Why Calvin?
What does Calvin have to tell the Christian today? Why is a whole group of Christians called Calvinists? What is TULIP? What is the predestination thing anyway? What is the difference between a 4, 5, or 7 point Calvinist? When I was growing up a Calvinist was only a little better than a Satanist.
When I began studying the Bible and reading Theology I quickly become conscious that Reformation Theology presented the most clear and logical Systematic understanding of doctrine as I had ever seen. The doctrine of the sovereignty of God in particular caused me to reevaluate everything that I thought I knew about God and salvation. I read the creeds and confessions of various denominations but found the Sovereign Will of God best described by the commentaries and Theologies of the Reformers.
The LDS church does not have a systematic theology. In their view the “continuing revelation” of the “prophet” and head of the church negates the need for an orderly, logical, and coherent study of doctrine as revealed in the Scripture. Add to this the LDS belief that the “Great Apostasy” of the Church occurred quickly after Revelation 22:21 and you have a total disregard for any of the Church Fathers. This means that the Apostolic Fathers Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, and Papias have nothing to teach a Mormon. Now I believe that Scripture shows the LDS view of the “Great Apostasy” to be false:
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph 3:20-21)
The Apostle Paul is clearly telling us that Christ’s Church will be throughout all ages. As I Protestant this does not mean that the Church is always correct and faithful to our Lord. The sinfulness of man is a critical doctrine as well. I mean there is a Reformed Traditions because God gave us men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and Heinrich Bullinger looked to the Word and found problems with the Church in Rome.
I recommend Salvation Belongs to the Lord, An Introduction to Systematic Theology by John Frame. This introduction to the Reformed tradition is an excellent place to begin. Frame explains theology in the language of theologian ensuring that the layman is not constantly reaching for a dictionary. In all honestly I wish that this was the first book on religion that I had read. In this book Dr. Frame makes the following comment concerning The Institutes of the Christian Religion, “A wonderful work – scriptural, devotional, powerful, practical – the seedbed of all Reformed theology. Drink from it deeply.”
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