The Trinity

It seems that one of the aims of the Institutes is to re-establish orthodoxy on the footing of scripture. One of the cries of the Reformation was "scripture alone!" as opposed to the scripture + tradition tack of the RCC. But Calvin is obviously taking pains, here in Chapter 13.18, where I am, to affirm the Nicene vision of the Trinity on scriptural grounds. This makes him different from what we might call "scriptural primitivists," who would say that when we speak of God we should not use any words found in scripture. They would throw out "trinity," "hypostasis," "person," and maybe "essence" in talking about God.

Calvin wants to walk the sharp edge of applying logic to scripture in order to figure out the whole picture. (This seems to me to accord with his initial calling as a lawyer.) This desire to do so--and perhaps to walk down dangerous paths where logic can lead--gives the Reformed tradition some of its unique flavor.

~ emrys