conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

what? there's more?

With this in mind, let us raise our hearts and minds on high, where Jesus Christ is, in the glory of his Father, and from whence we look for him at our redemption. Let us not be bemused by these earthly and corruptible elements which we see with the eye, and touch with the hand, in order to seek him there, as if he were enclosed in the bread or wine.
- 1542 Geneva Reformed Liturgy

John Calvin has yet to appear in any of my dreams. This is likely a sign of health. And yet I'm surprised. I'm used to my obsessions appearing in my dreams. Ah well. The thesis has made appearances, and that's interesting on some level. Maybe I'm more obsessed about the thesis than I am John Calvin. Who can say?

John Calvin is not a popular figure among those of us on the left edge of Christianity. He's not a pacifist. He does not believe in the separation of the church and state. In fact, he crafted a theocracy in Geneva. He's caustic in tone and almost fundamentalist in his approach to scripture. So, what is the attraction for me? Calvin is a first generation Humanist. Almost everything that underscores his theology can be put in a Humanist framework. It's really quite remarkable.

Some day I will write an article on that aspect of his thinking. Sadly, it has no place in my thesis. It's just to tangential to what I am exploring. Ah well.

Almost there.

Posted by tripp at April 1, 2008 08:32 AM