Theologicalmeditations

Here are the texts:5 ‘special grace (aliquid peculiare),’6 he [Calvin] also calls it ‘special revelation (specialis illuminatio)’ and again ‘spiritual grace (singularis gratia; in 1560 he translates it more precisely as “singular grace” grâce singulière); it is the spirit of regeneration, given only to the elect.1 General grace confers the “virtues, which are by no means common...

Kathy Childress Translation: It is now clear to us what Paul means when he declares that he lived by faith. The death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ should be at the centre of our lives, for it is this which has delivered us from the pit of death. However, we must not only meditate upon the Lord Jesus Christ dying in the weakness of his flesh, but upon the fact that he ros...

Emilé Doumergue, Jean Calvin: Les hommes et les choses de son temps (Lausanne: George Bridel & Cie Editeurs, 1899–1927). Tome I (1899): IA: 1, 2, 3. Google: 1. Tome II (1902): IA: 1, 2. Tome III (1905): IA: 1, 2. Tome IV (1910): IA: 1. Google: 1. Tome V (1917): IA: 1. Google: 1. Tome VI (1926): IA: 1. Google: 1. Tome VII (1927): IA: 1. Bio: Wiki Wiki (Fr.)

PRIMARY SOURCES: In John Calvin’s Institutes, he famously said, “The decree is dreadful indeed, I confess [Lat. Decretum quidem horribile, fateor; Fr. Je confesse que ce décret nous doit épouvanter]…” Here is the Battles translation of the entire context: Again I ask: whence does it happen that Adam’s fall irremediably involved so many peoples, together with their infant offspri...

There is the further difficulty of reconciling the expressions of God’s desire for men with God’s absolute decree concerning man. It would seem clear that God wills with genuine desire when He does not will by executive purpose. This has led theologians to make use of the two terms, the decretive will and the preceptive will of God, or, His secret and His revealed will. For exam...