John Calvin (1509-64), a central figure in Reformed theology, is perhaps best known for his bleak doctrine of total human depravity. This dismal view of human reason has commonly overshadowed his statement that 'some sparks still shine'. This article proposes that Calvin's account of conscience, by conserving an illuminated space in human nature, makes possible a formal doctrine of natural law. Calvin enlists the interconnectedness between the knowledge of God and human reason to frame his anthropology. According to this, human reason was originally created to perfectly access knowledge of God but after the Fall, can only attain imperfect access. Within this broader framework, by adopting a dialectic of dual perspectives, Calvin maintains that, however fallen, human nature still partially reflects the Imago Dei as first intended. As through a glass darkly, this divine image is reflected in human conscience endowing it with sufficient knowledge for moral discernment. Calvin's emphasis on 'common grace' in the preservation of this knowledge allows him to simultaneously maintain human ignorance and their universal accountability to objective norms. In this way, Calvin's account of conscience enables him to hold both apparent extremes in tension: The immanent fallibility of human beings with the external normative standards they ought to pursue.

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仍然闪耀的火花：约翰·加尔文论良心和自然法

约翰·加尔文（John Calvin，1509-64 年）是改革宗神学的核心人物，最著名的可能是他关于人类完全堕落的凄凉教义。这种对人类理性的悲观看法通常掩盖了他“一些火花仍然闪耀”的说法。这篇文章提出，加尔文对良心的解释，通过保护人性中一个被照亮的空间，使得自然法的正式学说成为可能。加尔文利用对上帝的知识和人类理性之间的相互联系来构建他的人类学。据此，人类理性最初被创造是为了完美地获得关于上帝的知识，但在堕落之后，只能获得不完美的途径。在这个更广泛的框架内，通过采用双重视角的辩证法，加尔文认为，无论多么堕落，人性仍然部分地反映了最初的意象。如同透过黑暗的玻璃，这个神圣的形象反映在人类的良心中，赋予它足够的道德辨别知识。加尔文在保存这种知识时强调“普遍恩典”，这使他能够同时保持人类的无知和他们对客观规范的普遍责任。以这种方式，加尔文对良心的描述使他能够将两个明显的极端置于紧张状态：人类对他们应该追求的外部规范标准的内在错误。在保存这种知识时，他可以同时保持人类的无知和他们对客观规范的普遍责任。以这种方式，加尔文对良心的描述使他能够将两个明显的极端置于紧张状态：人类对他们应该追求的外部规范标准的内在错误。在保存这种知识时，他可以同时保持人类的无知和他们对客观规范的普遍责任。以这种方式，加尔文对良心的描述使他能够将两个明显的极端置于紧张状态：人类对他们应该追求的外部规范标准的内在错误。