Augustine

A Question of Hermeneutics from Two Theological Giants (Part 3)

Submitted by Benjamin on Mon, 05/23/2016 - 17:41
Calvin, with his humanist background, was convinced that “the understanding of an ancient text depended in the first instance on the mastery of the language in which it was written” (Steinmetz, 288). This belief was not just an idle claim for Calvin. It impacted how he read and taught from Scripture so that he would even bring the Hebrew and Greek texts with him to the pulpit and translate as he preached (Ibid.).

A Question of Hermeneutics from Two Theological Giants (Part 2)

Submitted by Benjamin on Mon, 05/23/2016 - 17:38
Calvin believed that God’s communication in Scripture was clear and understandable. He argued that God had revealed Himself through the written word of Scripture because man in his sinfulness was too dull to perceive or understand God through creation. Because of this, he compared Scripture to a pair of glasses that takes our confused vision and shows us with clarity the radiant glories of God (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 70).

A Question of Hermeneutics from Two Theological Giants (Part 1)

Submitted by Benjamin on Fri, 05/13/2016 - 20:40

John Calvin and Augustine of Hippo were both great theologians of their day. But though separated by hundreds of years, they often proved to be doctrinal allies during the Reformation. After Calvin’s initial exposure to Augustine during his time at the College de Montaigu, he came to have a great respect for the theologian of Hippo. Calvin would later quote extensively from Augustine in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. However, though often doctrinally in agreement, their views came into sharp conflict when it came to how to interpret the Scriptures.

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