Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters
The same acuity that is evident in John Calvin’s theological writings accompanied his correspondence. Calvin’s mission was not to support God, but to honour him. Divine revelation and the glory of God underlie the content of his letters. The audacious confidence with which he writes, reveals his utt...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Afrikaans |
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AOSIS
2014-12-01
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| Series: | In die Skriflig |
| Online Access: | https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/1830 |
| _version_ | 1817987473403281408 |
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| author | Raymond Potgieter |
| author_facet | Raymond Potgieter |
| author_sort | Raymond Potgieter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The same acuity that is evident in John Calvin’s theological writings accompanied his correspondence. Calvin’s mission was not to support God, but to honour him. Divine revelation and the glory of God underlie the content of his letters. The audacious confidence with which he writes, reveals his utter reliance upon the veracity of Scripture, which understanding must be conveyed through sound teaching. Yet, his letters are not inundated with scriptural references or quotes in the fashion of a medical prescription. Rather the connection between Scripture and writing for Calvin were twofold: it lies in the foundations of sound theology applied pastorally. This undergirded his pastoral care. To bring that across in his correspondence with Duchess Renata Ferrara, he followed basic doctrinal principles, evident from many of his letters applied pastorally to the recipient(s) of the letter.
Calvyn se pastorale benadering soos waargeneem in sy briewe. Dieselfde pastorale noukeurigheid wat duidelik in Johannes Calvyn se teologiese geskrifte waarneembaar is, kom ook in sy korrespondensie voor. Calvyn se oogmerk was nie bloot om God te eer nie, maar om Hom te verheerlik. Die inhoud van sy briewe reflekteer sowel die openbaring as die heerlikheid van God. Hy skryf met waagmoed en ’n selfversekerdheid wat sy vertroue in die waarheid van die Skrif weerspieël en wat deur Skrifgetroue onderrig oorgedra moet word. Tog maak hy nie in sy briewe op oordrewe wyse van teksverwysings of aanhalings gebruik om sy teologiete staaf nie. Die verband tussen die Skrif en sy skryfwerk was eerder vir Calvyn ’n tweeledige saak: dit berus naamlik op gesonde teologie wat pastoraal toegepas word. Dit blyk derhalwe uit baie van sy briewe, soos dié aan die Hertogin Renata Ferrara, dat hy die metode volg ombasiese dogmatiese leerstellings in sy korrespondensie uit te lê en met pastorale sorg toe te pas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:22:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-708f25e4079b400aa9a30605f1e22e47 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1018-6441 2305-0853 |
| language | Afrikaans |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:22:51Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | In die Skriflig |
| spelling | doaj.art-708f25e4079b400aa9a30605f1e22e472022-12-22T02:22:54ZafrAOSISIn die Skriflig1018-64412305-08532014-12-01481e1e810.4102/ids.v48i1.18301856Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his lettersRaymond Potgieter0Department of Theology, North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusThe same acuity that is evident in John Calvin’s theological writings accompanied his correspondence. Calvin’s mission was not to support God, but to honour him. Divine revelation and the glory of God underlie the content of his letters. The audacious confidence with which he writes, reveals his utter reliance upon the veracity of Scripture, which understanding must be conveyed through sound teaching. Yet, his letters are not inundated with scriptural references or quotes in the fashion of a medical prescription. Rather the connection between Scripture and writing for Calvin were twofold: it lies in the foundations of sound theology applied pastorally. This undergirded his pastoral care. To bring that across in his correspondence with Duchess Renata Ferrara, he followed basic doctrinal principles, evident from many of his letters applied pastorally to the recipient(s) of the letter. Calvyn se pastorale benadering soos waargeneem in sy briewe. Dieselfde pastorale noukeurigheid wat duidelik in Johannes Calvyn se teologiese geskrifte waarneembaar is, kom ook in sy korrespondensie voor. Calvyn se oogmerk was nie bloot om God te eer nie, maar om Hom te verheerlik. Die inhoud van sy briewe reflekteer sowel die openbaring as die heerlikheid van God. Hy skryf met waagmoed en ’n selfversekerdheid wat sy vertroue in die waarheid van die Skrif weerspieël en wat deur Skrifgetroue onderrig oorgedra moet word. Tog maak hy nie in sy briewe op oordrewe wyse van teksverwysings of aanhalings gebruik om sy teologiete staaf nie. Die verband tussen die Skrif en sy skryfwerk was eerder vir Calvyn ’n tweeledige saak: dit berus naamlik op gesonde teologie wat pastoraal toegepas word. Dit blyk derhalwe uit baie van sy briewe, soos dié aan die Hertogin Renata Ferrara, dat hy die metode volg ombasiese dogmatiese leerstellings in sy korrespondensie uit te lê en met pastorale sorg toe te pas.https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/1830 |
| spellingShingle | Raymond Potgieter Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters In die Skriflig |
| title | Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters |
| title_full | Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters |
| title_fullStr | Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters |
| title_short | Discerning Calvin’s pastoral care from his letters |
| title_sort | discerning calvin s pastoral care from his letters |
| url | https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/1830 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT raymondpotgieter discerningcalvinspastoralcarefromhisletters |