Calvin on Our Fathers

As one who believes that Christians today underappreciate the historic orthodoxy of their faith, Calvin reminds me it's also important not to overcorrect:

"They were foolishly inflated on account of the glory of their race, they often imitated the vices of their fathers as though they were virtues, and defended themselves by their examples...

"Hence may be learnt a general truth, that we are not to defer too much to the authority of the fathers lest it should draw us away from God; for if any fathers have ever been worthy of honor, no doubt the Jews possessed that preeminence; and yet David distinctly commanded their children to beware of being like them." (Calvin's Commentary on Hebrews 3:8)