As we celebrate Independence Day, and the liberty Americans enjoy (and too often take for granted), we would do well to consider the spiritual roots -- more specifically, the biblical Christian roots -- of our freedom.
Toward that end, I recommend three articles in the last issue of World Magazine that underscore the connection between faith and freedom. Two of them especially point out our debt to theologian John Calvin, whose 500th birthday comes just a few days after the 4th of July, on July 10th.
If you're not already a World subscriber, the following links will give you the first couple of paragraphs of each article and an offer for a 1-month trial subscription to see the rest... well worth the $5 price.
America's debt to John Calvin
The personal pervasiveness of God's sovereignty - by John Piper
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15567
Liberty's champion
On his 500th birthday, two cheers for John Calvin - by Marvin Olasky
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15552
Cut to common cloth
America was shaped for sinners, not saints - by Mindy Belz
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15547
3 comments:
I would argue for your readers to do real research on John Calvin.
There are hard core Christains out there that would despute your praising and worshiping the man.
http://www.biblestudying.net/johncalvin.html
Do your research on this....
On October 27, 1553 John Calvin, the founder of Calvinism, had Michael Servetus, the Spanish physician, burned at the stake just outside of Geneva for his doctrinal heresies.
After he slowly tourtured Servetus to death this is what he had to say about it.
Here is what John Calvin had to say about Michael Servetus after he was burned to death:
"Many people have accused me of such ferocious cruelty that(they allege) I would like to kill again the man I have destroyed. Not only am I indifferent to their comments, but I rejoice in the fact that they spit in my face."
"Whoever shall now contend that it is unjust to put heretics and blasphemers to death will knowingly and willingly incur their very guilt."
Please tell me how you can support this?
Do you endorse this sort of thinking?
Does the MFC endorse people that have burnt people at the stake for disagree'ing with their opions on faith? Is the thinking of violence, and colonization the birth to the faith of the religion that the MFC follows? For that is what Calvin promoted.
The founding fathers did not mention God in the Constitution, and the faithful often regarded our early presidents as insufficiently pious.
George Washington was a nominal Anglican who rarely stayed for Communion.
John Adams was a Unitarian, which Trinitarians abhorred as heresy. Thomas Jefferson, denounced as an atheist, was actually a deist who detested organized religion and who produced an expurgated version of the New Testament with the miracles eliminated. Jefferson and James Madison, a nominal Episcopalian, were the architects of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. James Monroe was another Virginia Episcopalian. John Quincy Adams was another Massachusetts Unitarian.
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