Scripture & Practice - Paper 5
As
the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin occurs on 10th
July 2009, this is an opportune time to take cognisance of what, even though it
may be incidental, he has to say
about building, buildings, built environments and builders.
Some references to
EVERYDAY
The concept of practical and lay vocation
Approaches to built environment
ethical issues
WIDER ISSUES OF finance AND
AESTHETICS
David
Cornick [2008] writes, ‘Reformed
spirituality is about public space... about the “theatre” of God’s glory,
the world. It is about building a city of the saints, creating an academy of vocations’.
In
an article on the significance of the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s
birth, Cornick [2009] says further;
Every
believer, Calvin felt, had a vocation. The shoemaker, the banker and the teacher
were chosen by God, just as much as the pastor or preacher - “Artisans
of every sort are ministers of God .... and have the same aim as ministers:
namely the conservation of the human race.” With vocations comes
responsibility, and that responsibility was worked out in society. Time, wealth
and ability were to be used for the benefit of the community, thus honouring
God. Human beings are truly the stewards of creation.
André
Bieler [2005] has drawn together much
of Calvin’s writing on economic and social matters. Although building and
built environment are not one of Calvin’s themes as such, there is inevitably
much about building and buildings to be discovered in his thought My purpose
here, therefore, is to set out systematically what Bieler has quarried from
Calvin. I do this under the following headings:
·
Some references to everyday building
·
The concept of practical and lay vocation
·
Approaches to built environment ethical issues
·
Wider issues of finance and aesthetics
In
conclusion I will add some observations.
Some
references to
Calvin
is not writing an architectural or civic history of Geneva, still less a travel
guide, but rather setting out what it means to be a Godly city. In the course of
doing so, he comments on the everyday building scene.
People
in Calvin’s
The
urban economy took shape. The towns, consisting of merchants
and craftsmen, were islands of individualistic law…. the merchants came
together into guilds to safeguard their activities, while the craftsmen united
in corporations (craft- guilds) to
regulate competition among themselves, guarantee the quality of their produce
and establish a hierarchical social order between the different classes
associated in working together. (Bieler
p124)
…. some intellectuals felt no reluctance at turning to manual work to
gain a living. Instances were that abbot of Trub who, having left his monastery
to embrace the new faith, applied himself to making
shingles. (Bieler p117)
A
key activity concerned the city fortifications
Geneva
prepared for the worst. It began to re-erect
fortifications, and … the magistrates, pastors, nobles and artisans
worked feverishly at re-building them. (Bieler
p120
Every
effort was made in every way to provide refugees with remunerative work. Those
who could not find work in their own trade were temporarily assigned to building
fortifications. But so that each of them could take on this work freely, in
line with their strength and inclinations (many refugees had reached
Good
property management is essential
To
[Calvin] the school constituted an essential part of effective ecclesiastical
organisation, and he never ceased intervening with the Councils to improve
teaching conditions and the state of school
buildings. (Bieler p119
Both
the material and spiritual life of believers are subject to the same divine
order. They are so interdependent that the deacons’ social service is seen as
an ecclesiastical ministry, just like the pastoral and teaching ministries. It
was divided into two functions: managing
the community’s property … and care of the sick. (Bieler p135
It will be necessary to ensure with care that the general hospital is well maintained – both for the sick and the
old who cannot work, as well as widows, orphans and other poor people. But let
them be kept in separate accommodation apart from the others. (Bieler
p136
The
fact that the pastors were also continually presenting complaints about their
pay was the result of real poverty in which they lived …. Calvin asked that
“they should be able to live decently” and should not be compelled to live
in a dwelling where there is no “proper
accommodation for study”. (Bieler
p138)
The
concept of practical and lay vocation
Calvin interprets everyday work of all types, including building, in
terms of vocation.
The
generic activity of work is affirmed
God,
in creating man, called on him to work…. each person is not called on to do
the same work. So individuals have to fulfil the work God gives them to do, and
to be spurred on and find satisfaction in it. (Bieler p356)
Most
work is properly seen as vocational
Most
occupations are worthy of the vocation to which God calls human beings. The
regard in which some of them were held in the time of the Reformation differs
very greatly from that which prevails in our days. In a society of craftsmen and manual workers
like that of the sixteenth century, a tendency could exist to discredit some professional
occupations that did not seem directly productive….
For whoever helps human society and brings profit to
it through their industry, whether in governing their family or administering public or private affairs, or advising or teaching others
or by whatever means, simply cannot be counted among the idle.
(Bieler pp358-9)
Essential
to the concept of vocation is service
….. For it is not enough when a man can say, Oh, I
labour, I have my craft or I have such a trade. That is not enough. But we must
see whether it is good and profitable for the common good, and whether his
neighbours may fare the better by it.. For ought not this to be the end to which
all occupations and positions tend, and to which they ought to refer themselves,
namely that every man seek to employ himself in that which will not be
useless…….. So then, since we must always have before our eyes in whatever
calling we live, God must go before us, as if he called us to himself, and we
follow the way he shows us by his Word, surely he will only approve of
occupations which are profitable and serviceable to the whole community, and
which reflect good also to all. (Bieler p357)
Technological
work is as valuable as agricultural
As
a result of man’s fundamental vocation – called first of all to know God and
then given the task of associating himself in the work of God’s providence by
taking control of the earth and the whole of creation – the Bible quite
naturally displays agricultural work as humanity’s primary activity. But
… this fundamental vocation is not confined to
farming work. Through their intelligence, their reflections and their technological activity God’s creatures are called to discovery, to
knowledge of the whole universe and to its mastery. (Bieler
p385)
Professional
training is important
To
continue profiting from God’s good gifts, one must persevere in getting to
know God’s Word. At least as much
care and importance must be assigned to studying it as is usually devoted to professional
training.
Vocation
extends to authorities
As
civil or political society is of divine origin, it is limited by God as to its
role and purpose. The authorities are the servants of both God and the people.
The
authorities
may hence learn what their vocation
is, for they are not to rule for their own interest, but for the public good;
nor are they endued with unbridled power, it is restricted to the well-being of
their subjects. In short, they are responsible to God and to men in the exercise
of their power. (Bieler p249)
Approaches
to built environment ethical issues
While some
of the following references are specific to building, others are generic. All
can be viewed in the context of building activity
.......morality
concerns everything in life and embraces it all. For the Christian there is no
longer a distinction between religious and secular life. The whole
of life is the fulfilment of the work of God through Jesus Christ: “we
must cease to live for ourselves, in order that we may devote all the actions of
our life to his [Christ’s] service. Holiness is to be practised as long as our
life lasts. (Bieler p187)
The
state plays a critical role
The
state must also see to it that trade
takes place honestly between the members of society so that the exchange of
goods, which is one of the prime conditions for natural social life in God’s
eyes may be carried on without fraud or theft.
But let us note that if men try to enrich themselves
by evil, illegitimate means this is like putting up boundary
stones or property markers; it is a form of duplicity. What then is it a
matter of doing? Just as weights and measures have to be placed under
supervision, and likewise money – there will be no communication between
people unless there is good faith in this; the same applies to boundary stones.
If weights and measures are false commerce will no longer exist; people will be
unable to buy or sell; people will be like wild beasts towards each other. If
money is not trustworthy, everything will inevitably be theft and robbery. And
there is a similar explanation for boundary stones. (Bieler p338)
The
state has a legitimate role allotted to it by the Word of God. To be able to
exist it needs material resources. Hence those subject to it are obliged to
provide them. ….. Thus, taxation
must first and foremost focus on the well-being of the people and not on
fleecing them.
Princes,
however, must remember that their estates
are not so much private revenues, but rather to be applied to the public good of
the whole people (this St Paul testifies, Romans 13:6), which they cannot,
without injury to the public, squander or dilapidate; or rather, they must bear
in mind that it is the very blood of the people, which it were the harshest
inhumanity not to spare. (Bieler pp339-40)
There
must be justice in the provision of housing
According
to the Bible, hoarding is to be condemned, because no wealth could belong solely
to one individual. Every benefit is really from the result of the collaboration
of those who are linked together working on the same task, and more generally
depends on the work of the whole society….. Hoarding dwellings when others are denied one is no less harmful to
society than amassing lands and wealth.
As to the size
and spaciousness of houses, the same remark which we already made about
fields will apply; for [Isaiah] points out the ambition of those who are
desirous to inhabit magnificent palaces or spacious houses. there is nothing
reprehensible if someone who has a large family has a large house; but when
people, swollen with ambition, make superfluous additions to their houses, only
that they may live in greater luxury, and when one person alone occupies a
building which might serve for the habitation of several, this undoubtedly is
empty ambition, and ought justly to be blamed. Such persons act as if they were
the only ones that enjoyed a roof, and others should only have the sky for a
blanket, or must go somewhere else to find an abode. (Bieler
p298)
And
similarly justice in the use of the fruits of all labour
Since
wages are a sign of God’s grace,
human beings cannot dispose of their neighbour’s wages at their pleasure, for
these do not belong to them.
But our Lord takes stock and argues, saying “What?!
Cannot the person who has corn in his barns
give to those who have served him, and from whom he has extracted blood, sweat
and tears? Must he not at least consider the corn he has in his barns?” The
worker has ploughed and cultivated the ground, he is burdened with these things;
must he not taste some of the sweat-fruits of his labour? Afterwards God comes
to the winepress and the stables, as if to say that each individual should
consider what he has, for in line with your resources you are obliged to
recompense those who have worked for you and have been the means of such a
blessing. (Bieler p368)
Honesty
in all work is an obligation
God’s
standards for honesty in work are not
those of the world. In God’s sight, work is honest only if it is directed
towards community service
Even if we abstain from all wrong-doing, we do not
therefore satisfy God who has laid humankind under mutual obligation to each
other, that they may seek to benefit, care for and succour one another.
Wherefore he undoubtedly inculcates liberality and kindness, and the other
duties whereby human society and community are maintained… (Bieler p363)
The
avoidance of waste – in building as well as food – is an obligation
Calvin
frequently denounces waste or,
contrariwise, storing, monopolizing and speculation as so many displays of human
sin and selfishness, corrupting the natural order of the economy, which in
God’s plan was meant to guarantee to every creature the means to live in
abundance.
There will be those who prefer to let the corn waste in a barn and be eaten by vermin, and rot, rather than to sell
it when it is needed (for they seek only to starve the poor)… See, here we
have wheat for harvesting; well, our Lord has bestowed his grace and his
blessing widely, so that the poor can be fed. But it will be gathered
into barns and kept locked up there, even till it mounts up to such an
extent that people cry they are starving and cannot manage any longer. (Bieler
p215)
Unemployment
is to be avoided
And
because work is a gift from God that no-one has the right to despise, unemployment is a scourge that no man or woman worthy of the name
must tolerate. The Bible severely condemns those who, being financially able to
forgive work to others, deprives them of it if they can do otherwise.
We know that for craftsmen and workers their income
lies in their being able to earn a living; they do not have their monies always
invested in meadows and fields. As God has placed their life in their own hands,
ie in the work they do, if they are deprived of the necessary means, it is just
as if their throats had been cut. (Bieler
p361)
WIDER
ISSUES OF finance AND AESTHETICS
Building
is a specific and practical field in which more general ideas concerning money
and aesthetics come into play.
Money
and profit
Money… is a way of linking human beings, through which they can impart to
each other the good things available to them….. Money is also the yield God
brings to the work of human beings linked together in their labours. It is a
common value granted to those who have worked together…. The quest for only
the individual’s profit destroys God’s order and the whole of social
existence. (Bieler pp400-1)
Lending
money
Lending – without concern for profit – is one of the natural actions of a
person who has grasped that he does not own what he possesses but is appointed
by God as its trustee to help others….. He drew an important distinction
between consumer lending on the one hand and lending to promote production on
the other. (Bieler pp401-2)
…..
if you shut money up in a box it will produce nothing. But can we deal
with money differently from any other material good? Neither the earth nor
merchandise produces anything by itself. But they do bring a benefit to those
who rent the former or trade the second. Is not money the same as any other
goods?
I get an income from letting
out a house? Is this to make money grow? Does not money bear more fruit in
goods than any possessions one might mention? Is it to be permissible to let out
a piece of ground and unlawful to take some profit from money? What?! If one
buys a field, will the money not produce more money? How do merchants add to
their possessions? (Bieler p405)
First
of all, the rights of someone who grants funds must never prevail over every
human being’s right to hold on to his work and the tools with which he
produces… money gives no right over anyone’s private life.
the creditor should not
ransack the house nor pick through the utensils in order to choose the
pledges at his pleasure. For, if this option were given to the avaricious rich
… they would ransack houses or otherwise (Bieler
p417)
High
value of the arts
In
many passages of his writings Calvin defined the
arts as among the
very
precious gifts of God that are inspired by his Holy Spirit. The creator of all
things is also the one who makes human life more attractive through the
spiritual and mental embellishments he lavishes on them, and through the works
he allows them to achieve to his glory. … all art must be related to its
source and its purpose: it is a gift of God given for “the common benefit of
human society”. (Bieler p391)
Art
in religious buildings
While
…. Calvin gives a deep,
theological significance to art, he does not accept that painting and sculpture
can contribute to Christian worship…. Referring to Herod’s
Temple, he wrote:
I call it a mongrel, because God never approves such splendour. For the
enormous expense which Herod devoted to the building was more a profanation than
adornment and enrichment of the true
Calvin
offers some scriptural standards likely to guide Christian freedom and show the
believer what judicious use he can make of the countless
good things God makes available to human beings.
Now then, if we consider for what end God created
food, we shall find that he wanted to provide not only for our needs, but for
our enjoyment and delight. Similarly, in clothing the end was, in addition to
necessity, comeliness and decency. In herbs, fruit and trees, besides their
various uses he gives to us, he wanted to please our sight by their beauty and
give us yet another pleasure in their sweetness of smell……. Has the Lord
adorned flowers with all the beauty which spontaneously presents itself to the
eye, and the sweet odour which delights the sense of smell, and shall it be
unlawful for us to enjoy that beauty and this odour? What? Has he not so
distinguished colours as to make some more agreeable than others? Has he not
given qualities to gold and silver, ivory and marble, thereby rendering them
precious above other metals and stones? Finally, has he not given us many things
which we must hold in esteem, although they are of no necessary use for us? (Bieler
p189)
Thus
in the evolution of capitalism, Protestant occupational asceticism operated in
two converging and extremely effective ways: its ethic on work and striving for effectiveness in practical activity
was a stimulus to production and encouraged the acquisition of wealth. But its asceticism,
which was opposed to every form of extravagance and useless pleasures, acted as
a break on the consumption of the wealth acquired and led to the accumulation of
capital….
Also
we note a particular style of Puritan comfort: the temperate tastefulness and
practical simplicity characteristic of a good many Protestant
interiors springs from eliminating every excessive convenience, conspicuous
extravagance, useless finery, pretentious display or flashy baubles. (Bieler
p434)
This
quarrying exercise of Calvin via Bieler has revealed what we may look upon as a
geological structure. Starting from ground level we encounter:
Level
1
In
Calvin’s
Level
2
Calvin
affirms the value of work and views it in terms of vocation.
Trades people, professionals and public authorities are alike called to their
roles and tasks. This means they are not just earning a living but serving their
society. Training is important.
Level
3
Both
in everyday life and in the working out of the concept of vocation, ethical issues come to the fore. Some of them are generic such as
honesty, the avoidance of bad practices such as waste and unemployment, while
others are specific to the world of building and buildings such as justice in
the allocation of housing.Legally enforceable contracts have a place alongside
the more personal aspects of ethical behaviour.
Level
4
Even
when viewed as vocation and with alertness to the constant questions of ethics,
everyday building is basically pragmatic. In addition, at this deepest level, it
is an application of values and
principles relating to what should and should not be done with money and how
art and aesthetics are viewed and valued.
As
I have said neither Calvin nor Bieler sets out to address specifically building
and built environment aspects, yet in the context of more general aims they in
fact do. This gives us the confidence to say that at both the origin and heart
of the Reformed ethos of economic and social life expressing religious
understandings, or of church permeating society, our particular field of
interest is authentically present. This
geology, it seems to me, is likely to be sufficiently strong to be a substantial
component of a foundation for a vocational academy of building.
Cornick,
David (2008) Letting God be God: The
Reformed Tradition
Cornick, David (2009) Under the
hand of God Reform,
April 2009 pp20-21
Bieler,
Andre (trans 2005) Calvin’s Economic and
Social Thought