John Calvin

What is it about?

While theology of religions has only relatively recently become a specialised area of theological enquiry, the Church has always had its views on what religions are, why they exist and what God is or is not doing in or through them. While many in the Early Church considered the role of demons to be a critical reason for non-Christian religion, the idea of demonic involvement was counterbalanced, to a greater or lesser extent, by an appeal to Logos enlightenment, and also the theft of Hebrew truth by Greek philosophers, to account for the more positive elements within non-Christian thought. Although John Calvin did not develop a theology of religions, his thought on the three subjects, previously noted, can be discovered when his body of works are consulted. Vis a vis the early and medieval Church, Calvin departed in a number of ways from earlier theological explanations of religions and he developed his own understanding, reflecting his wider theological views, and no doubt his views about the Roman Catholic Church of his time. While the Reformed Church has not shown much interest in developing a theology of religions, I suggest that Calvin’s legacy on this subject is an important one to uncover, and consider, given contemporary developments in Christian theology of religions today.

Featured Image