Since this is the 500th birthday of John Calvin, I thought a great “present” would be to put to an end (at least for a day) all of those nasty rumors and myths about the man. While Calvin had to his failings (as do even the greatest of mortal men) and continues to be controversial (but again, what great historical personalities are not?), much of what circulates about him is simple falsehood, conceived in maliciousness and spread through ignorance.
This article lists seven myths about Calvin. I list each of them (remember: these are myths) here:
- Calvin ruled Geneva as a theocracy.
- Calvin believed goodness was alien to human nature.
- Calvin was an unforgiving disciplinarian.
- Calvin was obsessed with personal morality.
- Calvin was a champion of self-denial.
- Calvin was the spiritual father of capitalism.
- Calvin was the source of a debilitating work ethic.
In order to make a nice, even ten, I am listing three others:
Myth Eight: Calvin was a cold, heartless. ruthless fanatic. I blogged about this here.
Myth Nine: Calvin was a vindictive tyrant who had Michael Servetus burned at the stake. This one gets so much play that it should wind up on Snopes one of these days (I checked; it hasn’t — yet). Suffice it to say that this one is chock full of plenty of historical errors. Yes, Michael Servetus was burned in the city of Geneva while Calvin was a minister in the city. That’s about where the truth ends. I blogged about this here.
Myth Ten: Calvin is no longer relevant for us today. Calvin had a huge influence upon the world, even if that is not always seen or understood. At the very least, he had a huge influence on the founders of this country. I blogged about that recently here.
