Am I a closet Calvinist? I did not think I would start reading Calvins Institutes. I was only kidding when I said ìn a previous post 500th Anniversary of Calvin:
Perhaps I’ll celebrate by reading a chapter from Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion? No, that’s been done before.
First indication: To my surprise I actually started reading Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. I like it but I do not think I will stop reading since I am on a roll. Yeah!
Second indication: What sort of confirmed my liking for Calvin, in a funny sort of way, was the result on a quiz Which Modern Evangelist/Theologian are You? My results are: here (John Piper). Does this mean I am a closet Calvinist? If so, do I need to come out of the closet?
Third indication: To strengthen this hunch that I might be a closet Calvinist, I also took this odd-ball of a quiz to see what my C-Factor was and I scored 83%. (HatTip: Nick Norelli)I do not give much validity to this stupid quiz. I cannot believe I scored so high…83%! This means I am too uptight. What does this mean for me? I really have to be less of a Calvinist because true Calvinist do not know how to take it easy in life. Here is the result to this test:
You are a genuine Calvinist. You have been tried and tested in Calvinism. Your attitude in live is straight and strict. You are a hard working person, who pays attention to others. However, you never show off these qualities. After all, in the eyes of God, everyone is a sinner. You know how to control your emotions, and no one can say you have an easy and luxurious way of life.
Work = 100%
Strictness: 80%
Sobriety: 60%
Relationships: 100%
Beliefs: 100%
Now you tell me if I am a closet Calvinist. If so, I might have to go and find a Calvin picture to hang in my office 😉
@ Jake, now that I understand Calvin more, I feel I'm closer to some of his theology than before. I don't think he was ever that far from Luther. The 5 points of TULIP was a tough sell but once I understood the first point of Total Depravity, the others were easy to understand.
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@Kevin Sam: but what about theologically?
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Nathan, with me, there's no stigma with Calvin. It's just that I never thought of myself as having any Calvinism in me before.
I remember many years ago, someone commented to me that I was a Calvinist. I took it to mean that I was uptight and sort took a little offense at that but now I sort of feel proud of Calvin.
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What is the stigma of sharing something with Calvin?
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I don't think there's even one degree of accuracy in this C-factor test. Scoring 83% just means I'm a little more uptight than the rest?
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it is odd, especially given that you're a Lutheran Pastor, no? I'll have to take it and see where I come out.
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