Calvin says that the “labyrinth”
of the human mind can formulate many idols or specters of god so an “immense
crowd of gods flow forth from the human mind” What are the gods of today? Could
they be money, power, relationships, social media and sex perhaps? These comments of Calvin refer to those whom
he describes as “untutored.” He reserves
particular venom for those who are philosophers in an allusion to Cicero and
his disagreement among the learned gods in “Nature of gods”. Who are the philosophers of our time who
disagree over what or who God is? Calvin
then moves on to the Epicureans for whom it became customary to deny outright
God’s existence. Finally Calvin
indicates that if human beings were taught by nature then upon recognising that
there was “nothing certain or clear cut”, they would worship an unknown
god. He uses the example of the Athenians
to illustrate this point as St. Paul
stood in the middle of the Areopagus and found and altar “To an unknown god” [Acts
17:23]. Who do you know who worships and
unknown god today?
Do you look at
beautiful animals and plants and “disregarding their author sit idly in
contemplation of his works”? As spring and summer come how often do you see
people doing exactly what Calvin describes here? Why? Some believe that there can be no God. Others are so ensnared by the distractions of
modern living that they have no time to think. Calvin is correct it would seem
that our reasons for ignoring God’s work in creation are our own “particular
error” whether we are educated or not.
Calvin criticises Plato as disappearing in his own round globe – a
sarcastic reference to Plato’s sphere.
But the problem remains: how can human beings profit from and appreciate
God’s creation?
