Reformed Pub discussion

February is for book 2! As before, here's a place to post quotes, questions, or comments about this book.

I'm interested in an entire book focused on the work of Christ. Should be very interesting!

he who is most deeply abased and alarmed, by the consciousness of his disgrace, nakedness, want, and misery, has made the greatest progress in the knowledge of himself- chapter 2 book 2

Self knowledge, such a beautiful thing. Know Thyself! Calvin writes that we only make strides in this when we find it in God Himself. Consider Kierkegaard's conception of sin as despair until one finds the self in God, absolute relation to the infinite vis-a-vis the subject. Calvin splits knowledge twain, namely, knowledge of spiritual, and knowledge of corporeal things. He says sure, we can advance in knowledge to an extant (science, astronomy, etc.), but will never be able to advance in spiritual knowledge with revelation. He discusses Plato, and while he was insightful and the closest thing we have to truth from a pagan philosopher, he was still wholly off the mark. What does this say to us about natural theology in light of classical apologists or evidentialists? Calvin is borderline fideism, although he still stresses God's order and natural display thoroughly, and we should be comfortable to sit in this camp firmly.

Calvin draws the analogy of lightning flashes of the natural man understanding the things of God. They might be an explosion that lights of the sky tickling the fancy of the natural man, but as soon as the light is there it is gone, leaving the natural man startled, dazed, confused yet dazzled.

Brilliant, no?

Brilliant, indeed.