“It would be better for him to break his neck going up into the pulpit if he does not take pains to be the first to follow God.”
Calvin, in Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 40
Why We Should be Suspicious of Digital Evidence
“Pretend you just told me that you read about some people who crept into my house in the middle of the night and they swear they found some porn in my library or under my bed. And you want to maintain that they are dishonest enough to break into my house like this, but honest enough not to plant the porn there? How did you get criminals like this with just the right balance of honesty and dishonesty?”
Humble Authority
“The qualifications of a preacher, according to Calvin, arise out of this single-minded, single-hearted adherence to Scripture. The first is humility, and that in two senses. Faith, or trust, in Scripture implies submission . . . And what is submitted to inwardly is also treated as sovereign in the pulpit.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 39
Circling on the Spiritual Plane
“Willow herself came out a minute later. She was tall, and striking, and commanding, and had thick auburn hair down to her shoulders. When introduced, Maria and Willow circled each other warily, but without the circling.”
Reason is Finite, Not Incoherent
“Reason, that necessary guide in things earthly, is out of its depth in the realm of revelation and must submit to the infinite superiority of God’s wisdom.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 38
He Probably Couldn’t Have
“On the question of whether a nonexistent god could have created the world, he felt like he had suddenly gotten out of his depth, theologically speaking.”
Stand at the Source
“Correspondingly, the preacher is the servant of that message. As preacher he is committed completely to the Bible.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 35
Unctuosity
“There had apparently been plenty of oil left over after he had fixed his hair, and so he had figured out a way to work it into his smile.”
Salvation Lives in the Word
“Calvin is saying . . . that God is gracious, that Jesus Christ has made the satisfaction for our sin. But when this message is preached, its reality is present and (how could it therefore be otherwise?) effective . . . The reality was present, however, not through vivid imagination or power of language, but by the working of the Holy Spirit.”
Parker, Calvin’s Preaching, p. 29
A Lot of Trail Mix
“And in every last one of those buildings, there were women in striking outfits walking through those offices and hallways like so many tasty treats—red M&Ms in a skyscraper full of trail mix. So to speak.”