Latin American Protestantism
Erastus proposed the notion that the Church is an arm of the State, such as I am raising Henry VIII in the Act of supremacy. In an ecleciocracia, however, the State is an arm of the Church. The officers of the Church, using the institutions of the State, directed the society which means that the Church collects taxes, accepts demands, provides means for the common defense, and regulates both economic and social relations. Neither of these two was the vision of Calvin. On the contrary, his vision was that of a Republic, which is at once teocratita and theonomic. In a theocracy God rules both the State and the Church. In the teonomia all laws are derived from the law of God. Calvin saw a State Christian governed by God, and under the law of God. (G Joseph Gatis, 2001.) We believe that the greatest contribution that can make Calvinism to the Latin American revolutionary political process, is the build a broad thinking that can adapt to the different social, economic and cultural characteristics of our peoples. Besides the much-criticised work ethic, that some pose as Calvinist negative principle, but also recognize that he creates among its followers citizens with mystique and responsible labor, with strong commitments to society, others and the environment. The construction of that other world, is not possible without the construction of a new humanity, that it is a common principle of Christianity and the thought of this new continental left and world, strong influence guevarista, that aims to make a new epistemological and deep construction of socialism of the 21st century. May, Calvinism, the Calvinists, and many people of the Venezuelan and Latin American Protestantism, make your contribution political-ideological – theological relevant, as objective as possible, to the construction of that new humanity. This would be one of the most important legacies of historical Calvinism in this century, in the midst of revolutionary political changes affecting Venezuela and need our continent and the world as a whole.