Chestertonian Calvinism | Toby Sumpter (What is “Reformed” Anyway? #2)

King's Cross Church (Moscow, ID)

Pastor Wilson has used this phrase “Chestertonian Calvinism” for a number of years to describe the flavor of Calvinism we are aiming for. It’s a riff on something C.S. Lewis once said about the Puritans: “On many questions, and specially in their view of the marriage bed, the Puritans were the indulgent party; if we may without disrespect so use the name of a great Roman Catholic, a great writer, and a great man, they were much more Chestertonian than their adversaries.”

In other words, far from the morose and harsh caricatures, the legacy of John Calvin is joy and gladness, astonishment and relief, and the early accusations were that, if anything, they were too celebratory when it came to the gifts of bed and board.

So as we go over the basics of what has come to be called “Calvinism,” we want to do so in an obedient and humble way, which is to say: the right kind of humility before these high doctrines ought to result in a robustly earthy joy.

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.
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