Ward Holder (Saint Anselm College)

Tradition and Religious Authority: Framing the Reformation

Co-sponsored by the Stanford Religious Studies and History Departments. 

Response by Joe Amato. 

John Calvin is frequently viewed as the “Protestant’s Protestant,” who structured his thought and the religious discipline in Geneva upon the scriptures. But is that actually the case? Calvin’s attempt to maintain a position within the broad stream of Christian orthodoxy constrained him in several ways to conserve a functional traditionalism in his thought, and in the church order he helped to create in Geneva. Calvin’s theology, instead of being founded on the scripture alone, frequently depended upon theological resources that could not be generated from the Bible. Further, he eagerly attacked any opponent who would seek to use the theological or ecclesiastical tradition against him, seeking to deny its witness to any foe. This paper argues that Calvin mistook a relative difference for one that was absolute, and believed that he was only depending upon the scriptures. But his belief has been taken up by modern historiography, leaving a significant set of issues for modern analysts.