John Calvin: An Unopposed Dictator?

Lutheran historian Lewis W. Spitz once remarked that John Calvin “was one of those strong and consistent men of history who people either liked or disliked, adored or abhorred.”  Spitz’s statement is quite apt. I recall a business meeting held during in which a woman, distraught over my adherence to the doctrines of grace, asked, “How could you follow a man who murdered hundreds and hundreds of people?”  I responded, “I’m not a follower of John Calvin, I’m a follower of Jesus Christ.  As far as him being a murderer of hundreds, you need to double check your history with credible sources.”  How could this dear lady have gotten the notion the Reformer was guilty of such terrible crimes? The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church calls Calvin the “cruel” and “unopposed dictator of Geneva.” Such assertions are common on the internet.  The Gospel Truth, for instance, claims:

“A DICTATOR who is feared is not necessarily loved; and those who submit to a reign of terror may be far from acknowledging its justification. No doubt, during the first months after Calvin’s return to Geneva, the burghers and the civil authorities were unanimous in their admiration. All parties seemed well affected towards him. Since there was only one party, and only one supremacy, all were compelled to admit that the dictator moved resolutely towards his goal. Most of those whom he had been recalled to rule over were carried away by the intoxication of unity. Soon, a soberer mood set in. The men who had summoned Calvin to restore order were inspired by the secret hope that this fierce dictator, when he had accomplished what was expected of him, would prove somewhat less draconian in his zeal for morality. Instead, from day to day the “discipline” grew stricter. Far from slackening the curb, and far from uttering a word of thanks to his fellow-citizens for the enormous sacrifices they were making by the surrender of individual liberty and joyfulness, he continued to rail against them from the pulpit, declaring, to their profound disappointment, that the gallows was needed to stretch the necks of seventeen or eighteen hundred young men of Geneva before morality and discipline could be established in so corrupt a city. The Genevese at length realized that, instead of summoning one who would effect the mental healing they desired, they had brought back within the city walls one who would lay shackles on their freedom, and one whose more and more outrageously coercive measures would, in the end, alienate even the most loyal of his adherents.”

The fact of the matter is that when Calvin returned to Geneva in 1541, the government leaders and populace knew what sort of man the pastor-theologian was from his first stay in the city (1536-1538). After his expulsion to Strasbourg, they invited him insistently to return. Who invites a misanthropic tyrant to return and reign? Who would flee to a city known as the home of such an individual? If Calvin truly ruled Geneva with an iron fist, then the thousands of religious refugees from all over Europe fleeing from persecution would not seek Geneva as a haven. There were many hospitable Protestant cities in Europe, yet vast numbers desired to live in Geneva because of Calvin. John Knox, the Reformer of Scotland, articulated what many thought of the city under Calvin:

“It is the most perfect school of Christ that ever was in the earth since the days of the Apostles. In other places, I confess Christ to be truly preached, but manners and religion so sincerely reformed, I have not yet seen in any other place.”

Another proof Calvin was not the unopposed dictator of Geneva is that his second stay in the city was marked by constant conflict between the Magistracy and himself during1541-1555. The Magistracy inhibited the Reformer incessantly. He disputed with them over the power of church discipline and excommunication, he was not permitted to publish anything without their permission, and he was not even allowed to exit the city without their approval.

In 1553, Calvin and the City Council contested the right of ecclesiastical excommunication. On September 1 of that year, Philibert Berthelier petitioned the City Council to receive communion. Communion was denied to him a year-and-a-half earlier by the Church Consistory because of drunkenness. The Council asked Calvin for a consultation. The Reformer stated the right to allow or deny admission to communion belongs to the pastors. The Council ignored Calvin and granted Berthelier permission to partake of communion. Calvin and the other pastors appealed the decision unsuccessfully.

Many point to the execution of Michael Servetus as an example of the extreme cruelty (supposedly) exhibited by Calvin. Servetus’ anonymous work, Christianismi Restitutio (The Restitution of Christianity), attacked the fundamental doctrines of Christianity such as the Trinity, original sin and justification by faith. Arrested and tried by Roman Catholic authorities in Vienne, France, Servetus was sentenced to execution. He escaped, however, so was burned only in effigy. He fled to Geneva, attended a church service where Calvin was preaching, was recognized, and arrested. His trial lasted two months. The radical heresy of Servetus was opposed overwhelmingly by the citizens of Geneva. He was sentenced by the full session of the civil Council. The Magistracy consulted with Berne, Zurich, Basel and Schaffhausen. The authorities from each of these cities agreed Servetus was guilty of heresy and should receive capital punishment. The theologians of all the other Protestant cantons and the major Reformers of the period (Melancthon, Bucer, Bullinger and Farel) concurred. On this one point, even the Roman Catholics believed the Protestants were accomplishing God’s will.

Calvin met with Servetus at the request of the accused, received apologies from him, and prayed for him. Although he consented to capital punishment, Calvin requested the Council to grant the heretic a more merciful death than being burned at the stake. The Council refused, putting to death upon the pyre the one and only individual executed in Geneva for a religious offense.

Calvin was far from being an unopposed dictator responsible for the murder of 1,800 individuals.  One may not agree with Calvin’s theology, but the character assassination practiced by those seeking to discredit Calvinism must cease.