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Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Calvinism

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No better account of this remarkable (though now largely obsolete) system has been drawn out than Möhler's in his "Symbolism or Doctrinal Differences." The "Institutes of the Christian Religion," in which Calvin depicted his own mind, were never superseded by creed or formulary, though the writer subscribed, in 1540, at Worms to the Confession of Augsburg, i.e. the second revised edition. To take his bearings in theology we must remember that he succeeded Luther in point of time and was committed to a struggle with Zwingli's disciples at Zurich and elsewhere, known as Sacramentarians, but who tended more and more towards a Christianity without mysteries. In 1549 he and Farel entered with Bullinger into a moderate view as regarded the Eucharist, the "Consensus Tigurinus," or compact of Zurich, which Bucer also accepted. Another compact, of the "pastors of Geneva " strengthened his hands, in 1552, on the subjects of predestination, against Jerome Bolsec, whom he refuted and cast into prison. Bolsec finally returned to the Catholic Church. In 1553 a controversy between the German Lutherans about the Lord's Supper led Calvin to declare his agreement with Melanchthon (the Philippists), but Melanchthon kept silence. Further complications ensued when Beza, softening the real doctrine of Geneva, drew nearer still to the Lutheran belief on this head. Bullinger and Peter Martyr cried down Beza's unauthorized glosses; but Calvin supported his favourite. Nevertheless, that "declaration" was dropped by Beza when, in company with Farel, he put together a "Confession of the French Church," and fell back on the creed of Augsburg issued in 1530, while not assenting to its 10th article. The Eucharist was to be more than a sign; Christ was truly present in it, and was received by Faith (compare the English Prayer Book, which reproduces his conception). Beyond these, on the whole, abortive efforts toward a common understanding, Calvin never went. His individual genius demanded its own expression; and he is always like himself, unlike any other. The many creeds fell into olivion; but the "Institutes" were recognized more and more as the sum of Reformed Theology. It was said after 1560, by the Jesuit St. Peter Canisius, that Calvin appeared to be taking Luther's place even among Germans. Three currents have ever since held their course in this development of Protestantism:

  • the mystic, derived from Wittenberg;
  • the logical-orthodox, from Geneva; and
  • the heterodox-rationalist, from Zurich (Zwingli), this last being greatly increased, thanks to the Unitarians of Italy, Ochino, Fausto, and Lelio Socino.

To the modern world, however, Calvin stands peculiarly for the Reformation, his doctrine is supposed to contain the essence of the Gospel; and multitudes who reject Christianity mean merely the creed of Geneva. Why does this happen? Because, we answer, Calvin gave himself out as following closely in the steps of St. Paul and St. Augustine. The Catholic teaching at Trent he judged to be Semi-Pelagian, a stigma which his disciples fix especially on the Jesuit schools, above all, on Molina. Hence the curious situation arises, that, while the Catholic consent of the East and West finds little or no acknowledgement as an historical fact among assailants of religion, the views which a single Reformer enunciated are taken as though representing the New Testament. In other words, a highly refined individual system, not traceable as a whole to any previous age, supplants the public teaching of centuries. Calvin, who hated Scholasticism, comes before us, as Luther had already done, in the shape of a Scholastic. His "pure doctrine" is gained by appealing, not to tradition, the "deposit" of faith, but to argument in abstract terms exercised upon Scripture. He is neither a critic nor a historian; he takes the Bible as something given; and he manipulates the Apostles' Creed in accordance with his own ideas. The "Institutes" are not a history of dogma, but a treatise, only not to be called an essay because of its peremptory tone. Calvin annihilates the entire space, with all its developments, which lies between the death of St. John and the sixteenth century. He does, indeed, quote St. Augustine, but he leaves out all that Catholic foundation on which the Doctor of Grace built.

The "Institutes of the Christian Religion" are divided into four books and exhibit a commentary on the Apostles' Creed.

  • Book I considers God the Creator, the Trinity, revelation, man's first estate and original righteousness.
  • Book II describes the Fall of Adam, and treats of Christ the Redeemer.
  • Book III enlarges on justifying faith, election, and reprobation.
  • Book IV gives the Presbyterian idea of the Church.

In form the work differs from the "Summa" of St. Thomas Aquinas by using exposition where the Angelic Doctor syllogizes; but the style is close, the language good Latin of the Renaissance, and the tone elevated, though often bitter. Arguments employed are always ostensibly grounded on Scripture, the authority of which rests not upon fallible human reasoning, but on the internal persuasion of the Holy Spirit. Yet Calvin is embarrassed at the outset by "unsteady men" who declare themselves enlightened of the same spirit and in no want of Scripture. He endeavours to refute them by the instance of St. Paul and other "primitive believers," i.e. after all, by Catholic tradition. It will be obvious, moreover, that where the "Institutes" affirm orthodox tenets they follow the Councils and the Fathers, while professing reliance on the Bible alone. Thus we need not rehearse those chapters which deal with the Nicene and Chalcedonian formulas. We shall best apprehend Calvin's master-thought if we liken it to modern systems of the Unconscious, or of physical predetermination, wherein all effects lie folded up, as it were, in one First Cause, and their development in time is necessitated. Effects are thus mere manifestations, not fresh acts, or in any way due to free will choosing its own course. Nature, grace, revelation, Heaven, and Hell do but show us different aspects of the eternal energy which works in all things. There is no free will outside the Supreme. Zwingli argued that, since God was infinite being, He alone existed -- there could be no other being, and secondary or created causes were but instruments moved entirely by Divine power. Calvin did not go to this length. But he denies freedom to creatures, fallen or unfallen, except it be libertas a coactione; in other words, God does not compel man to act by brute force, yet he determines irresistibly all we do, whether good or evil. The Supreme is indeed self-conscious -- not a blind Fate or Stoic destiny; it is by "decree" of the sovereign Lawgiver that events come to pass. But for such decrees no reason can be rendered. There is not any cause of the Divine will save Itself. If we ask why has the Almighty acted thus and thus, we are told, "Quia ipse voluit" -- it is His good pleasure. Beyond this, an explanation would be impossible, and to demand one is impiety. From the human angle of sight, therefore God works as though without a reason. And here we come upon the primal mystery to which in his argument Calvin recurs again and again. This Supreme Will fixes an absolute order, physical, ethical, religious, never to be modified by anything we can attempt. For we cannot act upon God, else He would cease to be the First Cause. Holding this clue, it is comparatively simple to trace Calvin's footsteps along the paths of history and revelation.

Luther had written that man's will is enslaved either to God or to Satan, but it is never free. Melanchthon declaimed against the "impious dogma of Free Will," adding that since all things happen by necessity according to Divine predestination, no room was left for it. This was truly the article by which the Reformation should stand or fall. God is sole agent. Therefore creation, redemption, election, reprobation are in such sense His acts that man becomes merely their vehicle and himself does nothing. Luther, contending with Erasmus, declares that "God by an unchangeable, eternal, infallible will, foresees purposes and effects all things. By this thunderbolt Free Will is utterly destroyed." Calvin shared Luther's doctrine of necessity to the full; but he embroiled the language by admitting in unfallen Adam a liberty of choice. He was likewise at pains to distinguish between his own teaching and the "nature bound fast in Fate" of the Stoics. He meant by liberty, however, the absence of constraint; and the Divine wisdom which he invoked could never be made intelligible to our understanding. What he rejected was the Catholic notion of the self-determining second cause. Neither would he allow the doctrine laid down by the Fathers of Trent (Sess. VI Canon 16), that God permits evil deeds, but is not their author. The condemnation struck expressly at Melanchthon, who asserted that the betrayal by Judas was not less properly God's act than the vocation of St. Paul. But by parity of reasoning it falls upon Calvinism. For the "Institutes" affirm that "man by the righteous impulsion of God does that which is unlawful ," and that "man falls, the Providence of God so ordaining" (IV, 18, 2; III, 23, 8). Yet elsewhere Calvin denied this impulse as not in accordance with the known will of the Almighty. Both he and Luther found a way of escape from the moral dilemma inflicted on them by distinguishing two wills in the Divine Nature, one public or apparent, which commanded good and forbade evil as the Scripture teaches, the other just, but secret and unsearchable, predetermining that Adam and all the reprobate should fall into sin and perish. At no time did Calvin grant that Adam's transgression was due to his own free will. Beza traces it to a spontaneous, i.e. a natural and necessary, movement of the spirit, in which evil could not fail to spring up. He justifies the means -- sin and its consequences -- by the holy purpose of the Creator who, if there were no one to punish, would be incapable of showing that he is a righteously vindictive God. As, however, man's intent was evil, he becomes a sinner while his Creator remains holy. The Reformed confessions will not allow that God is the author of sin -- and Calvin shows deep indignation when charged with "this disgraceful falsehood." He distinguishes, like Beza, the various intentions concurring to the same act on the part of different agents- but the difficulty cannot well be got over, that, in his view, the First Cause alone is a real agent, and the rest mere instruments. It was objected to him that he gave no convincing reasons for the position thus taken up, and that his followers were swayed by their master's authority rather than by the force of his logic. Even an admirer, J. A. Froude, tells us:

To represent man as sent into the world under a curse, as incurably wicked-wicked by the constitution of his nature and wicked by eternal decree-as doomed, unless exempted by special grace which he cannot merit, or by any effort of his own obtain, to live in sin while he remains on earth, and to be eternally miserable when he leaves it-to represent him as born unable to keep the commandments, yet as justly liable to everlasting punishment for breaking them, is alike repugnant to reason and conscience, and turns existence into a hideous nightmare. (Short Studies, II, 3.)

Another way to define the Reformed theology would be to contrast its view of God's eternal decrees with that taken in the Catholic Church, notably by Jesuit authors such as Molina. To Calvin the ordinances of Deity seemed absolute, i.e. not in any way regardful of the creature's acts, which they predetermined either right or wrong; and thus reprobation -- the supreme issue between all parties -- followed upon God's unconditioned fiat, no account being had in the decree itself of man's merits or demerits. For God chose some to glory and others to shame everlasting as He willed, not upon foreknowledge how they would act. The Jesuit school made foreknowledge of "future contingencies" or of what creatures would do in any possible juncture, the term of Divine vision "scientia media" which was logically antecedent (as a condition not a cause) to the scheme of salvation. Grace, said Catholic dogma, was offered to all men; none were excluded from it. Adam need not have transgressed, neither was his fall pre-ordained. Christ died for the whole human race; and every one had such help from on high that the reprobate could never charge their ruin upon their Maker, since he permitted it only, without an absolute decree. Grace, then, was given freely; but eternal life came to the saints by merit, founded on correspondence to the Holy Spirit's impulse. All these statements Calvin rejected as Pelagian, except that he would maintain, though unable to justify, the- imputation of the sinner's lapse to human nature by itself.

To be consistent, this doctrine requires that no prevision of Adam's Fall should affect the eternal choice which discriminates between the elect and the lost. A genuine Calvinist ought to be a supralapsarian; in other terms, the Fall was decreed as means to an end; it did not first appear in God's sight to be the sufficient cause why, if He chose, He might select some from the "massa damnata," leaving others to their decreed doom. To this subject St. Augustine frequently returns in his anti-Pelagian treatises, and he lays great emphasis on the consequences to mankind as regards their final state, of God's dealing with them in fallen Adam. But his language, unlike that of Calvin, never implies absolute rejection divorced from foreknowledge of man's guilt. Thus even to the African Father, whose views in his latter works became increasingly severe (see "On the Predestination of the Saints" and "On Correction and Grace") there was always an element of scientia media, i.e. prevision in the relation of God with His creatures. But, to the Reformer who explained Redemption and its opposite by sheer omnipotence doing as it would, the idea that man could, even as a term of knowledge, by his free acts be considered in the Everlasting Will was not conceivable. As the Arian said, "How can the Eternal be begotten?" and straightway denied the generation of the Word, in like manner Calvin, "How can the contingent affect the First Cause on which it utterly depends?" In the old dilemma, "either God is not omnipotent or man is not self determined," the "Institutes" accept the conclusion adverse to liberty. But it was, said Catholics, equally adverse to morals; and the system has always been criticised on that ground. In a word, it seemed to be antinomian.

With Augustine the Geneva author professed to be at one. "If they have all been taken from a corrupt mass," he argued, "no marvel that they are subject to condemnation." But, his critics replied, "were they not antecedently predestined to that corruption?" And "is not God unjust in treating His creatures with such cruel mystery?" To this Calvin answers, "I confess that all descendants of Adam fell by the Divine will," and that "we must return at last to God's sovereign determination, the cause of which is hidden" (Institutes, III, 23, 4). "Therefore," he concludes, "some men are born devoted from the womb to certain death, that His name may be glorified in their destruction." And the reason why such necessity is laid upon them? "Because," says Calvin "life and death are acts of God's will rather than of his foreknowledge," and "He foresees further events only in consequence of his decree that they shall happen." Finally, "it is an awful decree, I confess [horribile decretum, fateor], but none can deny that God foreknew the future final fate of man before He created him -- and that He did foreknow it because it was appointed by His own ordinance." Calvin, then, is a supralapsarian; the Fall was necessary; and our first parents, like ourselves, could not have avoided sinning.

So far, the scheme presents a cast-iron logic at whatever expense to justice and morality. When it comes to consider human nature, its terms sound more uncertain, it veers to each extreme in succession of Pelagius and Luther. In St. Augustine, that nature is almost always viewed historically, not in the abstract hence as possessed by unfallen Adam it was endowed with supernatural gifts, while in his fallen children it bears the burden of concupiscence and sin. But the French Reformer, not conceding a possible state of pure nature, attributes to the first man, with Luther (in Gen., iii), such perfection as would render God's actual grace unnecessary, thus tending to make Adam self-sufficient, as the Pelagians held all men to be. On the other hand, when original sin took them once captive the image of God was entirety blotted out. This article of "total depravity" also came from Luther, who expressed it in language of appalling power. And so the "Institutes" announce that "in man all which bears reference to the blessed life of the soul is extinct." And if it was "natural" in Adam to love God and do justice, or a part of his very essence, then by lapsing from grace he would have been plunged into an abyss below nature, where his true moral and religious being was altogether dissolved. So, at any rate, the German Protestants believed in their earlier period, nor was Calvin reluctant to echo them.

Catholics distinguish two kinds of beatitude: one corresponding to our nature as a rational species and to be acquired by virtuous acts; the other beyond all that man may do or seek when left to his own faculties, and in such wise God's free gift that it is due only to acts performed under the influence of a strictly supernatural movement. The confusion of grace with nature in Adam's essence was common to all the Reformed schools; it is Peculiarly manifest in Jansenius, who strove to deduce it from St. Augustine. And, granting the Fall, it leads by direct inference to man's utter corruption as the unregenerate child of Adam. He is evil in all that he thinks, or wills, or does. Yet Calvin allows him reason and choice, though not true liberty. The heart was poisoned by sin, but something remained of grace to hinder its worst excesses, or to justify God's vengeance on the reprobate (over and above their original fault inherited). On the whole, it must be said that the "Institutes" which now and then allow that God's image was not quite effaced in us, deny to mankind, so far as redemption has not touched them, any moral and religious powers whatsoever. With Calvin as with his predecessor of Wittenberg, heathen virtue is but apparent, and that of the non-Christian merely "political," or secular. Civilization, founded on our common nature, is in such a view external only, and its justice or benevolence may claim no intrinsic value. That it has no supernatural value Catholics have always asserted; but the Church condemns those who say, with Baius, "All the works of unbelievers are sinful and the virtues of the philosophers are vices." Propositions equivalent to these are as follows: "Free Will not aided by God's grace, avails only to commit sin," and "God could not have created man at the beginning such as he is now born" (Props. 25, 27, 55, censured by St. Pius V, Oct., 1567, and by Urban VIII, March, 1641). Catholic theology admits a twofold goodness and righteousness -- the one natural, as Aristotle defines it in his "Ethics," the other supernatural inspired by the Holy Ghost. Calvin throws aside every middle term between justifying faith and corrupt desire. The integrity of Adam's nature once violated, he falls under the dominion of lust, which reigns in him without hindrance, save by the external grace now and again preventing a deeper degradation. But whatever he is or does savours of the Evil One. Accordingly the system maintained that faith (which here signifies trust in the Lutheran sense) was the first interior grace given and source of all others, as likewise that outside the Church no grace is ever bestowed.

We come on these lines to the famous distinction which separates the true Church that of the predestined, from the seeming or visible, where all baptized persons meet. This falls in with Calvin's whole theory, but is never to be mistaken for the view held by Roman authorities, that some may pertain to the soul of the Church who are not members of its body. Always pursuing his idea, the absolute predestinarian finds among Christians, all of whom have heard the Gospel and received the sacraments, only a few entitled to life everlasting. These obtain the grace which is in words offered to every one; the rest fill up the measure of their condemnation. To the reprobate, Gospel ordinances serve as a means to compass the ruin intended for them. Hereby, also, an answer is made possible when Catholics demand where the Reformed Church was prior to the Reformation. Calvin replies that in every age the elect constituted the flock of Christ, and all besides were strangers, though invested with dignity and offices in the visible communion. The reprobate have only apparent faith. Yet they may feel as do the elect, experience similar fervours, and to the best of their judgment be accounted saints. All that is mere delusion; they are hypocrites "into whose minds God insinuates Himself, so that, not having the adoption of sons, they may yet taste the goodness of the Spirit." Thus Calvin explained how in the Gospel many are called believers who did not persevere; and so the visible Church is made up of saints that can never lose their crown, and sinners that by no effort could attain to salvation.

Faith, which means assurance of election, grace, and glory, is then the heritage of none but the predestined. But, since no real secondary cause exists man remains passive throughout the temporal series of events by which he is shown to be an adopted son of God. He neither acts nor, in the Catholic sense co-operates with his Redeemer. A difference in the method of conversion between Luther and Calvin may here be noted. The German mystic begins, as his own experience taught him, with the terrors of the law. The French divine who had never gone through that stage, gives the first place to the Gospel; and repentance, instead of preceding faith, comes after it. He argued that by so disposing of the process, faith appeared manifestly alone, unaccompanied by repentance, which, otherwise, might claim some share of merit. The Lutherans, moreover, did not allow absolute predestination. And their confidence in being themselves justified, i.e. saved, was unequal to Calvin's requirements. For he made assurance inevitable as was its object to the chosen soul. Nevertheless, he fancied that between himself and the sounder medieval scholastics no quarrel need arise touching the principle of justification -- namely, that "the sinner being delivered gratuitously from his doom becomes righteous." Calvin overlooked in these statements the vital difference which accounts for his aberration from the ancient system. Catholics held that fallen man kept in some degree his moral and religious faculties, though much impaired, and did not lose his free will. But the newer doctrine affirmed man's total incompetence, he could neither freely consent nor ever resist, when grace was given, if he happened to be predestinate. If not, justification lay beyond his grasp. However, the language of the "Institutes" is not so uncompromising as Luther's had been. God first heals the corrupt will, and the will follows His guidance; or, we may say, cooperates.

The one final position of Calvin is that omnipotent grace of itself substitutes a good for an evil will in the elect, who do nothing towards their own conversion but when converted are accounted just. In all the original theology of the Reformation righteousness is something imputed, not indwelling in the soul. It is a legal fiction when compared with what the Catholic Church believes, namely, that justice or sanctification involves a real gift, a quality bestowed on the spirit and inherent, whereby it becomes the thing it is called. Hence the Council of Trent declares (Sess. VI) that Christ died for all men, it condemns (Canon XVII) the main propositions of Geneva, that "the grace of justification comes only to the predestinate," and that "the others who are called receive an invitation but no grace, being doomed by the Divine power to evil." So Innocent X proscribed in Jansenius the statement: "It is Semipelagian to affirm that Christ died for all men, or shed His blood in their behalf." In like manner Trent rejected the definition of faith as "confidence in being justified without merit"; grace was not "the feeling of love," nor was justification the "forgiveness of sin," and apart from a special revelation no man could be infallibly sure that he was saved. According to Calvin the saint was made such by his faith, and the sinner by want of it stood condemned, but the Fathers of Trent distinguished a dead faith, which could never justify, from faith animated by charity -- and they attributed merit to all good works done through Divine inspiration. But in the Genevese doctrine faith itself is not holy. This appears very singular; and no explanation has ever been vouchsafed of the power ascribed to an act or mean, itself destitute of intrinsic qualities, neither morally good nor in any way meritorious, the presence or absence of which nevertheless fixes our eternal destiny

But since Christ alone is our righteousness, Luther concluded that the just man is never just in himself; that concupiscence, though resisted, makes him sin damnably in all he does, and that he remains a sinner until his last breath. Thus even the "Solid Declaration" teaches, though in many respects toning down the Reformer's truculence. Such guilt, however, God overlooks where faith is found -- the one unpardonable sin is want of faith. "Pecca fortiter sed crede fortius" -- this Lutheran epigram, "Sin as you like provided you believe," expresses in a paradox the contrast between corrupt human nature, filthy still in the very highest saints, and the shadow of Christ, as, falling upon them, it hides their shame before God. Here again the Catholic refuses to consider man responsible except where his will consents; the Protestant regards impulse and enticement as constituting all the will that we have. These observations apply to Calvin -- but he avoids extravagant speech while not differing from Luther in fact. He grants that St. Augustine would not term involuntary desires sin; then he adds, "We, on the contrary, deem it to be sin whenever a man feels any desires forbidden by Divine law -- and we assert the depravity to be sin which produces them" (Institutes, III, 2, 10). On the hypothesis of determinism, held by every school of the Reformers, this logic is unimpeachable. But it leads to strange consequences. The sinner commits actions which the saint may also indulge in; but one is saved the other is lost; and so the entire moral contents of Christianity are emptied out. Luther denominated the saint's liberty freedom from the law. And Calvin, "The question is not how we can be righteous, but how, though unworthy and unrighteous, we may be considered righteous." The law may instruct and exhort, but "it has no place in the conscience before God's tribunal." And if Christians advert to the law, "they see that every work they attempt or meditate is accursed" (Institutes, III, 19, 2, 4). Leo X had condemned Luther's thesis, "In every good work the just man sins." Baius fell under censure for asserting (Props. 74, 75) that "concupiscence in the baptized is a sin, though not imputed." And, viewing the whole theory, Catholics have asked whether a sinfulness which exists quite independent of the will is not something substantial, like the darkness of the Manichaeans, or essential to us who are finite beings.

At all events Calvin seems entangled in perplexities on the subject, for he declares expressly that the regenerate are "liable every moment at God's judgment-seat to sentence of death" (Instit., III, 2, 11); yet elsewhere he tempers his language with a "so to speak," and explains it as meaning that all human virtue is imperfect. He would certainly have subscribed to the "Solid Declaration," that the good works of the pious are not necessary to salvation. With Luther, he affirms the least transgression to be a mortal sin, even involuntary concupiscence -- and as this abides in every man while he lives, all that we do is worthy of punishment (Instit., II, 8, 68, 59). And again, "There never yet was any work of a religious man which, examined by God's severe standard would not be condemnable" (Ibid., III, 14,11). The Council of Trent had already censured these axioms by asserting that God does not command impossibilities, and that His children keep His word. Innocent X did the like when he proscribed as heretical the fifth proposition of Jansenius, "Some commandments of God are impossible to the just who will and endeavour; nor is the grace by which they should become possible given to them."

Two important practical consequences may be drawn from this entire view: first, that conversion takes place in a moment -- and so all evangelical Protestants believe; and, second, that baptism ought not to be administered to infants, seeing they cannot have the faith which justifies. This latter inference produced the sect of Anabaptists against whom Calvin thunders as he does, against other "frenzied" persons, in vehement tones. Infant baptism was admitted, but its value, as that of every ordinance, varied with the predestination to life or to death of the recipient. To Calvinists the Church system was an outward life beneath which the Holy Spirit might be present or absent, not according to the dispositions brought by the faithful, but as grace was decreed. For good works could not prepare a man to receive the sacraments worthily any more than to be justified in the beginning. If so, the Quakers might well ask, what is the use of sacraments when we have the Spirit? And especially did this reasoning affect the Eucharist. Calvin employs the most painful terms in disowning the sacrifice of the Mass. No longer channels of grace, to Melanchthon the sacraments are "Memorials of the exercise of faith," or badges to be used by Christians. From this point of view, Christ's real presence was superfluous, and the acute mind of Zwingli leaped at once to that conclusion, which has ever since prevailed among ordinary Protestants. But Luther's adherence to the words of the Scripture forbade him to give up the reality, though he dealt with it in his peculiar fashion. Bucer held an obscure doctrine, which attempted the middle way between Rome and Wittenberg. To Luther the sacraments serve as tokens of God's love; Zwingli degrades them to covenants between the faithful. Calvin gives the old scholastic definition and agrees with Luther in commending their use, but he separates the visible element proffered to all from the grace which none save the elect may enjoy. He admits only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Even these neither contain nor confer spiritual graces; they are signs, but not efficacious as regards that which is denoted by them. For inward gifts, we must remember, do not belong to the system, whereas Catholics believe in ordinances as acts of the Man-God, producing the effects within the soul which He has promised, "He that eateth Me shall live by Me."

When the Church's tradition was thrown aside, differences touching the Holy Eucharist sprang up immediately among the Reformers which have never found a reconciliation. To narrate their history would occupy a volume. It is notable, however, that Calvin succeeded where Bucer had failed, in a sort of compromise, and the agreement of Zurich which he inspired was taken up by the Swiss Protestants. Elsewhere it led to quarrels, particularly among the Lutherans, who charged him with yielding too much. He taught that the Body of Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, and that the believer partakes of it that the elements are unchanged, and that the Catholic Mass was idolatry. Yet his precise meaning is open to question. That he did not hold a real objective presence seems clear from his arguing against Luther, as the "black rubric" of the Common Prayer Book argues -- Christ's body, he says, is in heaven. Therefore, it cannot be on earth. The reception was a spiritual one; and this perfectly orthodox phrase might be interpreted as denying a true corporal presence. The Augsburg Confession, revised by its author Melanchthon, favoured ambiguous views -- at last he declared boldly for Calvin, which amounted to an acknowledgment that Luther's more decided language overshot the mark. The "Formula of Concord" was an attempt to rescue German Churches from this concession to the so-called Sacramentarians; it pronounced, as Calvin never would have done, that the unworthy communicant receives Our Lord's Body; and it met his objection by the strange device of "ubiquity" -- namely, that the glorified Christ was everywhere. But these quarrels lie outside our immediate scope.

As Calvin would not grant the Mass to be a sacrifice, nor the ministers of the Lord's Supper to be priests, that conception of the Church which history traces back to the earliest Apostolic times underwent a corresponding change. The clergy were now "Ministers of the Word," and the Word was not a tradition, comprising Scripture in its treasury, but the printed Bible, declared all-sufficient to the mind which the Spirit was guiding. Justification by faith alone, the Bible, and the Bible only, as the rule of faith -- such were the cardinal principles of the Reformation. They worked at first destructively, by abolishing the Mass and setting up private judgment in opposition to pope and bishops. Then the Anabaptists arose. If God's word sufficed, what need of a clergy? The Reformers felt that they must restore creeds and enforce the power of the Church over dissidents. Calvin, who possessed great constructive talent, built his presbytery on a democratic foundation -- the people were to choose, but the ministers chosen were to rule. Christian freedom consisted in throwing off the yoke of the Papacy, it did not allow the individual to stand aloof from the congregation. He must sign formulas, submit to discipline, be governed by a committee of elders. A new sort of Catholic Church came into view, professing that the Bible was its teacher and judge, but never letting its members think otherwise than the articles drawn up should enjoin. None were allowed in the pulpit who were not publicly called, and ordination, which Calvin regarded almost as a sacrament, was conferred by the presbytery.

In his Fourth Book the great iconoclast, to whom in good logic only the Church invisible should have signified anything, makes the visible Church supreme over Christians, assigns to it the prerogatives claimed by Rome, enlarges on the guilt of schism, and upholds the principle, Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus. He will not allow that corrupt morals in the clergy, or a passing eclipse of doctrine by superstition, can excuse those who, on pretence of a purer Gospel, leave it. The Church is described in equivalent terms as indefectible and infallible. All are bound to hear and obey what it teaches. Luther had spoken of it with contempt almost everywhere in his first writings; to him the individual guided by the Holy Spirit was autonomous. But Calvin taught his followers so imposing a conception of the body in which they were united as to bring back a hierarchy in effect if not in name. "Where the ministry of Word and Sacraments is preserved," he concludes, "no moral delinquencies can take away the Church's title." He had nevertheless, broken with the communion in which he was born. The Anabaptists retorted that they did not owe to his new-fashioned presbytery the allegiance he had cast away -- the Quakers, who held with him by the Inward Light, more consistently refused all jurisdiction to the visible Church.

One sweeping consequence of the Reformation is yet to be noticed. As it denied the merit of good works even in the regenerate, all those Catholic beliefs and ordinances which implied a Communion of Saints actively helping each other by prayer and self-sacrifice were flung aside. Thus Purgatory, Masses for the dead, invocation of the blessed in Heaven, and their intercession for us are scouted by Calvin as "Satan's devices." A single argument gets rid of them all: do they not make void the Cross of Christ our only Redeemer? (Instit., III, 5, 6). Beza declared that "prayer to the saints destroys the unity of God." The Dutch Calvinists affirmed of them, as the Epicureans of their deities, that they knew nothing about what passes on earth. Wherever the Reformers triumphed, a wholesale destruction of shrines and relics took place. Monasticism, being an ordered system of mortification on Catholic principles, offended all who thought such works needless or even dangerous -- it fell, and great was the fall thereof, in Protestant Europe. The Calendar had been framed as a yearly ritual, commemorating Our Lord's life and sufferings, with saints' days filling it up. Calvin would tolerate the Swiss of Berne who desired to keep the Gospel festivals; but his Puritan followers left the year blank, observing only the Sabbath, in a spirit of Jewish legalism. After such a fashion the Church was divorced from the political order -- the living Christian ceased to have any distinct relation with his departed friends; the saints became mere memories, or were suspected of Popery; the churches served as houses of preaching, where the pulpit had abolished the altar; and Christian art was a thing of the past.

The Reformers, including Calvin, appealed so confidently to St. Augustine's volumes that it seems only fair to note the real difference which exists between his doctrine and theirs. Cardinal Newman sums it up as follows:

The main point is whether the Moral Law can in its substance be obeyed and kept by the regenerate. Augustine says, that whereas we are by nature condemned by the Law, we are enabled by the grace of God to perform it unto our justification; Luther [and Calvin equally] that, whereas we are condemned by the law, Christ has Himself performed it unto our justification -- Augustine, that our righteousness is active; Luther, that it is passive; Augustine, that it is imparted, Luther that it is only imputed; Augustine, that it consists in a change of heart; Luther, in a change of state. Luther maintains that God's commandments are impossible to man Augustine adds, impossible without His grace; Luther that the Gospel consists of promises only Augustine, that it is also a law, Luther, that our highest wisdom is not to know the Law, Augustine says instead, to know and keep it -- Luther says, that the Law and Christ cannot dwell together in the heart. Augustine says that the Law is Christ; Luther denies and Augustine maintains that obedience is a matter of conscience. Luther says that a man is made a Christian not by working but by hearing; Augustine excludes those works only which are done before grace is given; Luther, that our best deeds are sins; Augustine, that they are really pleasing to God (Lectures on Justification, ch. ii, 58).

As, unlike the Lutheran, those Churches which looked up to Calvin as their teacher did not accept one uniform standard, they fell into particular groups and had each their formulary. The three Helvetic Confessions, the Tetrapolitan, that of Basle, and that composed by Bullinger belong respectively to 1530, 1532, 1536. The Anglican 42 Articles of 1553, composed by Cranmer and Ridley, were reduced to 39 under Elizabeth in 1562. They bear evident tokens of their Calvinistic origin, but are designedly ambiguous in terms and meaning. The French Protestants, in a Synod at Paris, 1559, framed their own articles. In 1562 those of the Netherlands accepted a profession drawn up by Guy de Bres and Saravia in French, which the Synod of Dort (1574) approved. A much more celebrated meeting was held at this place 1618-19, to adjudicate between the High Calvinists, or Supralapsarians, who held unflinchingly to the doctrine of the "Institutes" touching predestination and the Remonstrants who opposed them. Gomar led the former party; Arminius, though he died before the synod, in 1609, had communicated his milder views to Uytenbogart and Episcopius, hence called Arminians. They objected to the doctrine of election before merit, that it made the work of Christ superfluous and inexplicable. The Five Articles which contained their theology turned on election, adoption, justification, sanctification, and sealing by the Spirit, all which Divine acts presuppose that man has been called, has obeyed, and is converted. Redemption is universal, reprobation due to the sinner's fault and not to God's absolute decree. In these and the like particulars, we find the Arminians coming close to Tridentine formulas. The "Remonstrance" of 1610 embodied their protest against the Manichaean errors, as they said, which Calvin had taken under his patronage. But the Gomarists renewed his dogmas; and their belief met a favourable reception among the Dutch, French, and Swiss. In England the dispute underwent many vicissitudes. The Puritans, as afterwards their Nonconformist descendants, generally sided with Gomar; the High Church party became Arminian. Wesley abandoned the severe views of Calvin; Whitefield adopted them as a revelation. The Westminster Assembly (1643-47) made an attempt to unite the Churches of Great Britain on a basis of Calvinism, but in vain. Their Catechism -- the Larger and the Smaller -- enjoyed authority by Act of Parliament. John Knox had, in 1560 edited the "First Book of Discipline," which follows Geneva, but includes a permissive ritual. The "Second Book of Discipline" was sent out by a congregation under Andrew Melville's influence in 1572, and in 1592 the whole system received Parliamentary sanction. But James I rejected the doctrines of Dort. In Germany the strange idea was prevalent that civil rulers ought to fix the creed of their subjects, Cujus regio, ejus religio. Hence an alternation and confusion of formulas ensued down to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Frederick III, Count Palatine, put forward, in 1562, the Heidelberg Catechism, which is of Calvin's inspiration. John George of Anhalt-Dessau laid down the same doctrine in 20 Articles (1597). Maurice of Hesse-Cassel patronized the Synod of Dort; and John Sigismund of Brandenburg, exchanging the Lutheran tenets for the Genevese, imposed on his Prussians the "Confession of the Marches." In general, the reformed Protestants allowed dogmatic force to the revised Confession of Augsburg (1540) which Calvin himself had signed.


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Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Congregation of Christian Retreat

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There are two branches of this congregation, the Fathers of Christian Retreat and the Sisters. It was founded on the 19th of November, 1789, at Fontenelle, Doubs, France, by Father Antoine-Silvestre Receveur, who was declared Venerable in 1883 by Pope Leo XIII. He had an extraordinary love of the Cross, and was fond of saying "it was a cross to be without one". The Revolution raging at the time of its birth caused the society to endure many privations and forced its members to make many sacrifices. For three years the sisters, who at that time numbered seventy, were subjected to great persecution, and then a revolutionary mob drove them out of their convent. The choice was given them of death or separation from Father Receveur, which would have involved abandoning the life they had adopted. The sisters unanimously chose death rather than give up their vocation, and their persecutors, touched by their bravery, allowed them to go into exile. After ten years the storm of Revolution subsided, they returned to France, and in 1800 the congregation received the approbation of Pius VII. Its work is the education of youth and the giving of spiritual retreats. The Fathers of Christian retreat used to direct colleges in France, and still act as chaplains to the different convents of the congregation. The Sisters of Christian Retreat teach in elementary and secondary schools, and their rule allows them time and opportunity for higher studies. Those sisters who from age or ill-health are unable to teach spend the greater part of the day in silence and prayer for the members who are engaged in active work. They also do needlework and embroidery of every description. Seven times a day the rule calls all the members to the foot of the altar, and every night at midnight a bell is rung in all the convents to rouse the sisters to thank God for the grace of their vocations. On the 19th of November a special midnight services is held in memory of the entry at midnight into the first convent. A special service called the Adoration of the Cross is held every day in all the convents. There are no lay sisters; the work of the house is done by all the sisters according to the direction of the superior.

In 1902 the congregation had seventeen houses, thirteen in France, four in England, and more than a thousand members. There we then three novitiates, two in France and one in England, but all the French houses except one have since been confiscated under the Association law. Convents were then opened in Belgium and Switzerland, and in England there are now seven convents, including a novitiate. The novitiate lasts two years; postulants without dowry, if qualified for teaching in secondary schools, can be received. The habit is of white serge, with a white cape and scapular; no veil or wimple is worn, but instead a white linen band across the forehead and a white serge cap. The government is under a mother-general. In England the convents are at Shepherd's Bush, near London; at Clapham; at Redhill, Surrey; at Cannock, Staffordshire, and three new foundations.

STEELE, Convents of Great Britain (London, St. Louis, 1902).

F. M. Steele.

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"I knew I would not. If George had said no, I should have fought him. I was determined upon that book of Staffordshire Pottery. Were you disappointed with my letter when it came?"

"I loved it. I have always loved your letters. You never disappoint me then."

Because they had grown more intimate he was able to say to her gently, but with unmistakable feeling:

"Dear, it hurts me so when you say that. I know I shall think of it when I am alone, wonder in what way I fail you, how I can alter or change. Can you help me, tell me? I came down with such confidence."

"But you had cut yourself shaving."

"Be a little serious, beloved. Tell me."

"You thought I cared for you … that we should begin in Pineland where we left off in London?"

"I hoped…"

"But I had run away from you!"

They smiled at each other.

"You will come again next week?" she asked him inconsistently.

"And if I should again disappoint you?"

"Then you must be patient with me, good to me until it is all right again. I am a strange creature, a woman of moods." She was silent a moment. "I have been through so much." He bent toward


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From Old French damage (Modern French dommage), from Vulgar Latin *damnaticum from Classical Latin damnum.

damage (countable and uncountable, plural damages)

  1. Injury or harm; the condition or measure of something not being intact.
    The storm did a lot of damage to the area.
    • Francis Bacon
      Great errors and absurdities many commit for want of a friend to tell them of them, to the great damage both of their fame and fortune.
  2. (slang) Cost or expense.
    "What's the damage?" he asked the waiter.

damage (third-person singular simple present damages, present participle damaging, simple past and past participle damaged)

  1. (transitive) To impair the soundness, goodness, or value of; to harm or cause destruction.
    Be careful not to damage any of the fragile items while unpacking them.
    • 1774, Edward Long, The History of Jamaica. Or, General Survey of the Antient and Modern State of that Island, volume 2, book 2, chapter 7, 5:
      The building was erected in two years, at the parochial expence, on the foundation of the former one, which was irreparably damaged by the hurricane of Auguſt, 1712.
    • Clarendon
      He [] came up to the English admiral and gave him a broadside, with which he killed many of his men and damaged the ship.

Derived terms[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Old French[edit]

Vulgar Latin *damnaticum from Classical Latin damnum.

damage m (oblique plural damages, nominative singular damages, nominative plural damage)

  1. damage
  2. injury, hurt, insult

Related terms[edit]


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Tags » Etched Metal

Etched Metal Coptic Stitch Mini Journal

These sweet mini journals can be used for so many thing:  Hand Lettering..Travel Journaling..Photo Album OR a combination of all of these!

In this new workshop you will be able to pick from 6 patterns of pre-etched 6″x6″copper OR brass. 161 more words

Studio Happenings

Metals Studio

When we moved to our new home, I immediately set up the polymer studio in one of our guest bedrooms. The metals studio was another story. 127 more words

Laurie Prophater


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Tag Archives: systems thinking

Reef Simulation

My 3rd grade class is always pretty small, so we usually start the year doing a Genius Hour project together so they can practice research and presentation skills.  This year, my group of 4 decided they wanted to learn how the Great Barrier Reef has changed over time, and what are the consequences of these changes.  They seemed to have a slightly vague idea of what the death of the reef could mean – especially for people who live on the other side of the world.  I ran across an excellent site that allowed them to see immediate and long-term effects of pollution and other human interference with the reef.  The “Reef Simulator” allows players to choose a scenario, such as overfishing or tourism, and develop a hypothesis for how some of the reef’s dependents will react.  With a press of a button, the students can then see a bar graph that reflects short-term population changes due to the scenario, and another button to see the long-term changes.

With a few multiple choice questions, the simulator determines how much understanding the users have of the graph, whether or not it supports their original hypothesis, and whether they want to change the hypothesis.

Since we talk about “systems thinking” in my classroom, this simulator was an excellent interactive that allowed my students to see that changes in a system indirectly affect every single part of the system eventually.  They were truly surprised how animals like certain breeds of sharks might become completely extinct without ever being hunted or directly targeted by humans.  To follow this up, I plan to show them this TED Ed lesson next week.

After playing the simulation, my students exclaimed, “We need to do something – NOW!”  They felt even more urgency when I pointed out that the simulations each showed the effects of one human event, and that in real life the reefs are suffering from combinations of all of them…

Click here to try the Reef Simulator tool.
Click here to try the Reef Simulator tool.

How We Got to Now

I’m going to break one of my blogging rules and write about something that I haven’t actually seen or read yet (I don’t think this is first time I’ve broken that rule, but I could be wrong).  I keep running across articles about it, and I heard an interview with the author on NPR.

One of the Kaplan icons for Depth and Complexity that I talk about with my students is “Change over Time.”  The new book and PBS mini-series, “How We Got to Now” is a fascinating look through this lens at different facets of the world that is familiar to us.

How We Got to Now

Cory Doctorow has an excellent review of the book by Steven Johnson here.  I immediately ordered it from Amazon, and I am eagerly anticipating it!

You can listen to Linda Wertheimer’s interview with Steven Johnson (or read the transcript) here.  I was intrigued by Johnson’s reference to the hummingbird effect as well as his interesting story about how the printing press led to the manipulation of glass in new ways as more people began to read and realized that they needed spectacles!

Not only do the stories covered by Steven Johnson relate “Change Over Time”, but they are examples of the many unintended consequences that result from events and demonstrate the interdependence of the systems in our world.

I am hoping I can use some of the stories with my students, and that they can use them as a model for some of their own research.  Storytelling is always a great way to engage the students and help them to learn about history as they consider the implications for the future.

If You Are an Administrator, We Would Like Your Help!

Cafeteria Flipgrid

My 3rd grade GT students are currently working on a project that involves improving behavior in the cafeteria.  They are focusing on two separate things: noise in the cafeteria and messiness in the cafeteria. From one of their systems thinking books, they learned that it can help to solve a problem by looking at others who don’t have that problem.  They would like to hear from administrators from schools around the world to learn what works.

The students came up with some questions.  We are using a tool called Flipgrid to collect video responses to the questions.  (If this works, I will publish a post about this unique tool next week!)  The reason we are asking administrators to respond rather than other students is partly due to the privacy concerns with video and also because we would like a different perspective.

Here’s how you can help:

Easiest way – Send the link to this post to any elementary school administrator you know.

Even better – If you are an administrator, click on one or both of the links below, and submit your video answers to all of the questions on that grid.  The links should also work on mobile devices, so if you want to actually show your cafeteria (without students) that would be awesome.  And send this post to any other administrators you think may be willing to give us a hand.

Best – If you are an administrator, click on both links below, and and submit your video answers to all of the questions on both grids.  The links should also work on mobile devices, so if you want to actually show your cafeteria (without students) that would be awesome.  And send this post to any other administrators you think may be willing to give us a hand.

Cafeteria Messiness

Cafeteria Noisiness

If you could help us out as soon as possible, we would greatly appreciate it.  And if you would like me to share your Twitter handle on my follow-up post, please feel free to include it in your video!

How “Why’s” Can Make You Wise

Student Survey

When I introduced Genius Hour to my 3rd graders this year, they were really excited about creating “missions” about anything that interested them.  The week after they set their goals for their projects, they came into class and I announced that we were going to switch gears.  We have been working on a unit on Systems Thinking, and I had a new idea to actually apply that unit to a real life problem in a real-life system – our school.

“What do you think are some problems around our school?” I asked them.  They brainstormed a list.

(There are 4 students in my 3rd grade GT class, by the way.  I’m telling you this for a couple of reasons: so you won’t think that I’m an extremely brave teacher for trying this experiment and so you will realize that my “class” probably needed to get some more perspectives on this question.)

“Do you think we should get some other opinions?” I asked the students.  They agreed that might be a good idea.  So, I showed them how to make a Google Form to use to survey the school, and we sent it to the staff to share with the students.

This week, we took a look at the summary of results.  Almost half of the respondents had agreed that the biggest problem at our school is the noise in the cafeteria.  The two girls in my class decided to take that on for their Genius Hour project.  The two boys chose to work on the problem of garbage on the cafeteria floor.

One of the boys had either misunderstood our discussion before Spring break or was so enthusiastic about it that he decided to create a solution before we even chose our problems.  He came to class yesterday with a game he had designed in Gamestar Mechanic to teach kids why leaving food on the floor was not a good idea.

Cafeteria Problem

“So, do you think the reason they are doing that is because they just need to be educated about the consequences?” I asked him. He nodded.

We had just finished reading a chapter of Billibonk and the Big Itch,  where the main character learns the importance of getting to the root of a problem so you’re not just treating the symptom.  I asked the students to use the method that Frankl suggests to Billibonk in the story – to keep asking, “Why?”  Frankl recommends doing this 5 times, or until you just can’t do it anymore.

Through a series of “Why’s” the girls decided that the reason for the noise in the cafeteria is related to people talking loudly for attention.

The boys came to two different conclusions about why there is so much garbage on the cafeteria floor.  One of them ended up believing it is due to disrespect for the adults in the room, and one of them feels that it is actually due to a lack of self-confidence.  The boy who designed the Gamestar Mechanic solution realized that this was not going to solve the problem he had just identified.  Of course, he is still determined to use Gamestar Mechanic to fix it 🙂

I have absolutely no idea where this is going next.  Now that the students have done their best to identify the causes of the problems, they are going to use some other Systems Thinking concepts to try to develop solutions.  This is a grand experiment for all of us!

While I was writing this post, I was attempting to multi-task, and listening to one of the videos from yesterday’s Learning Creative Learning class.  During the video, Mitch Resnick stated how important he believes it is to “solve problems in context of a meaningful project that you’re working on.”   That is exactly what we are attempting to do, so I hope that it is a good learning experience, no matter the results.

Here is a great article by Mitch Ditkoff for the Huffington Post that reinforces this idea of continuing to ask, “Why?” with a real-life example. (Be sure to read it before you share with students, as it does mention insects mating – with other synonyms for the word, “mating.” 🙂 )

from Modular Robotics
from Modular Robotics

So, weirdly, today’s “Gifts for the Gifted” post has to do with cubes – again.  If you have been reading my last few Friday posts, you may have noticed this pattern. It was not pre-determined, I promise.  In fact, when I realized the odd coincidence, I almost chose another product to review for today.  However, I am just too excited about this one to wait.

In a perfect world, every child would have access to a set of Cubelets.  I cannot emphasize enough the educational value of this modular robotics system.  And the absolute fun factor is best expressed by my 5th graders today, who got to test it out for the first time.  “It’s awesome!”  “I could play this all day!”

The magnetic Cubelets easily combine to create all sorts of robots.  Each robot must have a Battery Cubelet, but that is the only requirement. Using different Sense, Action, and Think Cubelets, you can design a robot that turns on a flashlight when the room grows dark, or sounds the alarm when the temperature gets too warm.  You can make a robot that flees from your hand or one that follows it.  There are infinite possibilities.  These little cubes contain lessons in systems thinking, logic, creative problem solving, programming, engineering, and collaboration all rolled into one hands-on, interactive set.

We were fortunate enough to receive a grant from our PTA to purchase the Standard Kit, which is a hefty $520.  The kit comes with 20 cubes, and really is almost perfect for a center for small groups of 4 or less.  We ordered an additional Battery Cubelet as the kit only provides one.  This way a couple of robots can be going at the same time.

If you want to start out smaller there is the KT106 Kit, which offers 6 Cubelets for $160. Or you can go whole hog, and buy the Educator Pack, which includes 4 KT106 Kits and a Standard Kit at the educator’s discount of $999.

You can also buy Cubelets individually if you see a need to add certain types to your collection.

So far, no kid I’ve put in front of this set has wanted to leave it.  Once they do some exploring and get the gist of each Cubelet’s capability, they eat up the challenges that are listed on the Educator page – and then start thinking of their own challenges.

This is a relatively new product. (Our box says “Beta Release” on it.) There is a community forum for suggestions, and I have a feeling educators, students, and parents will have many ideas. It’s definitely a work in progress with a great future. The Education page offers some Lesson Plans and Challenges, and I predict there will be more to come.

It was interesting to see the different ways my students, who voluntarily separated themselves into small groups by gender, initially approached the Cubelets.  The boys enthusiastically attempted to build things with them immediately, while the girls started by trying to identify and organize them.  The boys would start a challenge, but go off on tangents almost immediately with new ideas, while the girls preferred a more systematic approach.  In the end, however they all agreed on two things – the awesomeness, and the need for more time with them.

If you think that your budget might be a bit too stretched by Cubelets, I urge you to try to get some funding, as we did, from another source.  Cubelets are not a “flash in the pan” type product.  They have outstanding educational value, and you will not be disappointed if you purchase them.

Below: Video of my students creating a “conveyor belt” with some of the Cubelets.

(For my gift ideas, visit my Pinterest board.)

Daisy the Dinosaur and Systems Thinking

I’ve been using this blog and Pinterest to promote the importance of teaching programming to students for awhile now. One of the benefits that I see is how coding makes natural connections to Systems Thinking.

Nested Systems Task Card

Some of my favorite FREE programming apps are:  Daisy the Dinosaur, Cargo-Bot, and Hopscotch.

While these are definitely fun apps, they can also help our students to learn some valuable life lessons.  I sat down this weekend to come up with some task cards that would help my students (K-5) relate Daisy the Dinosaur to some of the Systems Thinking tenets that we cover in class.  Depending on the level of the student, these can be done as a class, independently, at a station, or in groups.  I thought it might be fun to show them on the big screen, and use Socrative for some of their responses.

These are designed to be activities done after the students have had a chance to play Daisy the Dinosaur in “Challenge” mode, and some time to experiment with “Freeplay.” They do not have to have access to the iPad at the time they are doing the activities below, however.

Systems Thinking Tenet #1 – If you want different results, you can’t keep doing the same exact thing.  (PPT, PDF)

Systems Thinking Tenet #2 – You can do things differently (sometimes more efficiently) and still get the same results. (PPT, PDF)

Systems Thinking Tenet #3 – When you have a problem, find the true source, or your “fix” could make things worse.  (PPT, PDF)

Systems Thinking Tenet #4 – The objects within a system are interdependent. (PPT, PDF)

Systems Thinking Tenet #5 – There are often systems nested within systems. (PPT, PDF)

Next Year Will Be Even Better – Programming for Kids

from www.tynker.com
from www.tynker.com

For many of us, at least in the United States, another school year is over.  Even as we eagerly embark on our rejuvenation journeys for the summer, you might be thinking, as I am, of new ideas for the next school year.  This week, I would like to share some of the improvements I hope to make in my classroom for the 2013-2014 school year.  Today’s post is about the benefits of teaching programming to our students.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you have probably noticed that I am a huge advocate for teaching programming to kids.  You can see this trend building in a lot of the education blogs and professional publications.  Like all trends, it needs to be done right so that it will not be a colossal failure or a “flash in the pan.” Here is why it should be done, and how I plan on doing it next year in my classroom.

Why We Should Teach Programming to Kids

I think that there is a misconception that this is all about teaching kids a new “language” that is useful in the career market. While that is, perhaps, one of the benefits, I think that it should not be the main purpose.  Programming languages evolve quickly, and teaching a specific one might be likened to teaching Latin.  It can help you to decode other languages, but it is unlikely you will use it daily.

I learned Basic when I was in high school.  I haven’t used it since.  But I still remember some very important lessons that I learned in that class that can be extrapolated for real life.

The most important lesson was that, if you are not getting the results you want, you can’t keep doing the same thing.  I remember the first couple of times a program did not work the way I wanted it to, and I kept saying to the computer, “That’s not what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Once I realized that I only had myself to blame, I would set about finding out what I had done wrong.  This led to the next life lesson – find the real source of the problem or your “fix” will make things worse.  Sometimes I had to dig deep into the code to figure it out, but would not realize that until I had tried one or two simple revisions that would end in disaster.

When programming, you also advance through the Scientific Process, and learn to change one variable at a time if your conclusion is not what you expected.

And finally, programming is not all about logic.  Once you understand the code, you can use your imagination to create unusual, unique, and even beautiful programs.

What I Plan to Do Next Year

As some of my colleagues pointed out this year, Programming falls very easily into something that we already have in our curriculum for elementary gifted students – Systems Thinking.  Now that I am becoming familiar with Tynker through the online summer class I’m offering, I plan to use Tynker with my 3rd graders during our Systems Thinking unit.  If you want to start anywhere with programming (from about 7 or 8 years old and up), I would highly recommend Tynker as you can create classes and monitor student progress very easily.  Plus, it has an engaging curriculum of projects.

I want to weave programming throughout my K-5 gifted classes, so I will begin my Kinders with the iPad app Daisy the Dinosaur. For 1st, we will move on to Kodable, and for second, Hopscotch.  (I may switch these last 2 around – I need to play with them more to determine difficulty levels.)

3rd grade, as I mentioned, will do Tynker.  4th grade will work on Cargo-Bot.  And, 5th grade will work with Gamestar Mechanic (which is web-based).

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment.  Also, for even more links for Programming for Kids, feel free to visit my Pinterest board on this topic.


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INSGC - Indiana Space Grant Consortium

Engaging STEM Education for the State of Indiana

NASA Revamps Technology Commercialization Readiness Program

NASA is re-introducing an updated Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP) to further advance innovative technology with high potential for commercial impact. This program is being offered to small businesses that have successfully completed Phase II awards under any federal agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. NASA will match the investments with SBIR/STTR program funds up to $2 million for each CCRPP award.

Your Space Grant Story

Across the country, NASA Space Grant engages students, teachers, organizations and communities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, experiences.

C4E Undergraduate Internships

The C4E has undergraduate student internships available starting as soon as February 2017. These internships will support the center's communications efforts.

Student Service Learning Grants

Purdue’s Office of Engagement provides grants to students or student organizations for work on community service learning projects. This program’s goal is to expand the community involvement of Purdue students in partnership with communities, nonprofit agencies, schools, and governmental bodies.

Author of "Hidden Figures" to Speak at Purdue

January 25, 2017
The author of the book “Hidden Figures,” Margot Lee Shetterly, will be coming to campus. The movie based on the book is currently in theaters. Ms. Shetterly will be speaking on Wednesday, January 25th at 7:30 p.m. in Loeb Playhouse. The event is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be for sale that evening and she will be signing books following her talk.

2017 Solar Eclipse

On August 21, 2017, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible in the Continental U.S. Communities in northern Oregon, parts of Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina will have the chance to see the daytime Sun covered by the Moon.

2017 Microgravity DIVER Drop Tower Challenge

Teams of grade 9-12 students are challenged to design and build diving objects that will submerge in water as far as possible when exposed to microgravity in NASA’s 2.2 Second Drop Tower.

NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship Program

NASA John Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio, is accepting applications from full-time, qualified STEM faculty in accredited US colleges and universities, for the summer 2017 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship Program (NGFFP), tenured at GRC.

Space Poop Challenge

This is a competition to source a system that routes and collects human waste away from the body, hands-free, for fully suited astronauts.

Caltech Space Challenge

Caltech Space Challenge is a 5-day prestigious event held March 26-31, 2017 in which undergraduate and graduate students from around the world compete in designing a space-related mission.

1 to 10 of 144 Next >


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Propitiation is a great word that’s used in the Bible in a handful of cases. However, because we don’t use it very often in our regular conversation, the glories of its meaning for us who believe in Christ is often lost on us. Thus, an illustration of the meaning of the word might be helpful to you.

Propitiation is the subsiding of wrath. Where once there was anger, propitiation brings peace. For instance, when King Ahasuerus found out that Haman had conspired to destroy all of the Jews in Persia, his anger burned against Haman. “And so they hanged Haman on the gallows, … and the king’s anger subsided” (Esther 7:10). It took the death of Haman to satisfy the anger of the king.

Regarding God’s anger toward us for our sin, it took the death of God’s Son, Jesus, to do satisfy His wrath.  He is now at peace with those who trust in Jesus Christ, who “is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2).

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Environmental Protection

Examining the Sustainability Journey of Walmart

Business researchers from the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina will be examining Walmart’s 7-year sustainability effort as a way to create a teaching tool for other businesses that hope to become more environmentally friendly.

As researchers from the University of Arkansas and the University of South begin their project of examining Walmart’s efforts of becoming more sustainable for nearly a decade, they hope to find ways to help other businesses overcome certain obstacles in order to be more environmentally conscious. The project will consist of a series of cases that focus on a single topic and a single organization over a specific amount of time.

“The strategy is to embed sustainability within the core business supporting the company’s vision for a more sustainable Walmart. Numerous initiatives, some of which are documented in the case series, are part of this strategy that led to international recognition of Walmart’s sustainability leadership,” said David Hyatt, clinical assistant professor in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

The cases explore a set of essential questions across three levels: societal, organizational and individual. For example, at the societal level, who should set standards for sustainability – government, society, consumers, scientists or companies? At the organizational level, who evaluates and measures sustainability, who should make decisions about strategy and how should the strategy be implemented? At the individual level, what does sustainability mean to the consumer or employee? The studies ask several other questions pertaining to each level.

The first case study will look at former CEO Lee Scott’s “Leadership in the 21st Century” speech from 2005, in which he publicly announced Walmart’s sustainability goals. Other studies will include the examination of how the company planned certain goals and processes, implementing LED lights and environmentally friendly shopping bags, and other strategies that have already been used by Walmart.

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Traditional law and indigenous resistance at Moreton Bay 1842-1855, Part II

Connors, Libby (2006) Traditional law and indigenous resistance at Moreton Bay 1842-1855, Part II. Australia and New Zealand Law and History E-Journal. pp. 1-14.

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In the period 1842-1855 interracial conflict at Moreton Bay involving the Aboriginal leader, Dundalli, was characterised by colonial authorities as criminal. This paper continues the argument presented in ANZLHS E-Journal 2005, that these events were in fact consistent with a pattern of Indigenous law being enacted by the traditional owners of south-east Queensland.

The 2005 paper discussed the evidence surrounding events up to 1846; Part II shows how intervention by the colonial criminal justice system in December 1846 escalated the conflict but also how customary law at Moreton Bay contained mechanisms to limit and contain on-going feuds. It will argue that Dundalli’s final capture may have been based on his assumption that internal Indigenous restitution had been settled. In the end the theatre of his own execution and gallows speech provides further evidence that a parallel system of justice was operating in the region which the colonial authorities refused to acknowledge.

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Item Type: Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed: Yes
Item Status: Live Archive
Additional Information: Part I is at
Faculty / Department / School: Historic - Faculty of Arts - Department of Humanities and International Studies
Date Deposited: 01 Apr 2010 07:36
Last Modified: 02 Jul 2013 23:44
Uncontrolled Keywords: customary law; interracial conflict; criminal justice
Fields of Research : 21 History and Archaeology > 2103 Historical Studies > 210301 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History
16 Studies in Human Society > 1699 Other Studies in Human Society > 169902 Studies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Society
18 Law and Legal Studies > 1801 Law > 180119 Law and Society
Socio-Economic Objective: C Society > 95 Cultural Understanding > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950503 Understanding Australia's Past

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ERIC Number: EJ1011081
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 30
ISSN: ISSN-0033-3085
Evolution, Not Revolution: School Psychologists' Changing Practices in Determining Specific Learning Disabilities
Unruh, Susan; Mckellar, Nancy A.
Psychology in the Schools, v50 n4 p353-365 Apr 2013
The profession of school psychology has been impacted by the response to intervention (RTI) model in various ways. RTI data are being used to make decisions regarding academic and behavioral interventions and to make eligibility determinations in comprehensive evaluations conducted by multidisciplinary teams. A survey of almost 400 school psychologist practitioners reveals a changing landscape in terms of school psychologists' methods of determining eligibility for specific learning disabilities (SLD) in RTI site and non-RTI site schools. The survey also brings to light differences between numbers of initial evaluations and levels of challenge and job satisfaction. Implications of these changes and future directions for research are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail:; Web site:
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A


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Archives for category: Games

Summer blog catch-up continues, this time with a report on all things Quantum. If you’re in NYC and want to try the game, I am demoing it on Tuesday August 26 at 7pm at The Uncommons, a board game cafe in the East Village.

Quantum is my recent tabletop strategy game, published with Paris-based FunForge earlier this year. The game has done well – selling out in North America and with coming editions in Italian, Polish, and Spanish to join the French and English versions. The image above is from the launch party we held at the NYU Game Center, in partnership with another tabletop game from an NYC designer, Zach Gage’s Guts of Glory.

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At the Different Games Conference this past spring, Colleen Macklin and I ran a workshop session called Queering The Metagame. Using Merritt Kopas’ “Queer Mechanics” design model (which we lifted from her essay Interrupting Play: Queer Games and Futurity), we encouraged players to hack into The Metagame and create their own cards, rules, and play rituals.

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Although the exhibition happened last fall, I finally have put documentation online for the exhibition of Flatlands at the Museum of Design Atlanta. A collaboration with architect Nathalie Pozzi, Flatlands is a game installation where two players search through an archive of 200 game boards to find the right one that will please a judge. Both players play cards that change and modify the judge’s criteria over time.

Flatlands was part of XYZ – Alternative Voices in Game Design, and Nathalie and I want to thank the curators Celia Pearce, Cindy Poremba, Adam Rafinski, John Sharp, and Akira Thompson for including us in the show and also for helping tremendously with the installation.

I’m especially excited about this amazing video shot and edited by The Raftermen in Atlanta. It gives a great sense of Nathalie’s space design and the overall experience of the game. You can more documentation about Flatlands, including complete game rules, on my project website.

It’s official. Quantum, the sci-fi strategy boardgame I started designing 4 years ago, is officially available for sale. From its origin as a little sketch I played with Jesper Juul in my kitchen to the award-winning prototype Armada D6, to the final game that designer John Sharp helped me whip into shape, it’s been a long journey.

Its been great working with FunForge, the game’s publisher, as well as Passport Studios, who are distributing the game in North America, on its release. For more about the title, here’s an essay I wrote about the Quantum’s design process for

What does this all mean for you? You can finally order your own copy! Here’s a link to the Amazon page and another at Cool Stuff Inc. Stay tuned for a launch party in NYC in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I am very much looking forward to hearing about your experience playing the game.

Feels great to finally have this game out and in the hands of players!

The Museum of the Moving Image, a longtime exhibitor of digital games, recently premiered the show Indie Essentials: 25 Must-Play Videogames. The show combines classic indie games like Passage and Braid with last years winners from the IndieCade Festival of Independent Games like Killer Queen and Gone Home.

I was delighted when Diner Dash was selected to be among the winners. It was one of Gamelab’s first titles – and probably its most successful. You can read more about the show in this review published in the New York Times. The exhibition will be up through IndieCade East in February. Check it out if you’re around NYC.

photo credit: Karsten Moran for the New York Times


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I am currently inactive in the RPG Maker/Scripting communities, feel free to post questions you may have, here on the blog. Just know that it may take awhile for me to respond and I may not be able to help with more advanced issues due to time restraints. I apologize for the recent lack of support and the inconveniences caused by the lack of support.

Additionally, if you need answers as soon as possible, you may want to leave other contact information in your comment. That way I will be able to contact you via your preferred medium and my response can be noticed sooner. If I can not help or do not reply fast enough, I highly reccommend that you visit one of the RPG Maker VX Ace forums and ask for help there.

Please read the terms of use before using anything on this site! I will say it again here, all materials are free to use in all situations, scripts are free to use non-commercially only (unless you have my consent).

11 thoughts on “IMPORTANT

  1. I’ll be back.. ;-)
    As soon as I get to second year..
    As i have a compulsory need of a PC after first year.. :-)
    I am studying computer science.. :-P
    All first years have to lay low due to ragging.. :-(

  2. hello Euphoria, nice job… please contact me , i need a special script for my project and maybe you can help me…..

    • Hey Aubert,

      I’m currently working on a large amount of class work involving C++, and haven’t coded in Ruby/RGSS3 in months. I do plan on returning to making RPGM scripts soon, but this won’t be for another week or so.

      I’m open to suggestions for new scripts, but I can’t make any guarantees or promises. It’s been far too long since I’ve used RPGM and Ruby. It will probably take me awhile to get used to the syntax of Ruby again. If it is something I’m interested in making/capable of making, then I will likely give it a shot when my C++ work is finished. Just let me know!

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Record Details

Catalog Search

Emotions! : making sense of your feelings / by Mary Lamia.

Lamia, Mary C. (Author).
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Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Evergreen Indiana.

Current holds

0 current holds with 1 total copy.

Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Jefferson Co PL - Madison Main Branch YA 152.4 LAM (Text) 39391006773384 Young Adult Nonfiction Available -

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781433811937 (pbk. : alk. paper)
  • ISBN: 1433811936 (pbk. : alk. paper)
  • Physical Description: 146 pages ; 22 cm
  • Publisher: Washington, DC : Magination Press, [2013]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references (pages 126-136) and index.
Formatted Contents Note: Emotions : the basics are all in your head -- Anxiety is your friend -- The complexity of fear -- Embarrassment: being noticed with regret -- Hiding from shame -- The goodness of guilt -- Pride and hubris are self-defining -- Loneliness has a purpose -- Hope and recognizing when it's hopeless -- Sadness and sad love -- Maybe you should be angry -- Disgust can make you sick -- The secret life of envy -- Interest is more exciting than you think -- Happiness can make you smile or cry.
Summary, etc.: Discusses emotions from anxiety and fear to sadness and anger, revealing their value to inform, affect decisions, and motivate someone.
Subject: Emotions > Juvenile literature.
Genre: Popular Works.

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