I did not expect to encounter John Calvin in my journey to
understand gun violence.
Calvin was the first systematic theologian of Protestant thinking. In the 1500s, he was a university student in Paris when he came
across the radical reforming ideas of Martin Luther. Trained in the
classics and in law, he began to study Greek and the Bible. With a lawyer’s
mind, he developed an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines
of the Christian faith….i.e, a systematic theology. It was expanded and revised
several times and became a standard for Protestant and Christian thinking for
centuries. [i]
Where do I encounter Calvin in the gun violence debate? Calvin believed
that God worked through governments to bring order to society, that governments
prevent society from descending into chaos. He considered civil authorities to
be ordained by God to protect an innocent public against the terror of mob rule
or individual selfishness.[ii]
Calvin applied Biblical principles to the ordering of a civil
society. Commenting on one of the 10 Commandments, “You shall not Kill,” he wrote:
The purpose
of this commandment is, that since the Lord has bound the whole human race by a
kind of unity, the safety of all ought to be considered as entrusted to each.
In general, therefore, all violence and injustice, and every kind of harm from
which our neighbor’s body suffers is prohibited. Accordingly, we are required
faithfully to do what in us lies to defend the life of our neighbor, to promote
whatever tends to his tranquility, to be vigilant in warding off harm, and when
danger comes, to assist in removing it.[iii]
I keep re-reading
Calvin’s words. From the 16th century he articulates ideas that resonate with my grappling of the role of government and the
responsibility we Christians have for our world.
Why is this
important to me? Because trying to understand what it means to be a Christian
in the gun debate, requires critical thinking and the application of Biblical
stories and truths to our life and our life in society. Systematic theology is
a tool that can help us (Christians) form our thinking, believing and acting.
[i]
Calvin’s systematic theology is titled Institutes
of the Christian Religion
[ii] Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in
Response to God’s Call, Presbyterian Church (USA) 2011
[iii]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, Book II, Chapter VIII
