The Minister and His Marriage (2)
This article examines the Reformed doctrine of clerical marriage as a correction to Rome's unbiblical celibacy requirement, drawing on the polemics of Luther and Calvin against papal authority. Cammenga presents the historical Reformed affirmation of marriage for ministers as grounded in Scripture and creation ordinance, offering practical and theological guidance for ministerial candidates.
Marriage of the Clergy The Reformers encouraged the clergy to marry and repudiated Rome's unbiblical requirement of clerical celibacy. Both Luther and Calvin repeatedly blasted Rome and her pope for making this commandment of men a command of God. Calvin did so in a sermon preached on Monday, October 2, 1559 in Geneva. The sermon text was Genesis 2:22-24. The title of the sermon was, "The Inviolable Union of Adam and Eve, God's Will for All Time." In the course of the sermon, Calvin said that...
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