Readers may be surprised that Rev. Williamson’s view was seemingly not shared by Calvin. I do not represent the following as fully representative of John Calvin’s views, but as two data points. The first is a letter in 1551 to Berchtold Haller, the leader of the Reformed Church of Bern… The second is a letter in 1555 to the presbytery at Bern.

I’m writing in response to the article posted at The Aquila Report by G.I. Williamson entitled “A Defense of Calvin’s Rejection of Christmas. . . .” Rev. Williamson is concerned that many Presbyterian and Reformed churches err to make any use of “Good Friday, Christmas, and Easter.” He aligns these practices with the Judaizers, saying that such “tradition[s] they had invented eclipsed God’s commandment.” Rev. Williamson regrets these practices: “So I still think John Calvin was right in his desire to bring the Church back to that wonderful condition” in which “Good Friday, Christmas, and Easter” would be rejected.

Some readers may be surprised that Rev. Williamson’s view was seemingly not shared by Calvin. I do not represent the following as fully representative of John Calvin’s views, but as two data points. The first is a letter in 1551 to Berchtold Haller, the leader of the Reformed Church of Bern. Calvin wrote to Haller,

“Before I ever entered the city, there were no festivals but the Lord’s day. Those celebrated by you were approved of by the same public decree by which Farel and I were expelled; and it was rather extorted by the tumultuous violence of the ungodly, than decreed according to the order of law. Since my recall, I have pursued the moderate course of keeping Christ’s birth-day as you are wont to do” [emphasis added; Bonnet, J. (2009); Letters of John Calvin, Vol. I–IV (Vol. 2, p. 274); Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software].

So Calvin kept “Christ’s birth-day as you are wont to do.”

The second is a letter in 1555 to the presbytery at Bern. To this group, Calvin wrote,

“For the rest, my writings bear witness to my sentiments on these points, for in them I declare that a church is not to be despised or condemned, because it observes more festival days than the others” [emphasis added; Bonnet, J. (2009); Letters of John Calvin, Vol. I–IV (Vol. 3, pp. 163–164); Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software].

So Calvin did not think that we should evaluate a church on whether it “observes more festival days than the others,” such as Christmas or Easter.

I encourage the reader to consult these letters and read for himself what Calvin was thinking.

These two data points serve, in the least, as counterexamples to Rev. Williamson’s claims. So while I have found great personal benefit from Rev. Williamson’s ministry, I must dissent on his claim about Calvin and Christmas.

Philip Larson lives in Greenville, S.C., and is a member of Second Presbyterian Church (PCA).