Thursday, December 17, 2020

The 3 Reformers on "Christmas" SERIES: Calvin [Indifference]

And the angel said unto them, 
Fear not: for, behold, 
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  
Luke 2:10
 

"Calvin accepted the regulative principle of Zwingli and not Luther’s normative principle, he believed that each local congregation could decide how best to celebrate (or not celebrate) the festive season. 

 Frenchman wrote two letters in January 1551 and March 1555 outlining his stance with respect to Christmas.
 
In the January 1551 letter, Calvin explained that the Geneva authorities had done away with festive days before he arrived in the city whilst openly confessing that he did –personally speaking- celebrate “the birth of Christ”.
In the March 1551 letter, Calvin hit out at those who criticized certain churches which opted to commemorate the festive period. According to the Geneva Reformer, such questions were “matters of indifference.”
WillGraham/EvangelicalFocus