In this reading from Calvin’s Institutes, Book 2, Chapter 2, Sections 5–8, Calvin turns from philosophers to theologians—and finds that many Christian writers fared little better when speaking about free will. Surveying the Schoolmen and earlier Fathers, Calvin shows how careful distinctions about grace and freedom often collapsed into confusion, ambiguity, or misplaced confidence in human ability. While acknowledging the pastoral intentions behind these formulations, Calvin presses the question that cannot be avoided: what does “free will” actually mean if the human will is enslaved to sin? Drawing especially on Augustine, Calvin argues that freedom properly understood is not autonomy but liberation—freedom granted by grace, not assumed by nature. These sections sharpen Calvin’s warning about theological language itself, showing how a single term, left undefined, can quietly undo the doctrine of grace and foster a dangerous self-reliance in the human heart.

Readings:

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Chapter 2, Sections 5–8

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