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controversial and embattled positions. Critics charge that insistence
upon man‘s ongoing rebellion and depravity of humankind is too
pessimistic and unworthy of human dignity. For Calvin, however,
failure to grasp the depth of man‘s fall intensifies human misery for
without knowledge of his true condition he cannot avail himself of
the grace and salvation available through Jesus Christ. For Calvin,
only by the Word of God can man come to understand his fallen
condition as well as his need of grace. On the other hand, should
man receive Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, reform of both
church and society may commence to counteract the more baneful
consequences of man‘s rebellion against God.
A careful examination of Calvin‘s work reveals that respect
for the nobility of humankind and appreciation of man‘s unique
character and vocation are critical to Calvin‘s reasoning. Calvin
appreciated that unless one understood man‘s former the lofty
stature and vocation, one could never understand human decline
nor the nature of salvation in Jesus Christ. If humankind had
slouched in ingratitude, distrust, and rebellion, how much more had
Jesus Christ restored man‘s true image through trust in and
obedience to God.
If the image of God was dynamic and directed towards
fulfillment, active and continuous had been humankind‘s the
precipitous descent. For Calvin, the man‘s fall was more than a
past event but represented a continuous state of rebellion in man.
Calvin‘s dynamic understanding of the image of God meant that
human disobedience continued to distort the image of God in every
aspect. The defilement of sin affected all rationality, judgment,
intelligence, relationships, and civil affairs. If ability to express the
image of God required communion with God, then fallen man‘s
knowledge of himself as well as of God was impaired and
disoriented by separation from God.
To better understand this disorientation we have to consider
man‘s relationship to the Holy Spirit. For Calvin, man‘s soul was
the seat of the personality. Whereas the rest of creation moves