AN AWARENESS OF DIVINITY
A true knowledge of God, we have seen in the past two studies, can only exist where there is a devout heart – that is, where there is a spirit of reverence and gratitude. Such attitudes take us beyond vague conception that there is a God. They allow us to bow in reverence before him and reach out receive all that he has to give us. That, according to Calvin, is true knowledge.
While such knowledge can only exist in those God has graciously reconciled to himself in Christ, there is, Calvin says, a general awareness of divinity in the hearts of all men. “There is within the human mind, and indeed by natural instinct, “he writes, “an awareness of divinity” (Institutes, I.iii.1). This is something Calvin views as “beyond controversy”, something that cannot be disputed or denied.
There is a reason God has implanted this knowledge in us, he maintains. It is “to prevent anyone from taking refuge in the pretence of ignorance” (ibid.). Calvin is envisaging someone on the Day of Judgement protesting to God that they cannot be held accountable to him because they never knew he existed. The natural “instinct” we have that God exists rules out that “refuge”, Calvin says. “Since all men perceive there is a God and that he is their Maker, they are condemned by their own testimony because they have failed to honour him and to consecrate their lives to his will” (ibid.).
While not appealing directly to the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 1, Calvin’s argument in substance is exactly that of Paul. What may be known of God is plain to people, the Apostle writes, “because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). Godlessness among humans is not, Paul says, the result of ignorance concerning his existence. Rather, it is the result of people consciously suppressing the truth that God has made evident to all. People do know God; in their rebellion and wickedness they choose not to worship him, preferring to make substitute deities for themselves (vv. 18, 21-23).
If absolute ignorance of God were to occur anywhere, Calvin
proposes, we might expect to find it among the “the more backward folk and
those more remote from civilization” (ibid.).
Yet, he says, that is clearly not the
case. He cites an “eminent pagan” (
Arguing from this, Calvin concludes, “Therefore, since from the beginning of the world there has been no region, no city, in short, no household, that could do without religion, there lies in this a tacit confession of a sense of deity inscribed in the hearts of all” (ibid).
While Calvin doesn’t elaborate on the precise nature of that “instinct’ or “seed of religion” embedded in the hearts of all men, it is commonly associated with “a numinous awareness [suffused feeling] of God” and with conscience, a moral response to God. Commenting on the pre-incarnate Word as the “light” that shines in the darkness (John 1:5), Calvin writes, “There are two principal parts of the light which still remains in corrupt nature: first, the seed of religion is planted in all men; next, the distinction between good and evil is engraved on their consciences.”
Finally, Calvin sees idolatry as a proof of this deeply ingrained awareness of the existence of God. We know, he says, that “man does not willingly humble himself so as to place other creatures over himself.” That’s something self-evident to all of us is it not? We don’t elevate the family dog to the position of Lord in our homes, looking to him (or her) to dictate how we are to spend our lives. We resist that idea instinctively. We intuitively know that we are higher than dogs and cats and horses and elephants – or any other animal for that matter – and resent subjecting ourselves to them. That’s even true of other human beings. We don’t naturally put ourselves under the control of others.
Yet, Calvin says, so deeply does the impression of divinity exist in our hearts that people “prefer to worship wood and stone rather than to be thought of as having no God” (ibid.). The fact that rational, fiercely freedom-loving people should allow themselves to be enslaved to images of gold and silver, wood and stone, and all the superstitions associated with their worship, shows just how strongly the awareness of God is engraved in our hearts. Something within us tells us that we must worship something!
Today, of course, many try to smother this awareness with “rational” and “scientific” arguments that “prove” God doesn’t exist. Trying to do so is one thing; succeeding is another.
Andrew Young
Associate Principal GTC (