If there are any readers out there who have come here to see what is up and have been disappointed to see nothing new, my apologies. I have been taken up with other projects. However, my work with Calvin's Institutes has continued and I am ready to begin posting again. Thanks for your patience.
Working on other projects I came accross Calvin's work entilted The Psycopanachia. In it Calvin defends the immortality of the soul against the Catabaptists who touted soul sleep or anhialationism. This is actually his first theological writing project and very few people have commented on this work. During this whole year of Calvin conferences and works I have not come accross any lecture or chapter discussin it. Anyway, what I want to highlight here is his method.
In his De Clementia (his commentary on Senec's De Clementia), and Psycopanachia Calvin uses the standard aristitelian, scholastic method. But he did not use that method in his Institutes, sermons, or commentatries. What makes this all the more interesting is that he began writing the Institutes when he was finishing the Psycopanachia. And you can tell at the end of the Psycopanachia, and in a new edition which he finished later he began moving away from this method.
One of the benefits of Calvin's Institutes and other works is his method. He uses reason and logic but always as servants of Christ and Scripture. Therefore, his Institutes still retains the mystery of God and his commentaries and sermons go where Scripture goes.
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