This book attempts to understand Calvin in his sixteenth-century context, with attention to continuities and discontinuities between his thought and that of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors. Richard Muller is particularly interested in the interplay between theological and philosophical themes common to Calvin and the medieval doctors, and developments in the rhetoric and argument associated with humanism.

A study of the history and contribution of the Huguenots in Britain. It is characterized by a blend of scholarship with lucidity, balance and humour. Originally published in 1985, this second edition takes into account new research and writings since the first edition. All referencing material has been updated in the light of new findings. The plate section has also been expanded to include recently available pictures of Huguenot artefacts and scenes.

Lesslie Newbigin was a figure of patristic proportions in the twentieth-century history of the Church. In this intellectual and spiritual biography Geoffrey Wainwright displays the theological character of his subject's multifarious engagement in the search for Christian unity, the practice of evangelism and the strategy of mission, the compassionate service of society, and the responsible statement of the scriptural and traditional faith amid the complexities of late modern culture. Himself a distinguished ecumenist and theologian, Geoffrey Wainwright draws on thirty-five years of personal and literary acquaintance with his subject and on a thorough examination of the Newbigin archives in crafting this rich and varied portrait of an outstanding figure in the ecumenical movement.

Andrew Melville is chiefly remembered today as a defiant leader of radical Protestantism in Scotland, John Knox's heir and successor, the architect of a distinctive Scottish Presbyterian kirk and a visionary reformer of the Scottish university system. While this view of Melville's contribution to the shaping of Protestant Scotland has been criticised and revised in recent scholarship, his broader contribution to the development of the neo-Latin culture of early modern Britain has never been given the attention it deserves. Yet, as this collection shows, Melville was much more than simply a religious reformer: he was an influential member of a pan-European humanist network that valued classical learning as much as Calvinist theology. Neglect of this critical aspect of Melville's intellectual outlook stems from the fact that almost all his surviving writings are in Latin - and much of it in verse. Melville did not pen any substantial prose treatise on theology, ecclesiology or political theory. His poetry, however, reveals his views on all these topics and offers new insights into his life and times. The main concerns of this volume, therefore, are to provide the first comprehensive listing of the range of poetry and prose attributed to Melville and to begin the process of elucidating these texts and the contexts in which they were written. While the volume contributes to an on-going process that has seen Melville's role as an ecclesiastical politician and educational reformer challenged and diminished, it also seeks to redress the balance by opening up other dimensions of Melville's career and intellectual life and shedding new light on the broader cultural context of Jacobean Scotland and Britain.

A consistent, indigenous English doctrine of scriptural perspicuity correlates with a commitment to the availability of the vernacular scriptures in English and supports the English roots of the Early English Reformation (EER). Although political events and figures dominate the EER, its religious component springing from John Wyclif and streaming throughout the tradition must be recognized more widely. This book critically surveys the doctrine of scriptural perspicuity from the beginning of the Church in the first century (noted as early as John Chrysostom) through the seventeenth century, examining its impact on the current debates concerning competing hermeneutical systems, reader response hermeneutics, and the debates in conservative American Presbyterianism and Reformed theology on subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the length of «creation days, and other issues.

In analyzing Jonathan Edwards preaching in eighteenth-century colonial America, the authors demonstrate how his rhetoric distinguished between conversion and persuasion. The authors delineate the basic tenets of Puritan theology, place Edwards' noted sermons within an historical framework, and show how his psycho-spiritual ideas have had lasting impact on American literary, religious, and intellectual history. This reference provides a critical analysis, speech texts, chronology, and bibliography. Students and teachers of rhetoric, American history, literature, philosophy, and religion will find this in-depth study of an enigmatic great American orator pertinent for various uses.

The reference defines Edwards' doctrinal stance on key religious issues of the times, describes his methods of preaching and efforts to convert sinners into saints, and assesses his influence in the eighteenth century and later. The volume covers his life, his youth and education, his revival and role in the Great Awakening of religion in America, his church's rejection and his exile. This scholarly study relates his ideas to complex theological roots in European thought, to Christian and Enlightenment discourses, and it points to the enormous effect that he has had on thinking until the twentieth century. Texts of key sermons dealing with central concepts such as divine light, sinners, and true grace are provided.

This is a full-scale life of the controversial Reformation leader and influential theologian. Even granted the present high level of biographical writing, it stands out. - CP Snow, Financial Times. John Calvin, the French Protestant theologian, had planned a life of quiet, scholarly study. But while travelling to Strasbourg in 1536, a local war forced him to make a detour through Geneva. Here he stayed, apart from a short period of exile, until the end of his life. His time in Geneva was marked by long, bitter struggles over the independence of the Church from the State and the rules Calvin tried to impose on Geneva as a whole. Calvin's reputation as a controversialist is strong even today. In this major biography, he is seen against the background of the turbulent times in which he lived. By putting Calvin in his context, the book brings to life the quiet, 'timid scholar' whose ideas took Europe by storm.

Scholars from France and from countries of the Huguenot Refuge examine the situation of French Protestants before and after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in France and in the countries to which many of them fled during the great exodus which followed the Edict of Fontainebleau. Covering a period from the end of the sixteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth century, the volume examines aspects of life in France, from the debate on church unity to funeral customs, but its primary focus is on departure from France and its consequences -- both before and after the Revocation. It offers insights into individuals and groups, from grandees such as Henri de Ruvigny, depute general and later Earl of Galway, to converted Catholic priests and from businessmen and communities choosing their destination for economic as well as religious reasons, to women and children moving across European frontiers or groups seeking refuge in the islands of the Indian Ocean. The information-gathering activities of the French authorities and the reception of problematic groups such as the Camisard prophets among exile communities are examined, as well as the significant contributions which Huguenots began to make, in a variety of domains, to the countries in which they had settled. The refugees were extremely interested in the history of their diaspora and of the individuals of which it was composed, and this theme too is explored. Finally, the Napoleonic period brought some of the refugees up against France in a more immediate way, raising further questions of identity and aspiration for the Huguenot community in Germany.

The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards offers a state-of-the-art summary of scholarship on Edwards by a diverse, international, and interdisciplinary group of Edwards scholars, many of whom serve as global leaders in the burgeoning world of research and writing on 'America's theologian'. As an early modern clerical polymath, Edwards is of interest to historians, theologians, and literary scholars. He is also an interlocutor for contemporary clergy and philosophical theologians. All such readers-and many more-will find here an authoritative overview of Edwards' life, ministry, and writings, as well as a representative sampling of cutting-edge scholarship on Edwards from across several disciplines. The volume falls into four sections, which reflect the diversity of Edwards studies today. The first section turns to the historical Edwards and grounds him in his period and the relevant contexts that shaped his life and work. The second section balances the historical reconstruction of Edwards as a theological and philosophical thinker with explorations of his usefulness for constructive theology and the church today. In part three, the focus shifts to the different ways and contexts in which Edwards attempted to realize his ideas and ideals in his personal life, scholarship, and ministry, but also to the ways in which these historical realities stood in tension with, limited, or resisted his aspirations. The final section looks at Edwards' widening renown and influence as well as diverse appropriations. This Handbook serves as an authoritative guide for readers overwhelmed by the enormity of the multi-lingual world of Edwards studies. It will bring readers up to speed on the most important work being done and then serve them as a benchmark in the field of Edwards scholarship for decades to come.

This study is in its broadest sense an inquiry into the intellectual origins of the Reformed branch of Protestantism generally, but inaccurately, designated Calvinism. More specifically, it concerns one of the early theologians who gave formative shape to Reformed theology, Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562), and focuses on his adoption of the soteriological doctrine of gemina praedestinatio, double predestination: divine election and divine reprobation. One of the most erudite men of his age, Vermigli was also one of the most remarkable, for his religious career spanned the ecclesiastical horizon from prominence as a Roman Catholic theologian to one of the formative theologians of sixteenth century Reformed Protestantism. No other theologian of the early sixteenth century was so distinguished in both camps. James argues that Vermigli derived the doctrine of gemina praedestinatio from the writings of Gregory of Rimini and that it was fully formed before he allied himself with the Protestant cause, thus illustrating an important aspect of soteriological continuity between late medieval and reformation thought.

A Contoversial Spirit offers a new perspective on the origins and nature of southern evangelicalism. Most recent historians have focused on the differences between evangelicals and non-evangelicals, leading to the perception that during the "Era of Awakenings" American evangelicals constituted a united front. Philip N. Mulder dispels this illusion by examining the internal dynamics of evangelicalism. Although the denominations shared the goal of saving souls, he finds they disagreed over the correct definition of true religion and conversion. Examining conversion narratives, worship, polity and rituals, as well as more formal doctrinal statements in creeds and sermons, Mulder is able to provide a far more nuanced portrait of southern evangelicals than previously available, revealing the deep differences between denominations that the homogenization of religious history has until now obscured.

Until recently the impact of the Lutheran Reformation has been largely regarded in political and socio-economic terms, yet for most people it was not the abstract theological debates that had the greatest impact upon their lives, but what they saw in their parish churches every Sunday. This collection of essays provides a coherent and interdisciplinary investigation of the impact that the Lutheran Reformation had on the appearance, architecture and arrangement of early modern churches. Drawing upon recent research being undertaken by leading art historians and historians on Lutheran places of worship, the volume emphasises often surprising levels of continuity, reflecting the survival of Catholic fixtures, fittings and altarpieces, and exploring how these could be remodelled in order to conform with the tenets of Lutheran belief. The volume not only addresses Lutheran art but also the way in which the architecture of their churches reflected the importance of preaching and the administration of the sacraments. Furthermore the collection is committed to extending these discussions beyond a purely German context, and to look at churches not only within the Holy Roman Empire, but also in Scandinavia, the Baltic States as well as towns dominated by Saxon communities in areas such as in Hungary and Transylvania. By focusing on ecclesiastical 'material culture' the collection helps to place the art and architecture of Lutheran places of worship into the historical, political and theological context of early modern Europe.

Calvinism is named after 16th century Reformer, John Calvin whose overall theology is contained in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559). Calvin's theology and ecclesiology provided the foundation upon which the Reformed Churches of Europe were built. It was a comprehensive and carefully expounded alternative to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and was designed to expose their weaknesses and present a view of the Christian Faith that was a reformed version of the old faith. The Historical Dictionary of Calvinism relates the history of its founder John Calvin, the Reformed Church, and the impact that Calvinism has had in the modern world along with an account of modern and contemporary developments within the religious, political, and social culture it has created. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on concepts, significant figures, places, activities, and periods. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Calvinism.

How French Protestant networks worked to rescue Jews and other refugees from the Nazis. This is the story of Pierre Toureille, a French Protestant pastor whose efforts resulted in the rescue of hundreds of refugees, most of them Jewish. Inspired by his Huguenot heritage, Pastor Toureille participated in international Protestant church efforts to combat Nazism during the 1930s and headed a major refugee aid organization in Vichy France during World War II. After the war, Pastor Toureille was honored by the Jewish organization Yad Vashem as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations." In telling Toureille's story, Tela Zasloff depicts the wide-ranging network of Protestant pastors and lay people in southern French villages who participated in an aggressive rescue effort. She delves into their motivations, including their heritage as members of a religious minority. Toureille's rescue work under the Vichy regime, partly official and then increasingly clandestine as the war progressed, was a crucial part of the French non-violent "spiritual resistance" against Nazism.

Calvinist theology has been debated and promoted for centuries. But is it a theology that should last? Roger Olson suggests that Calvinism, also commonly known as Reformed theology, holds an unwarranted place in our list of accepted theologies. In Against Calvinism, readers will find scholarly arguments explaining why Calvinist theology is incorrect and how it affects God s reputation. Olson draws on a variety of sources, including Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience, to support his critique of Calvinism and the more historically rich, biblically faithful alternative theologies he proposes. Addressing what many evangelical Christians are concerned about today---so-called new Calvinism, a movement embraced by a generation labeled as young, restless, Reformed ---Against Calvinism is the only book of its kind to offer objections from a non-Calvinist perspective to the current wave of Calvinism among Christian youth. As a companion to Michael Horton s For Calvinism, readers will be able to compare contrasting perspectives and form their own opinions on the merits and weaknesses of Calvinism."

Traditional historiography has always viewed Calvin's Geneva as the benchmark against which all other Reformed communities must inevitably be measured, judging those communities who did not follow Geneva's institutional and doctrinal example as somehow inferior and incomplete versions of the original. Adaptations of Calvinism in Reformation Europe builds upon recent scholarship that challenges this concept of the 'fragmentation' of Calvinism, and instead offers a more positive view of Reformed communities beyond Geneva. The essays in this volume highlight the different paths that Calvinism followed as it took root in Western Europe and which allowed it to develop within fifty years into the dominant Protestant confession. Each chapter reinforces the notion that whilst many reformers did try to duplicate the kind of community that Calvin had established, most had to compromise by adapting to the particular political and cultural landscapes in which they lived. The result was a situation in which Reformed churches across Europe differed markedly from Calvin's Geneva in explicit ways. Summarizing recent research in the field through selected French, German, English and Scottish case studies, this collection adds to the emerging picture of a flexible Calvinism that could adapt to meet specific local conditions and needs in order to allow the Reformed tradition to thrive and prosper. The volume is dedicated to Brian G. Armstrong, whose own scholarship demonstrated how far Calvinism in seventeenth-century France had become divided by significant disagreements over how Calvin's original ideas and doctrines were to be understood.

The book analyses the medieval vision of the world as depicted in Dante Alighieri's poetic works. In detail it discusses two works, The Banquet and The Divine Comedy, and offers a view on politics, faith and the universe of the medieval period. For modern people that period with its debates, polemics and visions represents something exceedingly remote, obscure and unknown. While admiring Dante's poetic artistry, we often fail to recognize the inspirations that permeated the works of medieval scholars and poets. Although times are constantly changing, every generation has to face the same fundamental questions of meaning, purpose and value of human existence: Dante's cosmological and poetical picture turns out to be surprisingly universal.

Reveals a much neglected strand of puritan theology which emphasised the importance of inner happiness and personal piety. The traditional view of puritans is that they were killjoys - serious, austere, gloomy people who closed theatres and abolished Christmas. This book, based on extensive original research, presents a different view. Focusing on both the writings of the leading Independent divine, Ralph Venning, and also on his pastoral work in the 1640s and 1650s when he was successively chaplain to the Tower of London and vicar of St Olave's, Southwark, the book revealsa much neglected strand of puritan theology. This emphasised the importance of inner happiness and the development of a personal piety which, the author argues, was similar in its nature to medieval mysticism, not that differentfrom the piety promoted by earlier metaphysical preachers, and not at all driven by the predestinarian ideas usually associated with puritans, ideas liable to induce a sense of helplessness and despair. In addition, the book reassesses the role of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where Venning was educated, in shaping puritan thought, discusses Max Weber's ideas about puritanism and capitalism especially in relation to recreation and leisure activities, and demonstrates that Venning's strand of puritanism favoured toleration, moderation and church unity to a much greater degree than is usually associated with puritans. Stephen Bryn Roberts was awarded his doctorate from theUniversity of Aberdeen and has been Adjunct Lecturer in Early Modern Church History at International Christian College, Glasgow since 2011.

What's wrong with Calvinism? Since the Reformation, Calvinism has dominated much of evangelical thought. It has been so well established that many Christians simply assume it to be the truest expression of Christian doctrine. But Calvinism has some serious biblical and theological weaknesses that unsettle laypeople, pastors and scholars alike. God is sovereign. All evangelical Christians--whether Arminians or Calvinists--have no doubt about this fundamental truth. But how does God express his sovereignty? Is God a master puppeteer, pulling our strings? Or has he graciously given his children freedom to respond to his love? In this eminently readable book, Jerry L. Walls and Joseph R. Dongell explore the flaws of Calvinist theology.Why I Am Not a Calvinist is a must-read for all who struggle with the limitations of this dominant perspective within evangelical theology.

Few great men have been so consistently misunderstood as Calvin and the eminent Swiss man of letters, Emanuel Stickelberger, throws a vivid light upon both the man and his times. Stickelberger sees the pale, frail man of Geneva against the background of the tumultuous times in which he lived. His iron will, constant struggle with ill health, utter dedication to his task, almost super-human capacity for work and indifference to financial reward, are all arrestingly portrayed. Stickelberger paints his portrait with a remarkable economy of words and with a fine sense of drama. The result is a vivid and fascinating study of a man and an epoch, that holds the reader's attention from the first page to the last.

The Path of Humility: Caravaggio and Carlo Borromeo establishes a fundamental relationship between the Franciscan humility of Archbishop of Milan Carlo Borromeo and the Roman sacred works of Caravaggio. This is the first book to consider and focus entirely upon these two seemingly anomalous personalities of the Counter-Reformation. The import of Caravaggio's Lombard artistic heritage has long been seen as pivotal to the development of his sacred style, but it was not his only source of inspiration. This book seeks to enlarge the discourse surrounding Caravaggio's style by placing him firmly in the environment of Borromean Milan, a city whose urban fabric was transformed into a metaphorical Via Crucis. This book departs from the prevailing preoccupation - the artist's experience in Rome as fundamental to his formulation of sacred style - and toward his formative years in Borromeo's Milan, where humility reigned supreme. This book is intended for a broad, yet specialized readership interested in Counter-Reformation art and devotion. It serves as a critical text for undergraduate and graduate art history courses on Baroque art, Caravaggio, and Counter-Reformation art.

History occasionally produces figures whose influence on their own and successive generations is immense. Marx, Freud and Lenin had such an influence, and so, Alister McGrath argues, does John Calvin. This book provides a fresh and lucid exploration of Calvin's life and influence, his theology and his political thought, and his determining of the course of European history. It traces Calvin's remarkable impact on the development of modern Western attitudes to work, wealth, civil rights, capitalism and the natural sciences.

Published to wide critical acclaim in hardback and now available in paperback, this ground-breaking study of Calvin will be welcomed by all concerned with an understanding of the shaping of modern western culture.

'The Identity and the Life of the Church' is a study of John Calvin's ecclesiology that argues that Calvin's idea of the twofold identity of the Church - its spiritual identity as the body of Christ and its functional identity as the mother of all believers - is closely related to his understanding of Christian identity and life, which are initiated and maintained by the grace of the triune God. The anthropological basis of Calvin's idea of the Church has not been examined fully, even though Calvin presents the important concepts of his ecclesiology in the light of his anthropological ideas. Yosep Kim provides an overall evaluation of Calvin's ecclesiology, arguing that it is ultimately Calvin's pastoral concern for the Christian and the Church under affliction that governs his theological understanding of the Church and shapes his proposals for establishing and sustaining the life of the Church in the world.