Download or read book Calvin written by Bernard Cottret and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2000-09 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Modesty, softness, and mildness"-such was John Calvin, in his own words. This brief self-portrait will surprise posterity, quick as it is to detect in Calvin a deeply passionate man of zealous action. Calvin adds elsewhere: "I acknowledge myself to be timid, soft, and cowardly by nature." He repeated the same idea feelingly on the eve of his death, calling himself "timid" and "fearful" before an astounded group of pastors who knew by experience that the old fellow could raise up storms. These various descriptions of Calvin strongly underline the vigor of a character that owed all its energy to God alone. At the same time, the apparent contradictions within Calvin's personality make it hard to capture his true nature. The large number of biographies attempted to date attest to this fact, many of which simply picture Calvin as a rigid fundamentalist or as a totalitarian who ruled Geneva with an iron hand. Such interpretations, however, are much too one-dimensional. This sterling new biography by Bernard Cottret opts for a Calvin "in movement," thus distinguishing itself from works that present Calvin as a man of relatively static character. The aim of this book is simply to recover the truth, or rather to reclaim the intelligibility of a man in his time. This is a historian's Calvin, the work of a university professor who is neither a theologian nor an ordained minister. Cottret's welcome approach sheds new light on the great Reformer's personality by concentrating on the milieu in which Calvin did his life's work. In the largest part of the book, Cottret explores Calvin's life chronologically. We are introduced to the world into which Calvin was born, a Europe in the throes of upheaval owing to the development of the printing press and divergent religious views. We follow Calvin from his birth and childhood in Noyon to his school years in Paris. We accompany Calvin on his humanistic and literary pursuits in Basel, his early ministry in Geneva, and his halcyon Strasbourg years. Finally, we move again to Geneva, where the brunt of Calvin's serious-and better known-life was lived. Along the way we encounter the major issues of Calvin's day-the sacrifice of the Mass, iconoclasm, predestination, the Arianism of Michael Servetus-issues to which he reacted with all his religious emotion. We tarry with him in Geneva and get an up-close look at the governance of Calvinism's "holy city." And we share in Calvin's joys and sorrows through a reading of his prolific correspondence. In the final chapters, Cottret explores thematic aspects of Calvin's persona-Calvin the polemicist, the preacher, and the writer-and looks in greater depth at his foremost work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. Widely acclaimed in its French edition, this balanced and beautifully written biography will take its place among the best-and most enjoyable-portraits of Calvin's life, work, and lasting influence.

Download or read book Calvin and the Reformed Tradition written by Richard A. Muller and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2012-11-15 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard Muller, a world-class scholar of the Reformation era, examines the relationship of Calvin's theology to the Reformed tradition, indicating Calvin's place in the tradition as one of several significant second-generation formulators. Muller argues that the Reformed tradition is a diverse and variegated movement not suitably described either as founded solely on the thought of John Calvin or as a reaction to or deviation from Calvin, thereby setting aside the old "Calvin and the Calvinists" approach in favor of a more integral and representative perspective. Muller offers historical corrective and nuance on topics of current interest in Reformed theology, such as limited atonement/universalism, union with Christ, and the order of salvation.

Download or read book Calvin and the Bible written by Donald K. McKim and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-11 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the past several decades a growing number of scholars have come to appreciate the importance of studying John Calvin's interpretive work as a commentator on Scripture in addition to his better-known writings on theology. In this volume ten essays by scholars specializing in Calvin's exegetical methods examine the approaches and themes Calvin emphasized when he interpreted major portions of Scripture. These essays focus on Calvin's work in his biblical commentaries with appropriate cross-referencing to his other writings, including his sermons. A concluding essay synthesizes the main features of what has gone before to present an overall view of John Calvin as an interpreter and commentator on Holy Scripture. An appreciation of Calvin's exegetical labors and his work as a biblical commentator are now recognized as key elements in Calvin scholarship.

Download or read book A Treatise on Relics written by Jean Calvin and published by . This book was released on 1854 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Christian Life written by John Calvin and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2009-05-01 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading expert on John Calvin brings together the reformer's most profound reflections on what it means to live a fully Christian life. The Christian Life includes excerpts from Calvin's impressive theological writings and illuminating sermons, as well as a selection of his stately prayers. Editor John H. Leith focuses on Calvin's spirituality, which arose out of the reformer's conviction that theology's primary importance is to encourage piety, to edify, and to transform human life and society. Calvin's writings have much to tell about the manner and style of Christian living. The writings gathered in The Christian Life draw upon Calvin's own heartfelt commitment to the ideals of life in Christ and to the responsibility to the community he served as pastor, preacher, teacher, and counselor. Here, then, is Calvin's own pattern for the conduct of the fully Christian life, which stresses that it is in Christian people living in Christian community and in society that we see most clearly the reality of faith. The Christian Life shares Calvin's thinking on such essential questions as the nature of sin; the importance of self-denial and cross-bearing to the Christian life; maintaining the proper balance between the present life and the life to come; the role of grace; the concept of Christian freedom; the place of prayer; the centrality of community; ideas of the elect and predestination; and the deepest purposes of God for his people. He relates all issues to the fundamental question of piety and how Christians can best attune themselves to God's unfolding plans in everyday life. This compact volume makes available to readers as never before some of the most accessible and rewarding writings of this foremost figure in the history of Christian thought. The selections in The Christian Life will introduce the reader to an influential form of Christian piety; but above all, they provide a clue to how Christians today may live and cope with the problems of personal and public life in a highly pluralistic and secular culture, in which the traditional guides and support for Christian living seem to have lost vitality and vigor.

Download or read book Letters of John Calvin written by Jean Calvin and published by . This book was released on 1855 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Theology of John Calvin written by Karl Barth and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1995-11 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historically significant volume collects Karl Barth's lectures on John Calvin, delivered at the University of Göttingen in 1922. The book opens with an illuminating sketch of medieval theology, an appreciation of Luther's breakthrough, and a comparative study of the roles of Zwingli and Calvin. The main body of the work consists of an increasingly sympathetic, and at times amusing, account of Calvin's life up to his recall to Geneva. In the process, Barth examines and evaluates the early theological writings of Calvin, especially the first edition of the Institutes.

Download or read book John Calvin written by T. H. L. Parker and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Calvin was one of the most important leaders of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. In this revision of his major biography, T. H. L. Parker explores Calvin's achievement against the backdrop of the turbulent times in which he lived. With clear and concise explanations of Calvin's theology, analyses of his major works, and insights into his preaching, this definitive biography brings this crucially important reformer and his world to life for readers.

Download or read book Calvin written by Bruce Gordon and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-21 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the glory days of the French Renaissance, young John Calvin (1509-1564) experienced a profound conversion to the faith of the Reformation. For the rest of his days he lived out the implications of that transformation—as exile, inspired reformer, and ultimately the dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin's vision of the Christian religion has inspired many volumes of analysis, but this engaging biography examines a remarkable life. Bruce Gordon presents Calvin as a human being, a man at once brilliant, arrogant, charismatic, unforgiving, generous, and shrewd. The book explores with particular insight Calvin's self-conscious view of himself as prophet and apostle for his age and his struggle to tame a sense of his own superiority, perceived by others as arrogance. Gordon looks at Calvin's character, his maturing vision of God and humanity, his personal tragedies and failures, his extensive relationships with others, and the context within which he wrote and taught. What emerges is a man who devoted himself to the Church, inspiring and transforming the lives of others, especially those who suffered persecution for their religious beliefs.

Download or read book Calvin s Ecclesiastical Advice written by Jean Calvin and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These forty-six letters and writings of John Calvin, translated into English, demonstrate how Calvin applied the theology of the Institutes and the biblical exegesis of his commentaries to issues of everyday life. Here, Calvin gives advice to individuals and groups about theology, ethics, worship, politics, economics, and church practices. Topics discussed include dogmatics and polemics, changes (and the need for changes) in religion, the worship of images, ecclesiastical discipline, marriage, and justice. Each writing is introduced by an identification of the receiver of the advice and an explanation of the subject matter itself. This volume is useful for understanding Calvin's theology and its application to Christian life.

Download or read book The Necessity of Reforming the Church written by Jean Calvin and published by . This book was released on 1844 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book John Calvin written by Jean Calvin and published by Paulist Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume translates selected works of John Calvin (1509-1564), the great reformer of Geneva, with special emphasis on his piety.

Download or read book Suffering written by Jean Calvin and published by EP BOOKS. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Image and Word in the Theology of John Calvin written by Randall C. Zachman and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his groundbreaking new study of the Swiss reformer, Randall C. Zachman reveals and analyzes John Calvin's understanding of image and word both comprehensively and chronologically, with attention to the way that each theme develops in Calvin's theology. For most scholars, John Calvin (1509-1564) insisted on the essential invisibility of God in order to deny that God could be represented in any kind of visible image. This claim formed one of his foundational arguments against the display of man-made images in worship. Given the transcendence of God, Calvin rejected the human attempt to create signs and symbols of God's presence on earth, especially the statues, images, and paintings present in Roman Catholic churches. Zachman argues, in contrast, that although Calvin rejects the use of what he calls dead images in worship, he does so to focus our attention on the living images of God in which the invisible God becomes somewhat visible. Word of God to clarify their meaning; we are only led to the true knowledge of God when we hold together the living images of God that we see with the Word of God that we hear. This combination of seeing and hearing pervades Calvin's theology, from his understanding of the self-revelation of God the Creator to his development of the self-manifestation of God the Redeemer in Jesus Christ. According to Zachman, Calvin maintains the same linking of seeing and hearing in our relationships with other human beings: We must always hold together what we see in others' gestures and actions with what we hear in their words, so that the hidden thoughts of their hearts might be manifested to us. Zachman's nuanced argument that Calvin holds image and word, manifestation and proclamation, in an inseparable relationship is relevant to all the major themes of Calvin's theology. It constitutes a highly significant and surprising contribution to our knowledge of the Reformation and an invitation to further study of theological aesthetics.

Download or read book Jeremiah and Lamentations Volume 2 written by Robert Davidson and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2008-10-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the conclusion of Volume 1 of Robert Davidson's commentary on the book of Jeremiah, the prophet was depicted as steadfastly clinging to his faith in God in the midst of doubt and despair. In Volume 2 Davidson examines Jeremiah's uncomfortable relationship with the political and religious establishments of his day. He guides us through the prophecies given in the last years of Jerusalem, the account of the fall of Jerusalem, the oracles against foreign nations, and a final historical appendix. In discussing Lamentations, Davidson states that in this biblical book are found "not only moving and passionate expressions of grief and sorrow, but also of faith.. Such faith was only possible for those who took seriously what Jeremiah had all along said about the inevitable working out of God's judgment upon Jerusalem." Carrying forward brilliantly the pattern established by Barclay's New Testament series, The Daily Study Bible has been extended to cover the entire Old Testament as well. Invaluable for individual devotional study, for group discussion, and for classroom use, The Daily Study Bible provides a useful, reliable, and eminently readable way to discover what the Scriptures were saying then and what God is saying today.

Download or read book Calvin s Commentaries written by Jean Calvin and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 986 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Portrait of Calvin written by T. H. L. Parker and published by Herron Press. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: