A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
By Benjamin J. Montoya
Introduction
We have grown accustomed to people posting on social media websites and then having people respond. This practice, however, is not entirely new. Sure, the speed with which people respond now is new; we have never experienced such speedy responses in all of history. Nevertheless, the practice of back-and-forth written responses goes back thousands of years. One such dialogue is found between John Calvin, that great Reformer, and Albert Pighius. Chances are that you have may have heard of the first name but likely not the latter. Why, then, should you bother with reading this book that contains Calvin’s response to Pighius? Calvin’s magnum opus is the Institutes. This book is worthwhile because it develops his position on the doctrine of the will most clearly as he responds to the position of Pighius. Calvin’s position on the will has influenced many throughout Church History—including many modern-day theologians. Similarly, as you reflect on this matter, Calvin is certainly someone you want to converse with because of his wisdom in the Scriptures. Thus, if you want to understand this matter more fully, Calvin deserves close attention. Furthermore, our position on the doctrine of the will affects how we live our lives. We all should care about this book for so many reasons.
The format of this summary merits further explanation. Calvin responded to Pighius’s position on the will by responding in books that correspond to Pighius’s work. Pighius wrote 10 books, but Calvin only had time to respond to 6 since he had only a handful of months to do so. Each summary of each chapter will include a brief summary of what he was saying before Calvin’s response is given. Pighius had written more than Calvin responded to, but after the death of Pighius, Calvin decided not to respond more fully. But, before we begin, we need to say a few words about Pighius.
Pighius was a Roman Catholic apologist of sorts. He studied both science and theology. Because of his commitment to the Roman Catholic Church, he saw everything that they taught. Any deviation from their teaching was to be seen as heresy. Thus, when Calvin’s position was put forward, Pighius had major problems with it.
In This Book, You Will Learn:
- The arguments of Pighius against Calvin
- Calvin’s response
- Calvin’s position on the will more fully explained than anywhere else
- Why and how Scripture speaks to the issues concerning our understanding of the will
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Book 1
Pighius’s Book 1 begins in a similar way that Calvin’s Institutes begins: showing how the knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves are closely interrelated and interdependent. But, Pighius takes a much different turn in Book 2. Before he turns there, he describes an opinion which completely contradicts the goodness of God. Pighius explains that some people deny free human choice entirely, claiming that everything happens to us from the will of God. We are merely slaves doing whatever it is that God wants, for better or worse. Pighius, however, has a problem this view that he considers in Book 2. But, before we turn there, let’s consider Calvin’s response.
Calvin begins by expressing that he is unimpressed with Pighius’s position. Actually, a word like “unimpressed” is too soft for how Calvin characterizes Pighius and his position, “[He] is too stupid to recognize that [our success] is an evident and clear miracle of God’s power at which he is compelled to marvel, whether he wishes to or not.” Calvin uses some rather strong language to describe Pighius’s position, and nowhere does Calvin let up. For example, Calvin recognizes Pighius’s intellectual abilities, but Calvin calls him a “madman.” Nevertheless, he provides several clear responses to Pighius’s position.
First, Calvin explains that Pighius has misused Calvin’s Institutes. Pighius began his Book 1 the same way that Calvin opened the Institutes, with a reflection on how closely knowledge of God is with knowledge of ourselves. Pighius, however, continues to play the copycat of Calvin throughout his book, such that Pighius will often cite pages of Calvin’s work without any attribution. The larger problem with how Pighius has used Calvin’s material is to argue for Pighius’s view on freewill.
Second, Calvin argues that Pighius misunderstands Luther’s position on the will. Pighius understands Luther to say that we make free choices in name only. The only real thing we can do is sin. This understanding of Luther’s position annoys Pighius. Calvin characterizes Pighius as “singing the same old song” in regards to Luther’s position on the will. Calvin writes, “When Luther spoke in this way about good works, he was not seeking to deprive them of their praise and their reward before God.” Calvin what Luther really meant:
Yet there is nothing in those words of [Luther’s] which is not straightforwardly and unambiguously true. For since the worth of good works depends not on the act itself but on perfect love for God, a work will not be righteous and pure unless it proceeds from a perfect love for God. Now I would like you [Pighius] to find for me that much-talked-of human perfection to make me concede that there are some works which are good in themselves.
Third, Calvin charges Pighius with “dreaming to himself” that Luther and Calvin have been trying to advance the gospel with “deceit and trickery.” Calvin proves Pighius’s point to be incorrect by surveying Luther, Melanchthon, and his own teaching as contrary to what Pighius presents. Instead, Pighius tries to pit each of the Reformers against each other by claiming that they agree only in small ways. Nothing could be further from the truth. Calvin also addresses several other of Pighius’s misrepresentation of Calvin’s work throughout the chapter. For example, Pighius charges Calvin with being inconsistent in spending time teaching people about the gospel and God’s Word when Calvin claims that only the Holy Spirit grants faith. Calvin responds, “We do it because we know that it is granted only to a few to understand without human aid, while it is granted to many to believe in God through human agency. But in whatever way we proclaim the word of God to men, it is indubitable that where someone hears so as to obey, it is a gift of God.”
Book 2
In Book 2, Pighius claims that the view that there is no freedom of choice contradicts the goodness of God and implies monstrous blasphemies. Pighius thinks this view turns people into robots that make no real decisions. Pighius bases his view on that of the Catholic Church given his ties to it. He fully accepts their views and sees everything through that lens and insists that everyone else do the same. So, to that end, Pighius makes seven arguments against Calvin, to which he responds. But, these seven arguments all get at the same point.
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