Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 7 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 32, The New Zion in Geneva  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 7
Calvin later wrote that he “rejoice[s]” that people “spit in my face” and insisted that arguing against executing heretics makes a person share their guilt; what assumptions about God’s justice and the Church’s role in punishment are operating in that quote, and how do those assumptions collide with Jesus’ teachings about enemies, mercy, and judgment?
Another way to ask: Calvin said he was glad people hated him and that anyone against executing heretics shares their guilt. What does that say about how he saw God’s justice and the church’s role in punishment, and how does it clash with Jesus’ teaching on mercy and loving enemies?

Direct Answer Calvin’s quote assumes God’s justice requires the Church (working with the state) to put heretics to death, and that opposing such executions is moral complicity in their blasphemy. Bercot sets this against Jesus’ “not of this world” kingdom, implying a collision between sword-enforced purity and Jesus’ way, which does not advance by coercion.

Support from Transcript:

  • Calvin wrote he “rejoice[s]” that critics “spit in my face,” showing a hardened posture toward accusation.
  • He declared it is not “unjust to put heretics and blasphemers to death,” and that anyone arguing otherwise “will…incur their very guilt.”
  • The Second Helvetic Confession states magistrates should “suppress stubborn heretics” and even “execute” those God commands punished.
  • Calvin defended Christian magistrates using Old Testament judges and kings as models (David, Hezekiah, Josiah, Daniel).
  • Bercot contrasts this with Jesus’ statement that His disciples did not fight because His kingdom is “not of this world.”
  • Bercot concludes Calvin’s program admits “the kingdom he sought to protect was of this world.”
Discussion Follow-ups How do we distinguish zeal for truth from zeal for punishment? What does it mean to “defend” the faith if Jesus’ kingdom is not maintained by force?

Jumpstarter 7 of 10
Back Questions Next