Paul McCain has a great post about the legacy of John Calvin over at Cyberbrethren. He quotes Francis Pieper extensively on how Calvinism differs from Lutheranism. For example:
It has become the fashion to say that the difference between the
Reformed and the Lutheran Church consists in this, that the Reformed
Church “more exclusively” makes Scripture the source of the Christian
doctrine, while the Lutheran Church, being more deeply “rooted in the
past” and of a more “conservative” nature, accepts not only Scripture,
but also tradition as authoritative. But this is not in accord with
the facts. The history of dogma tells this story: In those doctrines in
which it differs from the Lutheran Church and for the sake of which it
has established itself as a separate body within visible Christendom,
the Reformed Church, as far as it follows in the footsteps of Zwingli
and Calvin, sets aside the Scripture principle and operates instead
with rationalistic axioms. The Reformed theologians frankly state that
reason must have a voice in determining Christian doctrine.
He goes on to quote Pieper regarding how rationalism affects the Reformed understanding of the means of grace generally, the Lord's Supper in particular, and the extent of the atonement. As American evangelicalism is largely the legacy of those who came after Calvin, I found this quite interesting. So much for the favorite fundamentalist/evangelical saying, "we only believe what the Bible says." More like the Bible as read through the lens of human reason.
You can read the whole thing here.
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