All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God. Whenever we come upon these matter in secular writers, let that admirable light of truth shining in them teach us that the mind of man, though fallen and perverted from its wholeness, is nevertheless clothed and ornamented with God's excellent gifts. If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God. For by holding the gifts of the Spirit in slight esteem, we condemn and reproach the Spirit himself.-John Calvin, The Institutes, II, 2, 15
Anthony Hoekema comments:
The tension between the already and the not yet, therefore, implies that we must not despise what God's Spirit has enabled unregenerate men to produce, but must evaluate all such cultural products in the light of the teachings of God's Word. We may gratefully use whatever is of value in the culture of this world, as long as we use it with discrimination.From this book:
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