Sunday
Nov092008
Are you like Luther or Calvin in your blogging?
Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 6:28PM I got this from a sermon by Bryn MacPhail:
It has been written of the Reformer, Martin Luther, that he had such a bad temper that he once called John Calvin "a pig" and "a devil". And Calvin, understanding the need to patiently forbear in order to preserve Christian unity, replied, "Luther may call me what he will, but I will always call him a dear servant of Christ."
Anyone else have an easy time imagining Luther as a blogger?
Reader Comments (8)
That's an interesting point. Luther did some awesome things for the kingdom. But he did have some warts. Some huge warts: he was anti-Zwingli, anti-Calvin at times, and definitely anti-semitic. He was definitely a hothead. I can't throw stones at him because so am I. But I hope at least I'm not while blogging!
Calvin was Luther's junior by more than 25 years. And though I don't doubt Luther's temper (or that he would probably be have been the favourite blogger of many a Reformation-minded, testosterone-overflowing young male blog reader), I'd love to see the source for this story. It has kind of a postmodern ring to it. I'm just asking. :-) Some might ask what kind of blogger Servetus would have been. He probably would have burned out early in his blog career, however.
Bill: It's not exactly a primary source, but Spurgeon told this story in 1865: http://tinyurl.com/5esx9r" rel="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/5esx9r It would be interesting to trace the origin of the story.
Methinks Spurgeon be the author of this story as he appears to be the only source of any conversations between Luther and Calvin. It is more likely that Spurgeon conflated Luther's arguments with Zwingli (Calvin's fellow Swiss theologian) over the Lord's Supper with Luther calling Caspar Schwenckfeld a Schwein feld - a play on his name which called him a pig (literally "pig field) - also on the issue of the Lord's Supper while also saying Schwenckfeld was a "mad fool possessed by the devil." There is no indication that in his defence, Schwenkfeld responded by calling Luther "a dear servant of Christ." Rather, he suggests Luther has "forgotten the Gospel" to such an extent that he "curses those who bless him and does evil to those who love him." http://bit.ly/caspar" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/caspar Spurgeon's story is far more Christ-like even if it isn't true. I guess, Are You Luther or Schwenckfeld in your blogging? would not be as strong a blog title? (Of course, you could ask, Are you Luther or Pig Field...) Man, you gotta love the research you can do on the interwebs.
Bill: I'll have to ask Michael Haykin if this story has the ring of truth to it, or whether it sounds like a "preacher's story."
That would be cool, Triple D. I obviously need to get a life, but it was a blast doing the research. (Even if I was stupid enough to stay up until after 1:00 AM.) And please note, (so that I don't get any little boys with big boxes of matches flaming me) Spurgeon is a hero in the faith. I, in no way, want to suggest that he made this up. I've heard myself repeating stories as fact that I have heard from different preachers - only to discover much later they are mythological stories with only a small basis in fact. Storis that have been embellished over time by the different tellers.
Al has always liked Luther.
Luther's blog would have more pictures and bullet points. Calvin's would be longer on text.