Calvinism

While Luther lit the match that started Europe on fire with the Reformation, it was John Calvin who poured out the drum of theological gasoline that lit all of Europe on fire and set the theological and governmental foundations for the American republic. Hector Falcon

John Calvin's theology is the foundation upon which Reformed covenantal theology is based. Calvin's theology provided the ideas that fueled the European Reformation after Luther provided the great biblical reset that pointed people back to the Bible for ultimate truth. While Luther's focus was primarily on the salvation and authority issues regarding the Roman Catholic church, Calvin focused more on developing the ramifications of the foundational principle of God's total sovereignty. He reasoned that since Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and earth by God, what does this mean for the life of the Christian and the world? This question refers back to the early church when Jesus gave his followers the Great Commission. Jesus stated that "all" authority in both heaven and "earth" had been given to him. He then charges his followers with that authority and commands them to go into the world and make disciples of the nations teaching them every thing he taught the disciples.

Calvin realized the revolutionary nature of the Great Commission. If Jesus was truly given all authority in both heaven and earth, then this has revolutionary ramifications for the world. Calvin's theology is based on God's sovereignty and the Kingdom of God. His theology seeks to provide the essentials of a holistic biblical worldview that addresses all facets of life. Ironically enough, the Caesar's during the era when the early church formed, understood the ramifications of what this new religion meant. There was a new sheriff in town and his name was Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. They were not going to go down without a fight for their power over the people. They made it mandatory that Christians burn incense to Caesar to prove their loyalty to the state. Those who refused to bow the knee to Caesar were to be persecuted and killed. The Caesars realized better than most Christian leaders today that the Gospel would lead to revolutionary change if it was not stopped or altered.

The reason I chose to use "biblical worldview" for the name of our institute is because of its holistic nature to address all facets of life - including the government. I believe Calvin had the right idea. When the real gospel is preached it has a revolutionary impact. This was why it was said of the early disciples "Those who have turned the world upside-down have come here also!" The Americanized gospel does not turn the world upside-down. In fact, it does not even turn heads. This is such a dramatic shift from the era of our nation's founders. The Pilgrims and Puritans were strongly influenced by Calvin's theology. They came to America not only to escape religious persecution but to also establish a nation based on a biblical covenant for their form of government. The very first government document was the Mayflower Compact. It was a form of government based on biblical Reformed covenant principles derived from Calvin's theology. The early colonial state governments followed a similar pattern and openly made reference to the Christian God.

Historians from an earlier era, who wrote before the rise of progressive revisionist history, recognized the major influence of Calvin's theology on the founding of America. In fact, even King George was aware of the role they played in the break of America from his tyrannical government.