Article Title, Author, and Abstract for Theology Today July 2009 (66.2)
Special Issue Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of John Calvin (1509-1564)
Calvin and the Church Today: Ecclesiology as Received, Changed, and Adapted
Jane Dempsey DouglassAbstract: Calvin’s theological legacy is embraced somewhat differently by conservative-evangelical and mainstream Reformed churches today. This article identifies and illustrates themes in Calvin’s ecclesiology that have shaping influence in Reformed churches today: the church as the gift of the Holy Spirit; the necessity of the visible church; the unity of the church; human solidarity through common creation in the image of God, solidarity of Christ, the true image of God with fallen humanity, and solidarity of Christians as members of the body of Christ; the freedom of the reformed church; the church and Israel; and the reign of God. Contemporary documents used as illustrations are the Accra Declaration of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Belhar Confession from South Africa, and a poem from Argentina.
Calvin's Doctrine of the Church and “Communion Ecclesiology”: An Ecumenical Conversation
Rubén Rosario RodríguezAbstract: This essay evaluates John Calvin’s ecclesiology—especially his emphasis on plural ministries—as a model for articulating a contemporary ecumenical ecclesiology in conversation with post—Vatican II “communion ecclesiology.” Particular attention is given to the contributions of Latin American and U.S. Hispanic theologians whose liberating vision of church seeks to embody the very qualities Calvin affirmed in his doctrine of the church: a rejection of rigid hierarchical governance and an emphasis on God’s grace as the very foundation of human community.
How Collegial Can They Be? Church Offices in the Korean Presbyterian Churches
Jung-Sook LeeAbstract: Calvin’s fourfold office in Geneva was designed to fulfill the goals of church ministry, namely, education and discipline, in order to help Church and Christians to bear their distinctive marks. It worked within four organizations in Geneva and represented a collaborative ministry of pastor and laity which demonstrated, to a great extent, parity and collegiality among offices. It is widely observed that Korean Presbyterian churches lack sense of parity and collegiality among offices, particularly between elders and pastors. Since hierarchical view instead of collegial, of church offices is main cause of problem, it is necessary and edifying to reflect and learn Calvin’ theology and practice how collegiality was promoted in Geneva for the health of Korean Presbyterian churches.
Calvinism and Taiwan
Cheng Yang-EnAbstract: How has Calvinism been at work in the island state of Taiwan over the last four centuries? Does the extension of “international Calvinism” to a remote corner of Asia yield new forms of expression? This article aims to describe and analyze four paradigms of the Calvinist presence and manifestation, embodied in the work of the Dutch Reformed Church, the British and Canadian missions, and the indigenous Presbyterian Church in Taiwan during the successive rules of the Dutch, the late Ching Dynasty of China, the Japanese, and the Nationalist regimes. Over time, the Calvinist tradition has displayed enduring witness as well as nuanced adaptation in the various yet challenging contexts of early modern colonialism, paternal modernization, wartime trials, and indigenous democratization in Taiwan.
The Church: One and Holy
James C. Goodloe IVAbstract: In chapter 1, book 4, of Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin sets forth the unity of the true church, from which we must not separate ourselves. In chapter 2 he compares this true church with the false one, from which we must separate ourselves. The church one and holy needs yet today to hear both of these together. Moreover, today’s denominations function as provincial churches governed by provincial councils, as depicted in chapter 9. Finally, threats to church constitutions, which provide for worship, order, and discipline, threaten the existence of the church, as shown in chapter 10.
Unintended Consequences: Schism and Calvin’s Ecclesiology
Michael JinkinsAbstract: John Calvin believed schism was a sin. But however deeply he deplored schism, and however eloquently and judiciously he defined the Protestant movement as a necessary reformation of the church to its primitive faithfulness, nevertheless the spirit of schism has remained an unhappy legacy in the movement that shares Calvin’s name and theology. This essay explores what schism means and what it does not mean, the ways in which Calvin’s theology and several other factors contributed to schism in the Reformed movement, and how Calvin’s soteriology may be able to provide a safeguard against schism that Calvin’s ecclesiology could not.