bwaughOn R. Scott Clark’s Heidelblog he posted,
“Why Did the Geneva Consistory Insist on Biblical Names at Baptism?” which interacts with a blogpost by Matt Tuininga. As Clark begins his article he quotes Tuininga. “During Calvin’s time in Geneva probably the single greatest area of controversy between the consistory and the people of Geneva revolved around a seemingly very trivial issue: names. To summarize a longstanding Geneva controversy, Calvin and the other pastors (all of whom were French; not a single one was a native Genevan) launched a campaign to prohibit the people of the city from giving their children traditional or familial names associated with Catholic saints or pagan figures, requiring instead that all infants must be baptized with a Christian (biblical) name.” As a historical study it is intriguing, but could we learn something from it about the significance of names and how they could represent a child’s identity as a member of the covenant community loving Scripture. Also, is naming a child a “seemingly very trivial issue.” Should Christian parents use given names held high by the world such as athletes, political figures, and hollywood personalities, or should they want to honor heroes of the faith such as Joshua, Esther, Daniel, Elizabeth, Mary, and Barnabas?
