God or Baal: Two Letters on the Reformation of Worship and Pastoral Service

John Calvin

Reviewed by: Joel D. Fick

God or Baal: Two Letters on the Reformation of Worship and Pastoral Service, by John Calvin, translated by David C. Noe. Reformation Heritage, 2020. Hardcover, 192 pages, $24.50. Reviewed by OP pastor Joel D. Fick.

God or Baal is the aptly named title of two letters from John Calvin, recently translated and introduced by David C. Noe. The title, though not original to the letters, is fitting, as Calvin is pressing his addressees with the gravity and urgency of Joshua, who called God’s people to “choose this day whom you will serve” saying, “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served . . . and serve the LORD (Josh. 24:14–15).

The book begins with a stellar introduction by Noe. He provides useful biography and helpful historical context for understanding both the tone and the personal nature of the letters. Here he also provides insight and illustration of Calvin’s “sophisticated and ferocious style” and of his mastery of Latin. Especially helpful is Noe’s discussion of Nicodemism. Nicodemism (a reference to Nicodemus who came to Jesus in secret) refers to those who “advocated remaining secret believers in the midst of Roman Catholic practice.”

The letters, written to old friends in whom once burned the fires of Reformation thinking, are both personal in nature but vastly different in tone. The first letter, written to Nicolas Duchemin, is addressed to a “dearest brother” and one whom Calvin is “filled with the greatest anxiety for,” as he has not yet allowed himself to get free from “that Egypt” of Rome. The letter is Calvin’s advice and admonition to flee idolatry whatever the cost and “render to the Lord the confession of praise that he requires.” This first letter demonstrates Calvin’s clear thinking and polemical precision in arguing for true worship over against the idolatry of the Mass in which Christ’s death “is completely robbed of its glory” as a “unique and everlasting sacrifice.”

The second letter, written to Gérard Roussel, is harsher in tone and even a bit snarky. It’s written to a man who had once been formative in French reform and thus in Calvin’s life, but who in his ambition had betrayed the cause for a life of ease and elevation in the Roman church. Here the letter centers on what it really means to be a minister and bishop in Christ’s church and how Christ will not excuse false shepherds. Calvin holds nothing back either in his criticism of those who are “prostituting the desolated church” as “bloodthirsty abuser(s)” or in his call for their repentance.

David Noe has done a wonderful service to the church and its ministers in providing us with this translation and introduction. He gives us insight into the zeal, courage, and compassion of a young Calvin focused on the glory of God and the good of the church. The letters, though addressed to particular individuals, are filled with thoughtful and convicting applications of God’s Word and were clearly written with a broader audience in view. Now, thanks to Noe, we can be a part of that broader audience.