Reason Within The Limits Of Revelation Alone: John Calvin’s Understanding Of Human Reason -- By: Barry G. Waugh

Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 72:1 (Spring 2010)
Article: Reason Within The Limits Of Revelation Alone: John Calvin’s Understanding Of Human Reason
Author: Barry G. Waugh


Reason Within The Limits Of Revelation Alone:
John Calvin’s Understanding Of Human Reason

Barry G. Waugh

In honor of the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Calvin in 1509, the author dedicates this article to the Calvinists who taught him church history—D. Clair Davis, who kept him in stitches as he learned from the past; William S. Barker, who taught him the importance of dates and precision; W. Robert Godfrey, whose Reformation history class was simply wonderful; Darryl G. Hart, who taught him the importance of reading, reading, and more reading; and Peter A. Lillback, who taught him the significance of general history for historical and theological studies. May they all continue to teach and encourage church history students for years to come.

Barry Waugh, who holds a Ph.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary, lives with his family in Greenville, S. C, where he studies and writes about church history.

I. Introduction

The question of Calvin’s view of human reason is important because some scholars, such as William J. Bouwsma, have interpreted him as a Renaissance humanist exalting the natural ability of man’s reason. Bouwsma portrays the Genevan as a disenchanted person who found philosophy a labyrinth that did not satisfy his quest for knowledge, so he turned to Renaissance humanism and its exalted view of reason.1 Quirinius Breen, more than sixty years before Bouwsma, described the Genevan as “a seasoned humanist,” based on his use of humanist methodology in his commentary on Seneca’s De dementia.2 Francois Wendel interpreted Calvin as teaching that reason is a fallen faculty that cannot govern human knowledge under its own power; Christian philosophy demands that reason must give place to and be governed by the Holy Spirit.3 David Steinmetz’s more recent perspective presents the Genevan as teaching that fallen man’s reason is inadequate for perceiving the revelation of God in nature, but faith corrects this “blindness,” enabling reason to reclaim creation as a reliable

source for the knowledge of God.4 Another perspective is provided by Leroy Nixon’s early 1960s observation that Calvin was responding to Aristotle’s philosophy and its exalted understanding of human reason, which was causing controversy at the College de Montaigu when Calvin was there from 1524 to 1527. Nixon concluded that Calvin viewed reason as subservient to divine revelation.5...

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