Dr Paul Allen

Engraved from the original oil painting in the University Library of Geneva, this is considered Calvin's best likeness. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John Calvin uses a surprising term to describe our neglect of the doctrine of God ’s providence in the course of our everyday lives. He calls it superstition. Superstitious people wrongly attribute supernatural power to things that do not actually possess that power: a black cat, a broken mirror, a ladder overhead, salt thrown over your shoulder, the chalk of the third base line. But what does superstition have to do with providence? The classical Reformed view of providence teaches that God is in ultimate control of everything in the universe, including the free choices and actions (good and bad) of all people. If this understanding is correct, it is superstitious to think and feel and act as though other human beings possess  ultimate  causality in what they do. We’re ascribing God’s role to them. But isn’t this how we

Self-Portrait, Spring 1887, Oil on pasteboard, 42 × 33.7 cm., Art Institute of Chicago (F 345). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Vincent van Gogh aspired to become a Calvinist pastor, like his dad. He pursued ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church until he hit a roadblock by failing his academic training, and then experienced what personal failure often breeds: disillusionment. He became disenchanted with pastoral ministry and then left the church for good in 1880 at the age of 27. From that point on van Gogh redirected all his ambitions to art. Of all van Gogh’s famous works, I’m most struck by a painting he feverishly finished in one day: “ Still Life with Bible ” (1885). The symbolic painting features two books. The large book in the background is the Bible of van Gogh’s pastor-father. The Bible is opened to Isaiah 53 . The yellow book in the foreground is a French novel by naturalist Émile Zola . The book is titled La Joie de Vivre , or in English, The Joy of Life (1884). So w