Let Not Geneva Be Forgotten

From The Christian Reader:

Let Not Geneva Be Forgotten


by Eric Rauch



During its six-year time-span from 1643-1649, the Westminster Assembly produced five major documents of the Protestant church: the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Book of Church Order, and the Directory of Public Worship. While these documents still form the basis and standards of most Presbyterian churches around the world, few modern Christians—let alone Presbyterians—ever bother to read and study them. This is unfortunate because the Westminster Assembly understood that the Christian faith is a covenantal and communal faith. They understood that it was necessary for each generation to pass the faith on to their children and grandchildren in a systematic way. To this end, the Assembly created the Shorter Catechism for children and new converts, and the Larger Catechism for those who were more advanced in their understanding. It should speak volumes about modern Christianity that we have all but forgotten the Larger Catechism and use the Shorter Catechism—if we use it all—to train seminary students.



2009 was an interesting year of contrasts. First, it marked the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important figures of the Protestant Reformation: John Calvin. Second, it marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the most revered figures of humanism: Charles Darwin. Third, it marked the 150th anniversary of the publication of the bible of humanism: Darwin’s Origin of the Species. These two men, although separated by 300 years, have done more to influence Western culture and civilization than any other two individuals could ever dream of doing. While their writings were and remain influential, it is their polar opposite philosophies of life that form the basis of the tension between their beliefs. Calvin adhered to a theocentric, or God-centered worldview, while Darwin held to an anthropocentric, or man-centered, worldview. It is this very antithesis—which Augustine referred to as the city of God and the city of man—that forms the basis of all disagreement between individuals in this world. The presuppositional conflict between covenant-keepers and covenant-breakers is what directs the path of the human traveler in this world—either towards God or away from Him.





Get "John Calvin" from the Bookstore

Any movement, or reform effort, must always keep one eye on the present and one eye on the future. The Westminster Assembly certainly understood this. By creating the Shorter Catechism as a vehicle to train and focus the mind of young covenant-keepers on God, the Westminster divines were expressing their concern for the future of the city of God. When Darwin wrote his book, he too was expressing a concern for the future. Although he could never have anticipated the legacy that he would ultimately leave behind, his writings have given men the intellectual capital to live their lives as though God has no say in the matter. As Richard Dawkins has famously stated it: “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.” [1] In other words, Darwin’s theory made it possible to cut God out of the picture—something that man had been seeking to do since the Fall—with an air of academic respectability.



Darwin’s influence on the city of man is prevalent almost everywhere, but maybe most insidiously on page after page of books written for children. This is why I was so encouraged to see a new book appear on my desk by Simonetta Carr, a biography of John Calvin for children. While most children’s books written from a Christian perspective are nothing more than moralistic tales and a promise that God is watching over them, Carr takes children seriously, giving them a story to not only entertain them, but to challenge and educate them. This becomes evident in the very first pages of the book where the reader finds a Table of Contents—rather than the first page of the story—immediately following the title page. Carr is giving her young readers a real book, not just a bedtime story.



John Calvin is beautifully, yet simply, illustrated with the artwork of Emanuele Taglietti. It also includes maps, photographs, and sketches that help to add depth to the story. A timeline and interesting historical facts are also included at the back of the book to reinforce to the child (and the parent) that the story contained on the previous pages is a true one. Calvin believed the biblical principle that God was sovereign and man was dependent upon Him. Calvin’s daily life and work flowed out of the conviction that God was in control, providing the perfect antidote to the man-centered teaching that dominates most children’s literature.



The book concludes with a statement from American founding father John Adams, who perceptively said, “Let not Geneva be forgotten or despised. Religious liberty owes it most respect.” This single statement makes the point that the influence of Calvin went far beyond the Reformation and far beyond Europe. Christianity in general owes a great debt to John Calvin. The Westminster Assembly probably would never have been convened without the work, study, and prayers of John Calvin. America itself was birthed from Reformational principles that were expounded from the pages of Scripture and preserved by Calvin’s pen. Once you finish reading John Calvin with your children, they will be ready for the first question of the Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man?” Answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever.” Once they get this answer straight, the wisdom of the city of man will be exposed for the foolishness that it really is.



Notes:

[1] Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker (New York: W.W. Norton, 1986), 6.