#calvinism

This popped up on Feedly recently, linking to this sermon by John Piper, a leading evangelical and neo-Calvinist.  As a convert, it kinda sums up my problem with Protestantism, or at least one of them.  (Protestants who don’t know what they’re protesting are another story.)

To read this blurb, Christianity seemingly begins in 1517.  Jesus is absent, and St. Paul is only invoked insofar as he was used by Reformers to support their arguments fifteen hundred years later.  Granted, Piper alleges that the Reformers “recovered” the true Gospel, linking them with Christ.  But this is an assertion rather than evidence.  What Piper means is: “There are various ways to interpret the New Testament.  Luther’s way hadn’t been used by virtually any of the Church Fathers in fifteen hundred years, but I believe it so by gum it must have been the true gospel.”

Ok, then.  I’m sure if I listen to the whole sermon that Piper reaches the conclusion above (which most Protestants have, in my previous experience) with a great deal of sophisticated hermeneutics.  But still.

Small disclaimer: I subscribe to the Desiring God RSS feed because the site frequently does feature good articles.  And whatever my quibbles with neo-Calvinism, I think it is good for evangelicalism, which is often captivated by theologically vapid and even heretical fads.

A photoset of the most peculiar historical fashion I know of:

The Danish/Norwegian fashion for women from the 1630-70. A key feature is the “bluetooth” like headgarb, the last stage of the wired hood worn in the Renaissance (seen in the lower right depiction). By the mid 17th century it was reduced to a flat, three-flap linen cap with a black exterior, and it was reserved for married women only. Seeing a woman wearing such a hood in a large family depiction means you either see the wife or a married daughter.

Other key features is the large white collar turned up towards the head or out over the shoulders, heavily starched, plus the short black jacket emphasizing the belly. A white apron is also often worn. Another interesting feature is that the style is often accented with red, in lining, undergarbs or jewellery. It recreates the popular “tricolor” combo of antiquity: black, white and red.