Christian History Institute

The video states that Calvin "followed a history of orthodox interpretation" concerning predestination, traced from the Apostle Paul through Augustine of Hippo to Thomas Aquinas and on through Martin Luther. Of course, when the narrator states this, he does not mean the Orthodox doctrine of the Holy Orthodox Church. In fact, it is uncertain what he intends other than to imbue Calvin and his teachings with some claim to orthodoxy. Calvin's teaching on predestination, however, is far from the tradition of the Orthodox Church. His manner of interpreting Saint Paul is certainly closer to the interpretations Saint Augustine, but that does not bring him close to the teaching of the Orthodox Faith. The Orthodox teaching on synergy, which finds its basis in the two natures of Christ, Divine and human, is foreign to the theology of John Calvin, In fact, in John Calvin's opinion, the doctrine of Divine/human synergy would be heretical, though it is unclear whether or not Calvin ever came in contact with the Orthodox doctrine of synergy.… (mehr)