Calvin’s Theodicy and the Hiddenness of God: Calvin’s Sermons on the Book of Job

Description

Calvin’s Theodicy has been substantially ignored or simply negated until now on the assumption that the issues raised by the modern problem of evil and Calvin’s discussion of providence and evil would be different. The unspoken premise underlying this conviction is that theodicy is a modern problem, since earlier formulations in no way attempted to justify God’s actions. This book goes decisively in the opposite direction. It aims to understand the core of Calvin’s Theodicy and to demonstrate that one of the most important reasons that prompted Calvin to preach for almost 2 years 159 Sermons on the Book of Job was to «vindicate» God’s justice by demonstrating the meaningfulness of God’s activity in human life. After examining the status of the recent research on Calvin’s Theodicy, this work studies the steps that led the French reformer to his insights and the drafting of the Sermons. Further, it studies the juridical framework of Calvin’s defence of the justice of God. Finally, the author analyses the answers given by Calvin to the problem of human anguish: Why do innocent people suffer? In what way one can still believe in an Omnipotent God? Contents 11 Introduction 1 Chapter I Calvin’s Theodicy and his Sermons on Job: The State of the Research 7 1.1 Introduction: The terms of the Theodicy problem 7 1.2 The current state of interpretation on Calvin’s Theodicy 13 1.3 The current state of interpretation concerning the Sermons on Job 38 Chapter II The Origin and Development of Calvin’s Thought 51 2.1 De Clementia (1532) 51 2.2 Calvin’s conversion (1532-1534) 55 2.3 Psychopannychia (1534) 63 2.4 The Institutes of Christian Religion of 1536 67 2.5 Instruction in Faith of 1537 77 2.6 The Institutes of Christian Religion of 1539 80 2.7 Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 91 2.8 Defense for Guillaume de Fürstenberg and Défense de Guillaume Farel et de ses collègues contre les calomnies du théologastre Pierre Caroli par Nicolas Des Gallars 93 2.9 Bondage and Liberation of the Will 93 2.10 Against the fantastic and furious Sect of the Libertines 95 2.11 Calvin in the Valley of the Shadow of Death 99 2.12 Congrégation sur l’Election Éternelle 106 2.13 De Aeterna Dei Praedestinatione (1552) 108 2.14 The 159 Sermons on the Book of Job 114 2.15 Predestination consequence of Providence or Providence consequence of Predestination? 119 Chapter IIIThe juridical framework of Calvin’s Theodicy 125 3.1 Defence or Theodicy? 125 3.2 The metaphor of lawsuit 133 3.3 Calvin’s dilemma in the lawsuit between God and man 138 3.4 Calvin’s empathy with Job 158 3.5 Lawsuit against God? 167 Chapter IV Landmarks of Calvin’s Theodicy 175 4.1 God is Omnipotent and rules universe and history 175 4.2 Evil is not out of God’s control 198 4.3 God not only permits, but also ordains evil 201 4.4. Evil does not have a hypostasis 206 4.5. Suffering is real 214 4.6 God is good 221 Chapter V The “first line of Defence” of God’s Justice 225 5.1 God is not the author of evil: the distinction between the remote cause and the proximate cause 226 5.2 God is not indictable, since His intentions are always pure and holy 241 5.3 Suffering has a purpose 248 5.3.1 Suffering as punishment and sanction 248 5.3.2 Suffering as correction and admonition 257 5.3.3 Suffering as a test 263 5.3.4 Suffering as medicine 265 5.4 God converts evil to good 267 5.5 General evaluation of Calvin’s Defense of God 281 5.6 The excluded lines of Defense 284 Chapter VI The “second line of Defence” of God’s Justice:The Deus Absconditus 297 6.1 The Deus Absconditus 297 6.2 The Hiddenness of God 302 6.3 The Loci, where the Hiddenness of God can be perceived 315 6.4 Causes resulting in the Hiddenness of God 324 6.5 The double justice and the double wisdom 335 6.6 The eschatological hope 343 Bibliography 351