,7549,7543,7555,7558,7537],"class_list":["post-32708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-ecclesiology","category-john-calvin","tag-abstinence","tag-asceticism","tag-calvin-monasticism","tag-calvin-monks","tag-evangelical-counsels","tag-heroic-renunciation","tag-institutes-of-the-christian-religion","tag-john-calvin","tag-monasteries","tag-monastic-vows","tag-monasticism","tag-monks","tag-nuns","tag-oaths","tag-penance","tag-priestly-vows","tag-promises","tag-solemn-proclamations","tag-swore-an-oath","tag-vows"],"yoast_head":"\nCalvin's Self-Contradictory Trashing of Monasticism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Calvin described ancient monasticism as "holy and legitimate." So, why not advocate its continuance in his time, if it was such a holy, good thing? He refutes his own point of view.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/05\/calvins-self-contradictory-trashing-of-monasticism.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Calvin's Self-Contradictory Trashing of Monasticism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Calvin described ancient monasticism as "holy and legitimate." So, why not advocate its continuance in his time, if it was such a holy, good thing? 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Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. 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