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John Calvin and Missions:
A Historical Study
Scott J. Simmons
There is a long-standing tradition that claims that Calvin and
the early Protestant movement took no interest in missions. Gustav Warneck wrote early in this
century, “We miss in the Reformers not only missionary action, but
even the idea of missions… [in part] because fundamental theological
views hindered them from giving their activity, and even their thoughts, a
missionary direction.” Warneck went on to
state that Calvin claimed that the Church had no duty to send out
missionaries. This misunderstanding has continued even
into the present day. Ralph D.
Winter, for instance, writes that the Reformers “did not even talk of
mission outreach.” He claims that the Protestant missionary
movement can be divided into three eras: the first beginning in 1792 with
William Carey, the second beginning 1865 with Hudson Taylor, and the third
beginning in 1934 with Cameron Townsend and Donald McGavran. Winter describes missionary efforts prior
to 1792 by saying, “our Protestant tradition plugged along for over
250 years minding its own business and its own blessing (like Israel of
old).”
While these charges may be brought against many churches in
the Protestant tradition, and even against some Calvinistic churches, it is
simply untrue that John Calvin took no interest in missions. In fact, Calvin sent hundreds of
missionaries to France, the rest of Europe, and even to the New World. The following discussion, therefore, will
not only demonstrate that John Calvin had a coherent theology of missions,
but will provide a summary of how his theology took action in his
missionary endeavors throughout the world.
Calvin never wrote a systematic treatment of his theology of
missions. However, his Institutes,
commentaries, and letters contain many references to his theology of
missions and his missionary spirit.
An accurate description of his theology of missions can be
reconstructed from these statements made by Calvin in his writings. The following will provide a summary of his
theology of missions as well as answers to common objections to his theology
as they relate to missions.
The basis for Christian missions, according to Calvin, is the
present reign of Jesus Christ. In
his commentaries on the Psalms and prophets, it is clear that Calvin
considered the kingdom of David to be a shadow of the greater Kingdom to
come. For instance, commenting on
Isaiah 2:4, Calvin writes, “the difference between the kingdom of
David, which was but a shadow, and this other Kingdom,” is that “by
the coming of Christ, [God] began to reign… in the person of his
only-begotten Son.” Commenting on Psalm 22:28, Calvin writes,
“This passage, I have no doubt, agrees with many other prophecies
which represent the throne of God as erected, on which Christ may sit to
superintend and govern the world.” This present reign of God through Christ
is presupposed throughout his writings when he speaks of the basis for
world missions.
One important dynamic that takes effect in this new Kingdom is
the break down of the distinction between Jew and Gentile. Calvin frequently makes use of Ephesians
2:14 to insist that the partition-wall between Jew and Gentile has been
broken down and the gospel has been promulgated, so that “we [both
Jew and Gentile] have been gathered together into the body of the Church, and
Christ’s power is put forth to uphold and defend us.” Since Christ’s rule extends over
not only Jews, but over the whole world, Gentiles are called along with
Jews into His Kingdom. It is the inclusion of Gentiles into the
commonwealth of Israel that allows the gospel of the Jewish Messiah to be
proclaimed to Gentiles throughout the world.
Christ’s task while ruling over the earth from heaven is
to subdue the earth to Himself. This
happens in two ways. First, the
reprobate who refuse to submit to Christ’s rule will
“assail” the kingdom of Christ “from time to time until
the end of the world,” at which time they will be laid prostrate at
His feet. Second, the elect are “brought to
yield a willing obedience to Him,” being subdued and humbled by
Him. After the last day these will
be made “partakers with Him in glory.” By these two methods the kingdom will be
extended throughout the world. At no
time can the progress of this kingdom be hindered. Commenting on Isaiah 2:2, Calvin writes
that there will be “uninterrupted progress” in the spread of
His kingdom “until he appears a second time for our salvation.” The kingdom of Christ, the
“invincible Kingdom,” will be “vastly extended”
because God makes “his scepter stretch far and wide.” Throughout the Church age, according to
Calvin, Christ’s kingdom is being extended throughout the world.
The means by which Christ’s kingdom is spread on earth
is through the preaching of the gospel to the nations. Calvin writes, “There is no other
way of raising up the church of God than by the light of the word, in which
God himself, by his own voice, points out the way of salvation. Until the truth shines, men cannot be
united together, so as to form a true church.” Calvin insisted that Christians bear the
responsibility to spread the gospel.
He writes, “for it is our duty to proclaim the goodness of God
to every nation… the work is such as ought not to be concealed in a
corner, but to be everywhere proclaimed.” While God could have used other means, He
chose to “employ the agency of men” through the preaching of
the gospel.
Calvin’s theology of missions is thus God-centered and
Christ-centered, focusing on the glory of God in Christ as well as the duty
of man. All of life was to be lived
for the glory of God. While the
Catholic Church used meritorious works and asceticism as tools of
motivation for missions, Protestants would not use this type of motivation. For Calvin, the motivating factor for
world missions was the glory of God.
When the gospel is proclaimed and accepted among the nations, God is
worshipped and glorified. This is
the chief end of man. Charles Chaney
writes of him, “The fact that the glory of God was the prime motive
in early Protestant missions and that it has played such a vital part in
later missionary thought and activity can be traced directly to
Calvin’s theology.”
There have been many who say that Calvin’s theology was
a hindrance to missions throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Two charges are usually given against
Calvin’s theology of mission.
These are his understanding of the Great Commission and his doctrine
of predestination. However, both
these charges reflect a poor understanding of Calvin’s theology.
Some have objected to Calvin’s understanding of missions
by claiming that Calvin believed that the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20)
was binding only on the first century apostles, making missions unnecessary
for future generations. It is true that Calvin interpreted the
Great Commission as referring to the apostolic ministry. However, his reasoning for interpreting
the Great Commission in this way was not to de-emphasize the necessity of
missions in the present time. He was
fighting a different battle—namely, the battle against the Catholic
doctrine of apostolic succession.
Calvin intended to show that the Apostolate was a temporary munus
extraordinarium that ceased after the twelve apostles. The Great Commission was brought into
this discussion to argue against Catholicism, not missionary activity.
Calvin never expressed the idea that the apostles fulfilled
the missionary command such that missionary activity is no longer
necessary. He only saw the beginning
of the spread of the gospel to all nations being fulfilled by the apostles. Calvin wrote of the apostolic ministry,
“Christ, we know, penetrated with amazing speed, from the east to
west, like the lightning’s flash, in order to bring into the Church
the Gentiles from all parts of the world.” Yet Calvin also wrote of the necessity of
missionary activity in the present time.
For instance, commenting on Matthew 24:19, he wrote, “the Lord
commands the ministers of the gospel to go a distance, in order to spread
the doctrine of salvation in every part of the world.” Calvin made similar statements in his
comments on Isaiah 12:5; 45:23; Matt. 24:14; and 2 Cor. 2:12. While there were some after Calvin who
taught that the missionary mandate had been fulfilled, this view cannot be
attributed to Calvin himself.
It has been objected that if Calvin’s doctrine of
predestination is true, then there is no reason to be involved in missions,
for all the elect will surely be saved and all the reprobate will surely be
eternally damned. Ruth Tucker, for
instance, writes in her history of Christian missions that the doctrine of
predestination taught by Calvinists “made missions extraneous if God
had already chosen those he would save.” However, according to Calvin, this
objection forgets the doctrine of the preached word. Calvin insisted that God uses the
preaching of the gospel by men to bring people to faith. Calvin writes,
although he is able to accomplish the secret work of his holy
Spirit without any means or assistance, he has nevertheless ordained
outward preaching, to use it as it were as a means. But to make such a means effective and
fruitful he inscribes in our hearts with his own finger those very words
which he speaks in our ears by the mouth of a human being.
Not only has God ordained the preaching of the gospel as a
means of salvation, it is the only means of salvation. Calvin writes, “God cannot be
called upon by any except those who have learned of his mercy from the
gospel.”
Furthermore, Calvin insisted that the number of the elect is
unknown. Therefore, the gospel ought
to be freely proclaimed to everyone.
Quoting Augustine, Calvin writes, “For as we know not who belongs
to the number of the predestined or who does not belong, we ought to be so
minded as to wish that all men be saved.” In this way, the preaching of the gospel
to the nations is not hindered, but encouraged. The will of man is captive to
Satan’s will (2 Tim. 2:25-26), such that it is impossible for anyone
to will his own salvation. However,
the preacher knows that there are elect who will be saved at the preaching
of the gospel through the inward work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the preacher can proclaim the
gospel with confidence that those elected to eternal life will heed the
call.
Charles Edwards was certainly correct when he stated that
“The Reformation was a missionary movement on a grand, international
scale.” As the Reformation spread throughout
Europe, missionary activity was taking place. The sacramentalism of Catholicism gave
way to a truer Christianity based on sola scriptura, sola fide,
and sola gratia. In fact,
even the Catholic understanding of the gospel likely did not reach many in
the uneducated classes. The
Scriptures were written and the mass was conducted in Latin. Many of those who were unable to
understand Latin likely never had any gospel preached to them in an
understandable manner. As the
reformation spread throughout Europe, the Bible was translated into common
tongues and church services were understandable to the masses. In all likelihood, unreached peoples in
Europe were reached with the gospel through the reformation. The Reformers continually had to fight
for their very survival, fighting to establish their own identity over
their Roman Catholic adversaries. Yet even with this opposition, Calvin was
able to make an extraordinary effort to evangelize France, the rest of
Europe, and even the New World.
France
Calvin had an intense passion for the conversion of France to
the Reformed faith. In 1553, Calvin
began sending missionaries to France.
Most of these missionaries had come to Geneva as refugees from France
while fleeing persecution. Yet after
being trained by Calvin in theology, moral character, and preaching, he
sent them back to plant churches in France.
These efforts by Calvin had tremendous success. In 1555, there were five Reformed
churches in France. In 1559, there
were almost 100. In 1562, the number
had reached 2,150. The total membership of these churches in
1562 is estimated at three million (out of a total population in France of
about 20 million).
When requests for new ministers were received in Geneva from
France, Calvin did his best to send pastors to fill those pulpits. The Register of the Company of Pastors
mentions 88 men who were sent from Geneva between 1555 and 1562. However, this was not a complete
list. Some names were changed and
even omitted to protect them from possible religious persecution. Also, before 1555 and after 1562, it was
deemed unwise to keep records for fear of persecution. Yet it has been determined from other
sources that no less than 142 missionaries were sent from Geneva (a city of
20,000) in 1561 alone. The picture that remains is that an
astounding number of missionaries were sent out from Geneva under
Calvin’s influence. Fred
Klooster even writes, “the mission activity that emanated from Geneva
under Calvin’s inspiration was itself of monumental proportions. It was perhaps the greatest home missions
project that history has yet seen since the time of the apostles.”
So successful was this church planting effort that it drew the
attention of the king of France. In
1561 Charles IX, the new king of France, sent a letter to the Council of
Geneva. The letter claimed that
preachers sent from Geneva were causing “seditions and dissensions
which had been disturbing his reign.” The king then asked that the pastors be
recalled from France in order to maintain peace in the land. Calvin replied to the king saying that
“we have never attempted to send persons into your kingdom as your
majesty has been told…; so that it will be found that no one, with
our knowledge and permission, has ever gone from here to preach except a
single individual who was asked of us for the city of London.” He admits that some people had come to
them, but they had simply instructed them “to exercise their gifts
wherever they should go for the advancement of the gospel.”
The result of Calvin’s extraordinary efforts to
evangelize France was that a Protestant church was formed by peaceful
means. Williston Walker writes that
“A great national Church, for the first time in Reformation history,
was created independent of a hostile State; and the work was one for which
Calvin had given the model, the inspiration, and the training.” Blood was spilt in France over the
Protestant cause. However, after the
massacre at Vassy and the peace of Amboise in 1563, Calvin wrote, “I
would always counsel that arms be laid aside, and that we all perish rather
than enter again on the confusions that have been witnessed.”
His desire to bring reformation to France through peaceful
means is also evident in his correspondence with kings Francis I and Henry
II. In 1536, three years after his
conversion, Calvin addressed his first edition of the Institutes of the
Christian Religion to king Francis I.
In this address, he sought the conversion of the king to the
Protestant faith. In 1557, Calvin wrote to king Henry II explaining
the faith of the French Reformed churches.
In this letter he gave the king of France a brief statement of faith
in order to encourage the king “to have compassion on those who seek
but to serve God in simplicity, while they loyally acquit themselves of
their duty towards you.”
Since about 1542, Calvin’s Geneva became a refugee
center. Protestants from all over
Europe, including the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and Italy, came to
Geneva for refuge from religious persecution. By 1555, the population of Geneva
doubled. Calvin himself was pleased
to take in these refugees, though at times it was extremely difficult to
accommodate them. Calvin wrote in a
letter to Farel dated 1551, “I am, meanwhile, much preoccupied with
the foreigners who daily pass through this place in great numbers, or who
have come here to live… Should
you pay us a visit next autumn, you will find our city considerably
increased—a pleasing spectacle to me, if they do not overwhelm me
with their visits.”
Yet Calvin’s Geneva can be considered not only a refugee
center, but a missionary center for the propagating of the gospel and the
establishment of Reformed churches throughout Europe. People who came from all over Europe were
trained as missionaries and sent back out as ministers of the gospel. Laman writes that
Through the coming and going of these refugees, and through
the evangelical writings from the printing presses of Geneva and elsewhere
in Latin, French, English, and Dutch, the Reformed faith was exported
widely, even to Poland and Hungary. By correspondence, Calvin encouraged,
guided, and dialogued with this diaspora of evangelical Christians
witnessing under persecution.
It is impossible, given the scope of this paper, to explore in
detail the results of Calvin’s endeavors throughout Europe. The following, therefore, will simply
bring to light some of the highlights of Calvin’s involvement,
focusing only on the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Poland, and Hungary.
The Netherlands
In 1544, Calvin sent the first Reformed missionary to the
Netherlands. Pierre Brully worked to
establish a Reformed church there, but was martyred after only three
months. Lutherans and Anabaptists had seen some
converts in the 1520’s and 30’s, but the Calvinists carried the
day, possibly because of the Calvinistic form of church government and
discipline. Guy de Bray, who had met with Calvin in
Frankfort in 1556, wrote the so-called Belgic Confession in 1559. This confession was printed in 1561 in
Geneva. This confession has become the foundation
for the Reformed Church of Holland.
The Netherlands produced missionaries of their own, largely
through the writings of Hadrianus Saravia (1531-1613). He undertook the task of developing a
reformed perspective on missiology, though he was influenced in many ways
by the Anglican system of church government. In 1590, he wrote a treatise entitled, On
the Various Levels of Ministers of the Gospel as They have been Instituted
by the Lord, which argued against the view that the Great Commission
ended with the apostolic age.
Saravia’s writings influenced later Dutch missionaries in
India such as Justus Heurnius (1587-1651).
Missionaries were sent to India from the Netherlands nearly two
hundred years before Carey wrote his Enquiry in 1792. Saravia’s work also influenced the
early Puritans in America such as John Eliot, who ministered to the
American Indians in New England during the seventeenth century.
England
Calvin had gained some influence in England during the reign
of Edward VI, as evidenced by his letters to Cramner. Acceptance of Calvin’s theology
increased throughout Edward’s reign.
However, it was through Calvin’s ministry to the Marian exiles
in Geneva that Calvinism took hold in England. Large numbers of exiles were admitted in
Geneva during the reign of Mary. At
least 50 exiles were received on one day in 1557. John Knox, a devout disciple of Calvin,
who was later to return to Scotland in 1559, pastored these refugees. During the reign of Elizabeth, these
Marian exiles returned to England with their Calvinistic doctrine. The eventual result was the formation of
the Puritan party and the drafting of the Westminster Confession of Faith
in 1646.
During the reign of Edward VI, London also became a refugee
center. In 1550, John ŕ Lasco (or
Jan Laski), a Polish nobleman and friend of Calvin, was installed pastor
over a “foreigners’ church” of French and German exiles
in London. A Lasco’s church
was modeled after Calvin’s ordinances for Geneva, though with some
modifications. Calvin kept in
regular contact with a Lasco and the London church, which existed until
disbanded by Mary I. Potter and
Greengrass write that after the church was disbanded, a Lasco and other
members “were to prove important catalysts for Swiss reform elsewhere
in Europe.” Many of these exiles made it to Frankfurt
and formed a congregation there in 1554.
A Lasco went to Norway and Emden before arriving in Frankfurt to
once again pastor the “foreigners’ church” there.
In 1544, a Lasco was in Emden, where he was superintendent of
churches in East Friesland. A Lasco
met with Simon Menno with the purpose of converting Menno and his followers
to the Reformed faith. One writer
states,
The discussion was held on Jan. 28-31, 1544, when the articles
pertaining to the Incarnation, baptism, original sin, justification, and
the call of ministers were discussed. Although the two men did not agree
concerning all articles, Menno and his followers were dismissed by a Lasco
in a friendly manner. Menno had promised to present a written confession
regarding the Incarnation, and he now wrote… A brief and clear confession and scriptural declaration concerning
the Incarnation.
Although a Lasco later published this confession
“without Menno's knowledge or consent,” this exchange
demonstrates a Lasco’s desire to convert even the Radical reformers
to the Protestant cause without resorting to violence.
Scotland
Calvin aided in bringing the reformation to Scotland through
the ministry of John Knox. Knox had
fled England after Mary ascended to the throne and arrived in Geneva in
1554. He returned to Scotland in
1555 in a failed attempt to bring reform, and shortly returned to Geneva. In 1556, he began to pastor the English
fugitive congregation in Geneva.
Knox was sent back to Scotland in 1559 and successfully established
Protestantism in that country. In
1560, the Scottish parliament denounced papal authority and drafted the First
Confession of Faith, which was thoroughly Calvinistic in
orientation. The Kirk of Scotland
was then fashioned after the Calvinistic model found in the Institutes
and in the practice of the French Reformed churches.
While Calvin was generally in approval of John Knox and his
ministry, there were some tensions.
In 1558, while Knox was still in Geneva, he published a pamphlet
without Calvin’s knowledge entitled The First Blast of the Trumpet
against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. This pamphlet was written in response to
Mary’s reign and argued that women rulers were against God’s
law. Calvin banned the sale of the
book in Geneva. When Elizabeth I
became queen later in 1558, Calvin dedicated his commentary on Isaiah to
her in an attempt to repair the damaged relationship between Geneva and
England. However, the damage was
done and in 1566 Beza stated that Elizabeth’s hostility toward
Calvinism was as a result of this incident.
After Knox returned to Scotland, Calvin continued to be concerned
about Knox’s abrasive and uncompromising nature. Nevertheless, there appears to have been
a good relationship between the two reformers. Yet Calvin’s concern about Knox
demonstrates his own missionary mindset.
Calvin wanted to bring reform to England and Scotland in full
submission to the proper authorities.
Poland
Calvin had much success early on in the evangelization of
Poland. By 1545, Calvinism was
spreading widely among the nobility of Poland. King Sigismund Augustus of Poland himself
was a tolerant, “enlightened” Catholic who even took a
Protestant wife. Calvin dedicated his commentary on
Hebrews to him in 1549. He wrote,
“Your kingdom is extensive and renowned, and abounds in many
excellencies; but its happiness will then only be solid when it adopts
Christ as its chief ruler and governor.” Calvin again wrote him on Christmas Eve
1555 and stated that “in Poland true religion has already begun to
dawn on the darkness of the Popery…
I whom the King of kings has appointed a preacher of the gospel, and
a minister of his church, call upon your majesty in his name, to make this
work above all others your special care.” In effect, Calvin preached the gospel to
the king of Poland and asked him to encourage the work of the Reformation
there.
While Calvin and Sigismund Augustus remained on good terms,
the king never agreed to undertake a national Reformation. Nevertheless, John ŕ Lasco (Jan Laski)
returned to Poland in 1557, where he spent the last three to four years of
his life “in an evangelical campaign to create a proper evangelical
Church in Poland. Lasco was the leading reformer in
Poland. He was originally a priest
and friend of Erasmus before undertaking the task of furthering the
Reformation in several countries, including England and Germany. After his return, he busied himself
“preaching, holding synods, stimulating the translation of the Bible
into Polish, and seeking to bring the varieties of Protestantism into one
ecclesiastical structure.”
In many ways, Lasco was a model Prostestant leader. Kenneth Scott Latourette writes that he
“was an irenic soul who exerted himself in behalf of accord among the
Protestants.” Calvin viewed him with similar
regard. He wrote to John Utenhoven,
also laboring in Poland, “I am fully convinced he will labour
faithfully and strenuously in extending the kingdom of Christ.” While Calvin’s and Lasco’s
efforts had initial success, it did not last long past Calvin’s
death. Conflicts with Lutherans,
Anti-Trinitarians, and Jesuits caused Calvinism to decline and it never
achieved a lasting foothold in Poland.
Hungary
The stage for reformation in Hungary was set at least in part
by three factors. First, the
ministry and martyrdom of John Hus (1373-1415), whose teachings were widely
spread in Hungary in the 15th century, incited sympathy for
the protestant cause. Second, 1541,
the entire New Testament was translated into the Hungarian language. Third, in 1536, King Soliman the
Magnificent threatened Hungary. In
1526, King Louis went to meet him at Mohácz with only 27,000 men—a
mere fraction of the Turkish army.
The result was a massacre, and king Louis fled the country, leaving
a power vacuum in Hungary. James
Wylie continues the story:
Two candidates now contested the scepter of Hungary —
John Zapolya, the unpatriotic grandee who saw his king march to death, but
sat still in his castle, and the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. Both caused
themselves to be crowned, and hence arose a civil war, which, complicated
with occasional appearances of Soliman upon the scene, occupied the two
rivals for years, and left them no leisure to carry out the persecuting
edicts. In the midst of these troubles Protestantism made rapid progress.
Peter Perenyi, a powerful noble, embraced the Gospel, with his two sons.
Many other magnates followed his example, and-settled Protestant ministers
upon their domains, built churches, planted schools, and sent their sons to
study at Wittemberg. The greater number of the towns of Hungary embraced
the Reformation.
Whatever the reasons, By the 1550’s, Calvinism was
becoming established in Hungary. In
1557 and 1558 a synod was held which resulted in the Hungarian Confession,
exhibiting a distinct Calvinistic theology.
In 1567, at the Synod of Debrecen, the Hungarian Reformed Church
adopted the Heidelberg Catechism and the Second Helvetic Confession. Calvinism has survived in Hungary despite
much persecution, though during the seventeenth century the Counter
Reformation reclaimed many converts to the Catholic faith. However, at the turn of this century,
two-thirds of the evangelical churches of Hungary were Calvinistic in
origin. Of the nearly 2.6 million people
associated with Christian denominations in Hungary today (population 10.5
million), approximately 2 million are affiliated with the Reformed Church.
Protestants were greatly hindered in any attempt to bring the
gospel overseas. Prior to 1588 (when
the Spanish Armada was defeated) the Spanish and the Portuguese controlled
the sea-lanes. The Pope had divided the New World
between them. The French defied the
Pope in this matter and sent out ships to the New World themselves. Since these countries were Catholic,
they did not permit Protestant missionaries to sail overseas with the
gospel. As Gordon Laman has noted, a kind of “religious
imperialism” had joined with the “commercial and political
imperialism” of the Spain and Portugal. Therefore, it was astonishing that Calvin
was able to send missionaries to Brazil.
Nicolas Durand, who received the title sieur de Villegagnon
from his father, was a fellow student with John Calvin in Paris. However, Villegagnon joined the military
and became Knight of Malta. He was
later appointed Vice-admiral of Britanny.
After a quarrel with a governor, he decided to start a colonial
expedition in Brazil. Villegagnon
sought the aid of the Coligny the Grand Admiral of France, who was a
supporter and protector of the Reformed Church. Villegagnon told him that he desired to
start a colony that would offer protection for Protestants being persecuted
in France. This convinced Coligny
and Coligny in turn convinced Henry II to grant ships towards the
expedition.
On November 10, 1555, Villegagnon set sail and after four
months, they landed in Rio de Janeiro.
After his arrival in Brazil, he sent word back to Coligny asking for
reinforcements and for ministers to evangelize the Tupinamba Indians. Coligny was all too happy to oblige his
request. He wrote Calvin about the
matter, and according to Baez-Camargo, Calvin “saw a wonderful door
opening here for the extension of the Geneva Church, and so he took steps
at once to organize a missionary force.” Two pastors and eleven laymen volunteered
for the mission. They left Geneva in
September 1556 and landed in Fort Coligny (in Rio de Janeiro) in March
1557.
The Genevan missionaries were received with gladness. Pierre Richier and Guillaume Chartier,
the two pastors, began to organize the church in Fort Coligny. On March 21, 1557, they held their first
communion service. Villegagnon
appeared to be a model Protestant leader.
However, things soon began to change. Villegagnon began to interfere with the
pastors in matters of church discipline and even on “matters of
faith.” He began to demand that
baptism and the Lord’s Supper be administered in a similar fashion to
Catholic teachings. To rectify this
situation, both sides agreed to send Chartier back to Geneva to discuss the
matter and Villegagnon said he would abide by what Calvin said on the
matter. However, as soon as Chartier
left, Villegagnon began to call Calvin a heretic. He also began to punish the Genevan
missionaries by over working them in the construction of the fort and not
giving them adequate food. At this
point, Richier confronted Villegagnon face to face and told him that the
Geneva missionaries would return to Geneva on the next ship.
In January 1558, the missionaries set sail to return
home. Yet the ship began to leak, so
five of the Geneva men decided to return to the mission. Villegagnon initially welcomed them back,
but then grew suspicious. He
demanded a statement of faith from the Genevan Calvinists. When he received the statement, he had
three out of the five men strangled and thrown into the ocean (the other two
were spared because Villegagnon was in need of a tailor and a cutler). Villegagnon later returned to France for
reinforcements, and in 1560, the Portuguese attacked and destroyed the
fort, and the French colony was ended.
From all practical standpoints, the mission to Brazil was a
failure. Yet during the short time
the Genevan missionaries were in Brazil, attempts were made to evangelize
the Indians. Richier was discouraged
by the nature of the Indian cannibals.
He saw them as “crassly stupid” and “incapable of
distinguishing good from evil.”
He was also discouraged by the greatness of the language
barrier. Nevertheless, he wrote
Calvin, “Since where the Most High has given us this task, we expect
this Edom to become a future possession for Christ.” In a more optimistic moment, Richier
recognized the opportunity he had in evangelizing these Indians and wrote
to Calvin that they are “like a tabula rasa easy to paint
on.” So Richier never gave up his desire for
the conversion of these Indians.
One of the laymen, a theological student named Jean de Léry,
was less pessimistic. He spent time
in their villages and took notes on their religious beliefs and
customs. He even found some good
traits among them. At one time he
wrote that “if we had been able to remain in that country for a
longer time, we would have drawn and won over some of them to
Christ.” Léry gave an example of a time when he
was crossing the jungle with three Indian friends. Compelled by the beauty of his
surroundings, Léry began to sing Psalm 104, “Bless the Lord, O my
Soul.” The Indians asked him
to explain the song. Léry did not
know the Indian dialect very well, but proceeded to explain the song and
the gospel in the span of a half an hour.
The Indians were pleased with what they heard and presented him with
an aguti (a kind of rabbit-sized rodent) as a gift.
Therefore, while there was never a single Indian convert from
the Brazil mission, the reason was more for lack of time than for lack of
effort. Calvin took the only
opportunity he had to start a mission in the New World. Though the mission failed, this effort
demonstrates Calvin’s desire to see Christ’s kingdom extended
to every nation on earth. Calvin
never had another opportunity to send out more missionaries. It would be the New England Puritans of
the seventeenth century who would carry on the work begun by Calvin.
John Calvin never presented a systematic theology of missions
in his writings. However, it has
been shown not only that a coherent theology of missions can be
reconstructed from his writings, but that Calvin considered Geneva to be a
“missionary center” for the evangelization of France, the rest
of Europe, and even the New World.
Perhaps the reason why no systematic theology of missions can be
found in his writings is because missions was central to his ministry in
Geneva. Missions was not a
“section” of his systematic theology, it was central to what he
was trying to accomplish in his ministry.
Does Calvin fit a twentieth century definition of what a missionary
should be like? Probably not, but
neither did William Carey or Hudson Taylor.
The fact remains that Calvin’s theology and missionary efforts
constitute a major step forward in protestant missiology.
After discussing Calvin’s missionary endeavors and
highlighting the efforts of the Puritans in New England and the Dutch
missionaries in the Orient (not to mention the Moravian missions), it
should be evident that a fourth era of missionary activity should be added
to Winter’s scheme, beginning in 1544 when John Calvin sent his first
missionaries to the Netherlands.
While this era may seem small when compared to the movement begun by
William Carey (a Calvinist), it still deserves its proper recognition in
any history of Protestant missions.
Beaver, R. Pierce.
“The Genevan Mission to Brazil.” The
Reformed Journal 17 (Jul.-Aug., 1967): 14-20.
Baez-Camargo, G.
“The Earliest Protestant Missionary Venture in Latin
America.” Church History 21 (Jun. 1952): 135-145.
Calvin, John. The
Bondage and Liberation of the Will: A Defence of the Orthodox Doctrine of
Human Choice against Pighius. Ed.
A.N.S. Lane. Trans. G. I.
Davies. Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1996.
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Joshua—Psalms 1-35. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979.
________. Calvin’s Commentaries. Vol. 6.
Psalms 93-150. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979.
________. Calvin’s Commentaries. Vol. 7.
Isaiah 1-32. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979.
________. Calvin’s Commentaries. Vol. 8.
Isaiah 33-66. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979.
________.
Calvin’s Commentaries.
Vol. 17. Harmony of Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. Grand Rapids: Baker,
1979.
________. The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960.
________. Selected Works of John Calvin: Tracts
and Letters. Vols. 4-7. Letters,
Parts 1-4. Eds. Henry Beveridge and
Jules Bonnet. Grand Rapids: Baker,
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Chaney, Charles.
“The Missionary Dynamic in the Theology of John Calvin.” |