Calvin & The Calvinists
By Paul Helm
Banner of Truth. 84 pages. £6.95
ISBN 0 85151 750 1
This slim hardback from the Professor of History and Philosophy of Religion at King's College, London, was first published in 1982 and is controversial in the sense that it is an answer to a problematic historical/theological view, which sought to pit John Calvin against his heirs, the Puritans.
R.T. Kendall's monograph, Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649, proposed the novelty that Calvin never taught the classic third point of Calvinism, namely, definite atonement for the elect, but that this was an idea later developed by others. He also proposed that, whereas for Calvin, faith is given by God, for the Puritans from William Perkins onwards, faith is solely a matter of the human will. This is a serious charge, for Kendall's these was worked out in such a way as to accuse the Puritans of teaching (in effect) a modified form of salvation by works.
This book's careful analysis of Calvin shows conclusively that this thesis is wrong, distorting the facts of what Calvin and the mainstream of Puritans actually wrote. Though coming out of a controversy, Paul Helm's quotations and explanations from Calvin contain much that is thoughtful and heart-warming, and I can only imagine it is for this reason that the Banner of Truth have republished the book. This is not some esoteric theological backwater, but an introduction to the ocean of pastoral wisdom and help to be found in the work of the Genevan reformer.
Though perhaps still disagreeing over the details, it is pleasing to report that the two Christian protagonists from this controversy from the 1980s now appear on friendly terms, with Professor Helm speaking at RT's school of theology earlier this year.
