I don't know if John Calvin would have been so liberal with his bodily wastes, but it's possible.
http://www.theird.org/page.aspx?pid=2253&erid=1409546&trid=f968e292-c9bb-4f9a-b6e6-aeb28bcef895Recently, General Secretary for the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) Setri Nyomi told students at Princeton Theological Seminary that Protestant reformer John Calvin would have supported the Occupy movement. Although he tried to uphold the unique calling of Christ’s church, he nevertheless fell into narrow leftist platitudes of feminism, open borders, socialism, and environmentalism.
Princeton is historically Presbyterian. Nyomi is the non-European head of WCRC, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. WCRC is historically left-leaning and more represents liberal church elites in Europe and North America than much of the Global South. Although he is from Ghana, Nyomi seems to uphold the political liberalism of Western reformed churches though he may be more theologically conservative.
Nyomi presented his lectures at Princeton for a series entitled “The Household in Danger?: the Oikos and Mission in the 21st Century.” Himself boasting postgraduate degrees from Princeton and Trinity Theological Seminary in Legon, the general secretary set out to define and describe the nature of the oikos pneumatikos, the “spiritual household.” He cited Christianity’s colorful metaphors for Christians in the church: building blocks, household utensils used for G-d’s purposes, and members of a family line.
“The designer, the builder, and the initiator is G-d,” claimed Nyomi in a traditional fashion. “We are simply called to participate in it.” Later, he made his purpose clear. “I have organized my thoughts in this lecture under the conviction that the metaphor of household is helpful in understanding the focus and the scope of mission in the 21st century as well as the world of people who are impacted by our mission,” he declared, “That mission impacts people who have sometimes received benefits and sometimes been burdened of these images.”
The WCRC general secretary expressed his concern about “how to bring others and their understanding into the household.” He critiqued habits within the Protestant community. And he complained about a recent mission conference where the Global South (especially Africa) and women were sorely underrepresented. Nyomi observed the political correctness of western household members: “For example, it is politically incorrect to talk about sin in some churches. In other words, it is sin to talk about sin. Some are afraid to talk about the salvation that comes from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Such a stance “would turn the church into just another one of the NGO’s operating in various locations.”
Nyomi quickly shifted his focus to social issues: Nazism, colonialism, racism, sexism, and (to cap it all off) “economic inequality.” He stated, “[Evangelism] is not everything in mission. It incorporates everything in life.” It soon became apparent that Nyomi was trying to recover the Social Gospel. “Can the church stay silent when all is not well in the inhabited world?” he questioned. “Everywhere we look, injustice abounds,” he mourned, “Shalom and ubuntu must combine to heal…[bringing] a deep peace characterized by justice and the wellbeing of all.”
Nyomi denounced economic inequality: “Any management of the household in which members are discriminated against or do not have access to the common resources of the household or are treated as less well than the rest of the household, flies in the face of G-d who created an who owns the household.”
The lecture zeroed in on feminism. “In many communities, women are limited to only some rooms of the household, both literally and figuratively,” Nyomi observed, “[They are] limited to the kitchen and the bedroom.” Crimes and discrimination against women still pose a problem in much of the world. But Nyomi saw fit to attack the ecclesiastical discipline of Reformed bodies. “Some churches do not ordain women in the role of word or sacrament. Some churches don’t even allow women to serve as elders,” he complained. In a satisfied tone, he boasted: “The WCRC have been fighting this for many decades now.”
Nyomi attempted to pull John Calvin into his egalitarian side of the argument. “Women like men are fully made in G-d’s image and regenerated in the Holy Spirit. At the end of time in the Kingdom of G-d, there’ll be neither feminine nor masculine. No class distinctions between the rich and the poor,” he summarized. “Let me note there that Calvin misses an opportunity to mention church leadership in this list, and this is very disappointing.”
The General Secretary reassured his audience that, had Calvin’s perception not been darkened by a primitive mindset that distinguished gender beyond mere biology, he would have gladly taken up a more socially acceptable stance.
Addressing debates over immigration in the U.S., Nyomi announced: “Immigrant issues in America and the world have resulted in increasing walls of all kinds of heights in the name of security….” He asked: “How can we do that with integrity when in our own house, we are divided?...[The walls] are increasing in the church.” But he foretold an unstoppable progress and acceptance; the church needed to jump on board with this inevitable enlightenment. Again, Nyomi found supposed precedent in Calvin: “His attention to refugees in Geneva was remarkable.”
The lecturer continued in brandishing his rhetorical sword against “economic injustice.” Nyomi claimed: “Forces dominating global economics…have impoverished millions of people.” And he further stated: “Until the year 2008, this has been the cry of the people living in the South.” Ever since the economic downturn, “the issue has come closer to home.” Again calling upon Calvin, he argued, “I am sure [John Calvin] would have been in the streets of New York or London with a placard…We need to be actively engaged in matters of the oikos, even if it requires us to be out there in the streets.”
Calvin, whom he described as “a thorn in the flesh of the government of Geneva in issues of this kind,” made an “outspoken” call for just wages in 16th century Geneva, Nyomi proclaimed. The WCRC chief thought this would have easily translated in demanding Big Government entitlement spending in modern times. Nyomi thought Calvin (and Christ Himself) would have demanded a “right relationship” between Wall Street elites and everyone else, though the exact picture and details of this relationship remained murky.
Finally, Nyomi hoped that “we can live in harmony on the greater household of planet earth.” He denounced business practices that exploit creation. He cited an obscure passage from Calvin’s writing condemning the careless and avaricious cutting down of trees. “In poaching and burning the land, which is worse than cutting trees, human beings have distanced themselves from G-d and become brutish as a result,” Nyomi confidently asserted.
An outside observer to Nyomi’s statements would seem to think that a healthy church life corresponds identically with a liberal political agenda. Despite the inevitable disagreement of concerned Calvinists over such a divisive approach, Nyomi claimed, “We can see how these commitments derive from our Reformed heritage.” The WCRC’s head seemed frustrated that Reformed churches were not putting enough effort in toeing this progressive line. “These danger signs tarnish the mission of the church,” he concluded.
