Thank you for this wonderful post. It speaks to me very strongly because I attend a large Presbyterian church which has been infiltrated by a group promoting Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises. When compared, for example, with Calvin’s views on prayer (Institutes, Book Three, Ch. 20) the contrast between Calvin and Ignatius – as you rightly note – could not be starker.

But while you are right to mention those abominable rules from the end of the SE, please let me draw your attention to the very beginning – the first Annotation. The first paragraph of the SE proclaims the Pelagian heresy! While some Jesuit scholars seek to play that down, the fact remains. Lastly, Ignatius strongly believed that he was “taught by God”. So, in his own mind, he was the beneficiary of a “charism” not even the Magisterium of his church can claim.

Thanks for showing us how Ignatius is a wonderful tool to highlight the differences between the Protestant and Catholic faith. For he clearly shows that the former is God-centered and the latter is man-centered.

Thanks again for your work, Chris.

Many blessing to you and yours!