23 The Reformers followed Augustine
The Reformers followed Augustine In his Institutes Calvin quibbled with Augustine about any number of things, but on fundamental points they were perfectly agreed. If there is anyone who might imagine there is any real difference between the two, it is easy enough to settle the question. It will take some time-there is plenty to read-but the answer is readily available. His Institutes of the Christian Religion is still in print; it runs to 1200 pages. Augustine’s works are also available. The Institutes are poorly indexed, but the works of Augustine are well indexed. Simply read Calvin’s comments, then go to Augustine’s index and look up Augustine’s explanation. It becomes clear beyond all question that Calvin agreed with Augustine on almost every point.
What many seem to have overlooked are those other five points, five other doctrines, that were just as firmly imbedded in their writings as the T-U-L-I-P doctrine was. Augustine borrowed those doctrines from Judaism, and they were just as essential to the system as the T-U-L-I-P doctrine ever was.
They lost two of those points (church/state union and the power of the sword) when the United States adopted the First Amendment, granting freedom of religion, and Calvinism has never been the same. Prior to the American Revolution every colony had some form of established church. The First Amendment took that away. Without church/state union, and the power of the sword, to enforce their ideas, Calvinism has never been able to hold its own.
Augustine gave the Catholic Church the T-U-L-I-P doctrines, but not long after his death, without his powerful influence, those doctrines fell by the way. During his lifetime a British monk by the name of Pelagius denied most of what Augustine taught. He taught that man is not depraved; he does not need a revelation, the light of nature is enough; he does not need a redeemer; he can save himself, and so on.
Augustine was right in his opposition to Pelagius. But the fact he was on the right side in that battle does not excuse all else he did. So long as Augustine was around, he kept Pelagius at bay. But John Chrysostom also opposed his doctrine, and after Augustine died, John Cassian, a pupil of Chrysostom, taught a kind of Semi-Pelagianism. He is usually recognized as the founder of that system. He claimed that man is depraved, but not totally. That notion carried the day; it became the doctrine of the Catholic Church, and the T-U-L-I-P doctrine largely disappeared from Catholic thought. The T-U-L-I-P doctrine went into hibernation, but Augus-tine’s other contribution, the C-A-C-I-P doctrine did not diminish in the least. It continued to be the guiding force behind the Roman Catholic Church all during the Dark Ages, and it was the real power in Protestantism until the First Amendment. The Bill of Rights did away with church/state union, and the power of the sword, and the religious world was forever changed.
If you would discover how closely John Calvin followed Augustine, you might wish to go through hisInstitutes, underscoring his various quotes. Underscore the name of the name of the source only. You will notice, first, that except for a few quotes from pagan philosophers, his quotes are always from Roman Catholic authorities.
You will also discover that he quotes Augustine twice as often as he quotes all other authorities put together.
One thousand years after Augustine, John Calvin and the other Reformers would follow precisely in his footsteps. They copied more than his doctrine. They copied his bloodthirst for preachers who would not submit to their authority. The Waldensians and Anabaptists were the successors of the Novationists and Donatists. When Calvin wrote about Anabaptists, he called themhereticsandblasphemers, dogsandfilthy dogs, swineandfilthy swine. He made no effort to conceal his bitter hatred for them, and to the limit of his ability he dealt with them the same way Augustine had dealt with the Donatists.
Those who think we criticize Calvin and the Reformers unnecessarily should put themselves in the place of the wife of some Anabaptist preacher, who stood by, watching helplessly as her husband was burned alive. She watched in horror as his skin blistered and burned, and his hair caught on fire. Imagine the feelings that must have gone through her as she wondered what would become of her and her little family. Imagine how bewildered she must have been, as she wondered how those Protestant preachers could gain such pleasure in delivering other preachers to be killed. Our Calvinist friends will continue to rewrite their own history. They will continue to cover up the cruelty of their founders. But history is too plain to be concealed. Anyone with the initiative to look at the record can learn the facts. The only difference between persecution by Catholics and persecution by Protestants was in the duration and the scope.