B.H. Carroll’s Pastoral Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 58, No. 2 – Spring 2016
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
By Michael Horton. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014. 272 pages. Paperback, $19.99.
In keeping with the series on the Christian Life, Michael Horton clearly articulates Calvin’s lived theology. Unlike most studies of Calvin, Horton is primarily interested in the theological piety of Calvin’s life and thought. Having said that, Calvin’s piety intersects with his theology and exegesis. Horton’s unique contribution to evangelical literature lies in his portrayal of Calvin not so much as a humanist or an intellectual, although he is both of these, but as a pastor. It is in this spirit that Horton addresses all theological issues found within the pages of Calvin on the Christian Life.
The tone of the book is practical and pastoral. Horton is careful to develop the notion of Calvin’s piety from the start, and the fact that all of Calvin’s thought and action is directed toward God. As he states, “Like any pious Augustinian, Calvin viewed every aspect of life Coram Deo, before the face of God (17).” Horton carefully and consistently leads the reader to see Calvin in this light. He does so by contextualizing Calvinian theology historically and ecclesiologically. One example is Horton’s exposition of Calvin’s doctrine of election. Therein, Horton is careful to explain that “election” is a doctrine close to the heart of the believer. The intent for discussing election is to secure and sustain the heart of the believer not to confuse or enact despair. In contrast to common caricatures, Calvin did not use the doctrine of “election” in the manner that medieval’s may have used it to punish, control, or spur on obedience in fear, instead it was used to solidify the faith of the believer that he or she is adopted as a child of God the Father.
One virtue of Calvin on the Christian Life is its comprehensive nature. Horton practically works through Calvin’s thinking on practical living (part 1), salvation (part 2), church life (part 3), and living as a citizen of the world (part 4). More specifically, Horton grounds all doctrinal and practical matters in Calvin’s epistemology and narrative of salvation. Anyone familiar with Calvin will know that what is distinctive to his epistemology is the fact that knowledge of self is always intertwined with knowledge of God (chapter 3). Furthermore, all of life is a narrative where God is the author and we are the actors living out the plot of salvation (chapter 4). Horton discusses the doctrine of Christ as mediator (chapter 5) and our union with Christ, which he explains as the foundation for our holiness in contrast to supposed medieval views that highlight Christ’s role as a human ‘exemplar’ (103–08). Horton also discusses matters of prayer (chapter 9), Calvin’s view of the Old Testament law (chapter 10), and the church (chapter 11). Finally, in the last section, Horton expounds upon Calvin’s view of the Christian as a citizen of a foreign world (chapters 12–14). What he means by this is that as Christians we exist in two different kingdoms (an Augustinian flavor) and individual Christians have a role to play in the Church as well as in society. Both realms (e.g. Church and society or empire) are ‘distinct’ yet related. Calvin rejects the medieval view that the Church should rule over society; he rejects the Anabaptist view that Christians are to live as separatists from the world; and he rejects theocracy (224). Instead, Calvin views redemption as a matter that occurs in the context of the church where preaching and the sacraments are vital for the life of the Christian. Calvin does affirm something like natural law (i.e. common grace) whereby Christians can have an active role in society by bringing their Christian views to bear on what is naturally known by all men.
The reader will find another virtue in chapter 13 on vocation. Calvin portrays the life of the believer as a pilgrim on his journey toward heaven to be with God. Along the way, he is involved in a vocation. Horton is careful to expound on the practicality of Calvin’s thinking as it pertains to the earthy spirituality of Christian thought. As pilgrims and actors in God’s world, we have been given a vocation that is meaningfully tied to the redemptive story in which we find ourselves. This is true for Calvin and his time as well as contemporary times. Calvin also teaches us how to view all of mundane life as spiritual. In contrast to some views where “common” vocations are construed as inferior to the “ministry,” Calvin shows us that all vocations are infused with spirituality.
A couple of general remarks are in order. First, one of the benefits of Horton’s exposition of Calvin is that he masterfully leads the reader through primary sources making this a reliable guide to Calvin’s thought and practice. On the other hand, there is a related weakness that is prevalent in the book. Horton cites very little secondary material on Calvin, which at times may appear to the experienced Calvin reader as offering superficial interpretations of Calvin. In one place, for example, Horton describes Calvin’s view of the imago Dei as relational where he says, It may be overstating things to suggest that Calvin’s interpretation represents ‘the birth of the relational imago’” (64) (a common contemporary view). It is true that Calvin’s rich description of the “imago”has relational elements, but it can hardly be described as relational in the contemporary sense of the term. Relational views often suggest that the “image” is fundamentally relational or that we as beings are comprised of relations. By saying this, Horton misses the robust place that the soul as substance has in imaging God for Calvin and the strong role Calvin gives to the soul’s capacities. As a result, this is related to a larger worry concerning Horton’s sentiment on Calvin’s view of philosophy. To this we turn.
In several places, Horton assumes a stereotype that Calvin is not beholden to philosophizing or the ideas of the philosophers, nor does he find it of much importance (see 63, 64, 66, 98). While it is true that Calvin makes some sharp comments against the “philosophers” to suggest that philosophy (and the philosophers) do not play a strong role for Calvin is arguably a superficial reading of Calvin. In this way, Horton would have been wise to draw from Paul Helm’s recent works on Calvin (Calvin at the Centre, and John Calvin’s Ideas) where Helm shows the richness of Calvin’s thought as deeply influenced by philosophy. Unfortunately, I did not see one mention of Helm’s work. If Horton gave considered attention to Helm, then he would have read that some of the strongest influences on Calvin’s thinking include Augustine and Aquinas. While Horton is critical of both Plato and dualism in general, Calvin was a thoroughgoing substance dualist influenced by Plato and Augustine in that he held that persons are souls that have a contingent attachment to bodies (see chapter 15 of Calvin’s Institutes). At a minimum, it seems fair to say that the ‘sentiment’ in the background of Horton’s thinking on Calvin is misguided, and it would have been helpful to see Horton draw from Helm’s works on the matter.
There is much more that could be stated positively about Horton’s exposition of Calvin. The reader will find other gems throughout, including Horton’s discussion on Calvin’s view of the Lord’s Supper as well as his discussion of Christian living in light of future glory. In the end, evangelical Christians interested in historical theology, spiritual formation, and the reformation will gain much from Calvin on the Christian Life.
