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JOHN CALVIN : LIFE, LEGACY AND THEOLOGY -<br />
PROF. M. M. NINAN<br />
the first relating to God the Father,<br />
the second to the Son,<br />
the third to the Holy Spirit,<br />
<strong>and</strong> the fourth to the Church,<br />
so the author, in fulfilment of his task, divides his Institutes into four parts, corresponding to those of<br />
the Creed. Each of these parts it will now be proper to explain separately.<br />
Title page from the final edition of <strong>Calvin</strong>'s magnum opus, Institutio Christiane Religionis, which<br />
summarises his theology.<br />
BOOK I. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE CREATOR.<br />
The first statement in the Institutes acknowledges its central theme. It states that the sum of human wisdom<br />
consists of two parts:<br />
the knowledge of God <strong>and</strong> of ourselves.<br />
<strong>Calvin</strong> argues that the knowledge of God is not inherent in humanity nor can it be discovered by observing this<br />
world. The only way to obtain it is to study scripture. <strong>Calvin</strong> writes,<br />
"For anyone to arrive at God the Creator he needs Scripture as his Guide <strong>and</strong> Teacher."<br />
He does not try to prove the authority of scripture but rather describes it as autopiston or self-authenticating.<br />
He defends the trinitarian view of God <strong>and</strong>, in a strong polemical st<strong>and</strong> against the Catholic Church, argues that<br />
images of God lead to idolatry.<br />
At the end of the first book, he offers his views on providence, writing, "By his Power God cherishes <strong>and</strong> guards<br />
the World which he made <strong>and</strong> by his Providence rules its individual Parts." Humans are unable to fully<br />
comprehend why God performs any particular action, but whatever good or evil people may practise, their<br />
efforts always result in the execution of God's will <strong>and</strong> judgments<br />
Contents of Book 1.<br />
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