Was Calvin a Prophet?
This is a tricky question on which there are different opinions. But it’s an important one for understanding Calvin and the Reformation. To address it, we will consider early modern understandings of the prophet, before turning to consider Calvin himself. I will set out what I take to be persuasive arguments showing that Calvin believed himself to be a prophet like Jeremiah (Jer. 1: 10). By that I mean, he believed himself raised up by God at a time when the church was in decline, with the calling to lead it back to the right path. This meant, he believed he possessed divine authority to do this. We will consider the way this belief shaped Calvin’s self-understanding and relationships with others before examining objections to the idea of Calvin as prophet and the significance of our findings.
This is a tricky question on which there are different opinions. But it’s an important one for understanding Calvin and the Reformation. To address it, we will consider early modern understandings of the prophet, before turning to consider Calvin himself. I will set out what I take to be persuasive arguments showing that Calvin believed himself to be a prophet like Jeremiah (Jer. 1: 10). By that I mean, he believed himself raised up by God at a time when the church was in decline, with the calling to lead it back to the right path. This meant, he believed he possessed divine authority to do this. We will consider the way this belief shaped Calvin’s self-understanding and relationships with others before examining objections to the idea of Calvin as prophet and the significance of our findings.
This is a tricky question on which there are different opinions. But it’s an important one for understanding Calvin and the Reformation. To address it, we will consider early modern understandings of the prophet, before turning to consider Calvin himself. I will set out what I take to be persuasive arguments showing that Calvin believed himself to be a prophet like Jeremiah (Jer. 1: 10). By that I mean, he believed himself raised up by God at a time when the church was in decline, with the calling to lead it back to the right path. This meant, he believed he possessed divine authority to do this. We will consider the way this belief shaped Calvin’s self-understanding and relationships with others before examining objections to the idea of Calvin as prophet and the significance of our findings.