Piety is the requisite for the knowledge of God
What does the twenty first century mind think of when the
word piety is mentioned ? Some sort of sentimental religiosity, something to do
with monks and nuns/ if we consult the
Oxford English Dictionary then the definition we find is “devout, religious,
hypocritically virtuous, dutiful”. In
the second chapter of the Institutes Calvin begins to explore the knowledge of
God and suggests that Piety is necessary for such knowledge. Can this be true for us today? Can God be known where there is no piety?
Some people today would say that they know God every time
they see creation- the beauty of a sunset, the intricacy of an orchid, the
colour of a kingfisher. But Calvin would
argue that the revelation of God in creation is only a basis for a sound
natural theology if the first man, Adam had remained without sin and so Calvin
contends that we cannot know God “until Christ the mediator comes forward to
reconcile Him to us”. We may be capable
of feeling God’s providence, his goodness and experience His blessings but it
is something else to know “the grace of reconciliation offered to us in Christ”.
Two aspects of the character of God point to this: 1. The fashioning of the universe shows God
as creator and 2. The face of Christ shows Him as redeemer. We cannot apprehend God until we honour these
features of His constitution. He
sustains, regulates, preserves and rules the universe. It is in this that piety is to be located: no
wisdom or light exists that does not come from Him and we will not acknowledge
him “unless we establish complete happiness in Him”
By Calvin’s definition of piety then it is certainly
necessary to know God. The modern definition is more likely to lead us away
from God – would you agree? For someone
who is hypocritically virtuous is unlikely to be giving glory to God in their
lives, do you think?
