The Polemics of Persecution

    Calvinistic religious tenets included the idea of suffering and persecution as a vehicle to salvation in Christ. The strict moral code accompanying the doctrines of Calvinism angered many, and John Calvin, himself, suffered persecution and exile for defending his beliefs, yet he never backed down. In his exhortation on suffering persecution, Calvin quotes the Apostle Paul, who said that men are "called and appointed to suffer"; Calvin uses this as the foundation of his argument to persuade his audience to come to Christ through the suffering of all things.
    He further contends that true followers of Christ cannot call themselves Christians if they are not willing to suffer in whatsoever manner they are called to do so. This argument is persuasively rendered by a series of queries designed to make his audience think. These consideration include whether would-be followers of Christ have the stamina, vision, certainty of belief, gratitude for the unmeasurable blessings and condescension of God and will to put aside corruptible flesh and stand apart from the world. All are thought-provoking by their very nature, but my attention was caught by his implication that there is some will involved, as that would negate the tenet of monergism, which states that man is saved by God's sovereign will through the operation of the Spirit, with no assistance from the free will of man. This tenet is closely tied to that of predestination, where God in his omniscience knows who will and will not be saved, thus leaving the Atonement a still necessary but almost secondary act in some ways. There appears to be a slight gap in logic here, though Calvin has clearly wished to both inform and exhort both his followers and his challengers; the former, with a call to action, and the latter, with a stalwart defense of moralistic principle.