Calvinism
John Calvin
Background Christianity St. Augustine The Reformation John Calvin Five Solas Synod of Dort
Theology Five Points (TULIP) Covenant Theology Regulative principle
Documents Calvin's Institutes Confessions of faith Geneva Bible
Influences Theodore Beza John Knox Huldrych Zwingli Jonathan Edwards Princeton theologians
Churches Reformed Presbyterian Congregationalist Reformed Baptist Low church Anglican
Peoples Afrikaners Huguenots Pilgrims Puritans Scots
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Calvinism (also called Reformed tradition, or the Reformed faith, and sometimes Reformed theology) is a type of Protestant theological system and an alternative approach to the Christian life.^[1] This Reformed tradition was developed by several theologians such as Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and Huldrych Zwingli. This branch of Christianity bears the name of the French reformer John Calvin (also known as Jean Cauvin in Middle French), because of his noticeable influence and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates that happened throughout the 16th century. Today, this term also refers to the doctrines and practices from the Reformed churches, where Calvin was an early leader. Although not often, it may refer to the individual, biblical teachings that Calvin made himself.^[2] The system is often summarized in the Five Points of Calvinism and is best known for its doctrines of predestination and total depravity, stressing the total contingency of man's salvation upon the absolute sovereignty of God.

Historical background[link]

John Calvin

John Calvin's international influence on the eventual development of the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation began in 1534 when Calvin was 25. That marks his start on the first edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion (published in 1536). He revised this work several times, and produced a French vernacular translation. The Institutes, together with Calvin's polemical and pastoral works, his contributions to confessional documents for use in churches, and his massive outpouring of commentary on the Bible, meant that Calvin had a direct personal influence on Protestantism. Along with Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and Huldrych Zwingli, Calvin influenced the doctrines of the Reformed churches. He eventually became the most prominent of those reformers.^{[citation needed]}

The rising importance of the Reformed churches and of Calvin belongs to the second phase of the Protestant Reformation. Evangelical churches began to form after Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Calvin was a French exile in Geneva. He had signed the Lutheran Augsburg Confession as it was revised by Melancthon in 1540. However, his influence was first felt in the Swiss Reformation whose leader was Huldrych Zwingli. It soon became evident that doctrine in the Reformed churches was developing in a direction independent of Martin Luther's, under the influence of numerous writers and reformers among whom Calvin eventually became preeminent. Much later, when his fame was attached to the Reformed churches, their whole body of doctrine came to be called "Calvinism".^{[citation needed]}

Spread[link]

Although much of Calvin's practice was in Geneva, his publications spread his ideas of a "correctly" reformed church to many parts of Europe. Calvinism became the theological system of the majority in Scotland (see John Knox), the Netherlands, with men such as William Ames, T J Frelinghuysen and Wilhelmus à Brakel and parts of Germany (especially those adjacent to the Netherlands) with the likes of Olevianus and his colleague Zacharias Ursinus. It was influential in France, Hungary, then-independent Transylvania, Lithuania and Poland. Calvinism gained some popularity in Scandinavia, especially Sweden, but was rejected in favor of Lutheranism after the synod of Uppsala in 1593.^[3]

Most settlers in the American Mid-Atlantic and New England were Calvinists, including the English Puritans, the French Huguenot and Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam (New York), and the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the Appalachian back country. Dutch Calvinist settlers were also the first successful European colonizers of South Africa, beginning in the 17th century, who became known as Boers or Afrikaners.

Sierra Leone was largely colonized by Calvinist settlers from Nova Scotia, who were largely Black Loyalists, blacks who had fought for the British during the American War of Independence. John Marrant had organized a congregation there under the auspices of the Huntingdon Connection. Some of the largest Calvinist communions were started by 19th and 20th century missionaries. Especially large are those in Indonesia, Korea and Nigeria.^{[citation needed]}

Today, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches has 75 million believers.^[4]

Theology[link]

The particulars of Calvinist theology may be stated in a number of ways. Perhaps the best known summary is contained in the five points of Calvinism, though these points identify the Calvinist view on soteriology rather than summarizing the system as a whole. Broadly speaking, Calvinism stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things – in salvation but also in all of life.

Sovereign grace[link]

Calvinism focuses on total depravity or, the total inability of a humanity's ethical nature contrary to a backdrop of the sovereign grace of God in his salvation. It states that fallen people are morally and spiritually incapable of following God or to discharge their condemnation before him.^[5] They see it as the work of God, or divine intervention. In divine intervention, God changes their unwilling hearts from rebellion to eager obedience.

With this view, all the people of the world are at the complete and total mercy of God, who would be just in condemning all people for their sins, but God has chosen to show mercy to some, though not all. Consequently, this means that one person is saved while another person is condemned, not because of a predicted inclination, faith, or any other virtue that is in the first person, but because God sovereignly chose to have mercy on him (Romans 9:16-17) according to his own purpose which is unknown (Romans 8:28).^[6] The person must believe the gospel and repent to be saved, this compliance of faith is a gift from God, and thus God completely and sovereignly achieves the salvation of sinners. Views range from predestination to damnation also known as the doctrine of reprobation. They are less uniform than the view of predestination to salvation (the doctrine of election) that are among self-described Calvinists (see Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism).

During practice, Calvinists teach sovereign grace mostly for encouragement of the church because Calvinists believe the doctrine validates the extent of God's love for saving those who were not able or chose not to follow him, as well as defeating pride and self-reliance and stressing the Christian's total need on the grace of God. In a similar way, sanctification in the Calvinist view involves a frequent dependence on God to eliminate the Christian's immoral heart and their sinful nature, and from the power of sin and to extend the Christian's joy in their new nature.^[7]

Five points of Calvinism[link]

The Five Points of Calvinism
Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints
v t e

Calvinist theology is sometimes identified with the five points of Calvinism, also called the doctrines of grace, which are a point-by-point response to the five points of the Arminian Remonstrance (see History of Calvinist-Arminian debate) and which serve as a summation of the judgments rendered by the Synod of Dort in 1619.^[8] Calvin himself never used such a model and never combated Arminianism directly. In fact, Calvin died in 1564 and Jacob Arminias was born in 1560, and so the men were not contemporaries. The Articles of Remonstrance were authored by opponents of reformed doctrine and Biblical Monergism. They were rejected in 1619 at the Synod of Dort, more than 50 years after the death of Calvin.

The five points therefore function as a summary of the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism, but not as a complete summation of Calvin's writings or of the theology of the Reformed churches in general. In English, they are sometimes referred to by the acronym TULIP^[9] (see below), though this puts them in a different order than the Canons of Dort.

The central assertion of these canons is that God is able to save every person upon whom he has mercy, and that his efforts are not frustrated by the unrighteousness or inability of humans.

• "Total depravity": This doctrine, also called "total inability", asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man into sin, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God with their whole heart, mind, or strength, but rather all are inclined to serve their own interests over those of their neighbor and to reject the rule of God. Thus, all people by their own faculties are morally unable to choose to follow God and be saved because they are unwilling to do so out of the necessity of their own natures. (The term "total" in this context refers to sin affecting every part of a person, not that every person is as evil as possible.)^[10] This doctrine is derived from Augustine's explanation of Original Sin.
• "Unconditional election": This doctrine asserts that God has chosen from eternity those whom he will bring to himself not based on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith in those people; rather, it is unconditionally grounded in God's mercy alone. God has chosen from eternity to extend mercy to those He has chosen and to withhold mercy from those not chosen. Those chosen receive salvation through Christ alone. Those not chosen receive the just wrath that is warranted for their sins against God^[11]
• "Limited atonement": Also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement", this doctrine asserts that Jesus's substitutionary atonement was definite and certain in its purpose and in what it accomplished. This implies that only the sins of the elect were atoned for by Jesus's death. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its value or power, but rather that the atonement is limited in the sense that it is designed for some and not all. Hence, Calvinists hold that the atonement is sufficient for all and efficient for the elect.^[12] The doctrine is driven by the Calvinistic concept of the sovereignty of God in salvation and their understanding of the nature of the atonement.
• "Irresistible grace": This doctrine, also called "efficacious grace", asserts that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith. This means that when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual certainly will be saved. The doctrine holds that this purposeful influence of God's Holy Spirit cannot be resisted, but that the Holy Spirit, "graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ."^[13]
• "Perseverance of the saints": Perseverance (or preservation) of the saints (the word "saints" is used to refer to all who are set apart by God, and not of those who are exceptionally holy, canonized, or in heaven). The doctrine asserts that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with himself will continue in faith until the end. Those who apparently fall away either never had true faith to begin with or will return.^[14]

Nature of the atonement[link]

An additional point of disagreement with Arminianism implicit in the five points is the Calvinist understanding of the doctrine of Jesus's substitutionary atonement as a punishment for the sins of the elect, which was developed by St. Augustine and especially St. Anselm and Calvin himself. Calvinists argue that if Christ takes the punishment in the place of a particular sinner, that person must be saved since it would be unjust for him then to be condemned for the same sins.^[15] The definitive and binding nature of this satisfaction model has strong implications for each of the five TULIP points, and it has led some Arminians to subscribe instead to the governmental theory of atonement. Under that theory, no particular sins or sinners are in view, but all of humanity are included in those whose sins have been taken away. The atonement was not the penalty of the law, but a substitute for the penalty, which allows God to remit the penalty by his grace when any sinner repents and believes in Jesus as the Christ.^[16]

Covenant theology[link]

Although the doctrines of grace have generally received the greater focus in contemporary Calvinism, covenant theology is the historic superstructure that unifies the entire system of doctrine.^[17]

Calvinists take God's transcendence to mean that the relationship between God and his creation must be by voluntary condescension on God's part. This relationship he establishes is covenantal: the terms of the relationship are unchangeably decreed by God alone.^[18]

Reformed writings commonly refer to an intra-Trinitarian covenant of redemption. The greater focus is the relationship between God and man, which in historic Calvinism is seen as bi-covenantal, reflecting the early Reformation distinction between Law and Gospel. The covenant of works encompasses the moral and natural law, dictating the terms of creation. By its terms, man would enjoy eternal life and blessedness based on his continued personal and perfect righteousness. With the fall of man, this covenant continues to operate, but only to condemn sinful man.^[19] The covenant of grace is instituted at the fall, and administered through successive historic covenants seen in Scripture for the purpose of redemption. By its terms, salvation comes not by any personal performance, but by promise. Peace with God comes only through a mediator, the fulfillment of which is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ is seen as the federal head of his elect people, and thus the covenant is the basis of the doctrines of the substitutionary atonement and the imputation of the active obedience of Christ.^[20]

Covenant theology has recently had a resurgence around key participants in the Scripture and Hermeneutics Seminar (SAHS), a project first based in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Gloucestershire (Cheltenham, England). All through these new developments in covenant theology we see (1) a thematic resurgence of "interpreting the Old Testament through Christ" including the notion of Christ the Creator and now King ; and (2) retaining, stressing, and re-exploring Genesis 1–3 toward a renewed discipline of biblical interpretation in terms of the religious ground motive of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Communion in the Holy Spirit as the core of the covenant in the OT, biblically speaking, plus (3) the motif of ecumenical dialogue in this task which now includes evangelical Protestants and Catholics as participants, and the scholarly dialogue with the Canon Criticism school.

Worship regulated by God[link]

The regulative principle regarding worship, which distinguishes the Calvinist approach to the public worship of God from other views, is that only those elements that are instituted or appointed by command or example in the New Testament are permissible in worship. In other words, the regulative principle maintains that God institutes in the scriptures what he requires for worship in the church, and everything else is prohibited. As the regulative principle is reflected in Calvin's own thought, it is driven by his evident antipathy toward the Roman Catholic Church and its worship practices, and it associates musical instruments with icons, which he considered violations of the Ten Commandments' prohibition of graven images.^[21]

On this basis, many early Calvinists also eschewed musical instruments and advocated exclusive psalmody in worship,^[22] though Calvin himself allowed other scriptural songs as well as psalms,^[21] and this practice typified presbyterian worship and the worship of other Reformed churches for some time. The original Lord's Day service designed by John Calvin was a highly liturgical service with the Creed, Alms, Confession and Absolution, the Lord's supper, Doxologies, prayers, Psalms being sung, the Lords prayer being sung, Benedictions. The following are Orders of Service for the Lords Day as designed by John Calvin (Collect is a short prayer; Lection is a Scripture reading; Fraction and Delivery are the breaking of the bread and distribution thereof, respectively):

Liturgy of the Upper Room

Since the 19th century, however, most of the Reformed churches have modified their understanding of the regulative principle and make use of musical instruments, believing that Calvin and his early followers went beyond the biblical requirements^[21] and that such things are circumstances of worship requiring biblically rooted wisdom, rather than an explicit command. Despite the protestations of those few who hold to a strict view of the regulative principle, today hymns and musical instruments are in common use, as are contemporary worship music styles and worship bands.^[23]

Variants[link]

Many efforts have been undertaken to reform or expand on Calvinism, and these variations appear to a greater or lesser degree throughout the history of Calvinism.

Lapsarianism[link]

Within scholastic Calvinist theology, there are two schools of thought over when and whom God predestined: supralapsarianism (from the Latin: supra, "above", here meaning "before" + lapsus, "fall") and infralapsarianism (from the Latin: infra, "beneath", here meaning "after" + lapsus, "fall"). The former view, sometimes called "high Calvinism", argues that the Fall occurred partly to facilitate God's purpose to choose some individuals for salvation and some for damnation. Infralapsarianism, sometimes called "low Calvinism", is the position that, while the Fall was indeed planned, it was not planned with reference to who would be saved.

Supralapsarians believe that God chose which individuals to save before he decided to allow the race to fall and that the Fall serves as the means of realization of that prior decision to send some individuals to hell and others to heaven (that is, it provides the grounds of condemnation in the reprobate and the need for salvation in the elect). In contrast, infralapsarians hold that God planned the race to fall logically prior to the decision to save or damn any individuals because, it is argued, in order to be "saved", one must first need to be saved from something and therefore the decree of the Fall must precede predestination to salvation or damnation.

These two views vied with each other at the Synod of Dort (1618), an international body representing Calvinist Christian churches from around Europe, and the judgments that came out of that council sided with infralapsarianism (Canons of Dort, First Point of Doctrine, Article 7). The influential Westminster Confession of Faith also teaches (in Hodge's words "clearly impl[ies]") the infralapsarian^[24] view, but is sensitive to those holding to supralapsarianism.^[25] The Lapsarian controversy has a few vocal proponents on each side today, but overall it does not receive much attention among modern Calvinists.

Four-point Calvinism[link]

Another revision of Calvinism is called "Amyraldism", "hypothetical universalism", or "four-point Calvinism", also known as Four-point Calvinism, Moderate Calvinism, Modified Calvinism, or Unlimited Limited Atonement. This drops the limited atonement in favor of an unlimited atonement saying that God has provided Christ's atonement for all alike, but seeing that none would believe on their own, he then elects those whom he will bring to faith in Christ, thereby preserving the Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election.^[26]

This doctrine was most thoroughly systematized by the French Reformed theologian at the Academy of Saumur, Moses Amyraut, for whom it is named. His formulation was an attempt to bring Calvinism more nearly alongside the Lutheran view. In England, hypothetical universalism (which is not entirely consistent with Amyraldianism) was held by the early 17th century theologians John Davenant and John Preston and was propounded at the Westminster Assembly by the English Presbyterian leaders Edmund Calamy the Elder, Lazarus Seaman and Stephen Marshall. In a different, more idiosyncratic form, it was expounded in England by the writings of the Reformed pastor Richard Baxter and gained strong adherence among the Congregationalists and some Presbyterians in the American colonies, during the 17th and 18th centuries.^{[citation needed]}

Amyraldism can be found among various evangelical groups in the United States and within the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. "Four point" Calvinism is prevalent in conservative and moderate groups among Presbyterian churches, Reformed churches, Reformed Baptists and some non-denominational churches, and is not uncommon among evangelical members of the Church of England.^{[citation needed]}

Historically, Amyraldism has been called "moderate Calvinism",^[27] but Norman Geisler uses this term to describe his own views, which James R. White calls "merely a modified form of historic Arminianism."^[28]

R. C. Sproul believes there is confusion about what the doctrine of limited atonement actually teaches. While he considers it possible for a person to believe four points without believing the fifth, he claims that a person who really understands the other four points must believe in limited atonement because of what Martin Luther called a resistless logic.^[26]

Mark Driscoll calls this "Unlimited Limited Atonement", or "Four-and-a-half point Calvinism", whereby Jesus, by dying for everyone, purchased everyone as His possession and He then applies His forgiveness to the elect by grace and applies His wrath to the non-elect. Objectively, Jesus' death was sufficient to save anyone, and, subjectively, only efficient to save those who repent of their sin and trust in Him.^[29]

Hyper-Calvinism[link]

Hyper-Calvinism first referred to an eccentric^{[dubious – discuss]} view that appeared among the early English Particular Baptists in the 18th century. Their system denied that the call of the gospel to "repent and believe" is directed to every single person and that it is the duty of every person to trust in Christ for salvation. The term also occasionally appears in both theological and secular controversial contexts, where it usually connotes a negative opinion about some variety of theological determinism, predestination, or a version of Evangelical Christianity or Calvinism that is deemed by the critic to be unenlightened, harsh, or extreme.

Neo-orthodoxy[link]

In the mainline Reformed churches, Calvinism has undergone expansion and revision through the influence of Karl Barth and neo-orthodox theology. Barth was an important Swiss Reformed theologian who began writing early in the 20th century, whose chief accomplishment was to counter-act the influence of the Enlightenment in the churches. The Barmen declaration is an expression of the Barthian reform of Calvinism. Conservative Calvinists (as well as some liberal reformers) regard it as confusing to use the name "Calvinism" to refer to neo-orthodoxy or other liberal revisions stemming from Calvinist churches due to their differing theological views.

Neo-Calvinism[link]

Besides the traditional movements within the conservative Reformed churches, several trends have arisen through the attempt to provide a contemporary, but theologically conservative approach to the world.

A version of Calvinism that has been adopted by both theological conservatives and liberals gained influence in the Dutch Reformed churches, late in the 19th century, dubbed "neo-Calvinism", which developed along lines of the theories of Dutch theologian, statesman and journalist, Abraham Kuyper. More traditional Calvinist critics of the movement characterize it as a revision of Calvinism, although a conservative one in comparison to modernist Christianity or neo-orthodoxy. Neo-Calvinism, "Calvinianism", or the "reformational movement", is a response to the influences of the Enlightenment, but generally speaking it does not touch directly on the articles of salvation. Neo-Calvinists intend their work to be understood as an update of the Calvinist worldview in response to modern circumstances, which is an extension of the Calvinist understanding of religion to scientific, social and political issues. To show their consistency with the historic Reformed movement, supporters may cite Calvin's Institutes, book 1, chapters 1–3, and other works. In the United States, Kuyperian neo-Calvinism is represented among others, by the Center for Public Justice, a faith-based political think-tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Neo-Calvinism branched off in more theologically conservative movements in the United States. The first of these to rise to prominence became apparent through the writings of Francis Schaeffer, who had gathered around himself a group of scholars, and propagated their ideas in writing and through L'Abri, a Calvinist study center in Switzerland. This movement generated a reawakened social consciousness among Evangelicals^{[citation needed]}.

Christian Reconstructionism[link]

A neo-Calvinist movement called "Christian Reconstructionism" is much smaller, more radical, and theocratic, but by some believed to be widely influential in American family and political life. Reconstructionism is a distinct revision of Kuyper's approach, which sharply departs from that root influence through the complete rejection of pluralism, and by formulating suggested applications of the sanctions of Biblical Law for modern civil governments. These distinctives are the least influential aspects of the movement. Its intellectual founder, the late Rousas J. Rushdoony, based much of his understanding on the apologetical insights of Cornelius Van Til, father of presuppositionalism and professor at Westminster Theological Seminary (although Van Til himself did not hold to such a view). It has some influence in the conservative Reformed churches in which it was born, and in Calvinistic Baptist and Charismatic churches mostly in the United States, Canada, and to a lesser extent in the UK.

Reconstructionism aims toward the complete rebuilding of the structures of society on Christian and Biblical presuppositions, not, according to its promoters, in terms of "top down" structural changes, but through the steady advance of the Gospel of Christ as men and women are converted, who then live out their obedience to God in the areas for which they are responsible. In keeping with the Theonomic Principle, it seeks to establish laws and structures that will best instantiate the ethical principles of the Bible, including the Old Testament as expounded in the case laws and summarized in the Decalogue. Not a political movement, strictly speaking, Reconstructionism has nonetheless been influential in the development of aspects of the Christian Right that some critics have called "Dominionism". Reconstructionism assumes that God institutes in the Scriptures everything he requires for the ordering of self and society, extending the regulative principle of worship to all areas of life.

Calvinism Today[link]

Calvinism has undergone a resurgence in North America in recent years.^[30] TIME magazine described the New Calvinism as one of the "10 ideas changing the world" in 2009 and cited its adherents to be largely Reformed Baptist or Presbyterians.^[31] Figures today which are associated with Calvinism include R.C. Sproul, Mark Dever,^[32] Mark Driscoll,^[33] Ligon Duncan,^[34] Tim Keller,^[35] C.J. Mahaney,^[36] Al Mohler,^[37][38] J.I. Packer,^[39] and John Piper.^[40]

Social and religious influences of Calvinism[link]

Usury and capitalism[link]

One school of thought attributes Calvinism with setting the stage for the later development of capitalism in northern Europe. In this view, elements of Calvinism represented a revolt against the medieval condemnation of usury and, implicitly, of profit in general.^{[citation needed]} Such a connection was advanced in influential works by R. H. Tawney (1880–1962) and by Max Weber (1864–1920).

Calvin expressed himself on usury in a 1545 letter to a friend, Claude de Sachin, in which he criticized the use of certain passages of scripture invoked by people opposed to the charging of interest. He reinterpreted some of these passages, and suggested that others of them had been rendered irrelevant by changed conditions. He also dismissed the argument (based upon the writings of Aristotle) that it is wrong to charge interest for money because money itself is barren. He said that the walls and the roof of a house are barren, too, but it is permissible to charge someone for allowing him to use them. In the same way, money can be made fruitful.^[41]

He qualified his view, however, by saying that money should be lent to people in dire need without hope of interest, while a modest interest rate of 5% should be permitted in relation to other borrowers.^[42]

Arminianism[link]

A theological and political movement in opposition to Calvinism, now called "Arminianism", was founded by Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius and revised and pursued by the Remonstrants. Arminius rejected several tenets of the Calvinist doctrines of salvation – namely, the latter four of what would later be known as the five points of Calvinism. The term "Arminianism" today often serves as an umbrella term for both Arminius's doctrine and the Remonstrants', but Arminius's followers sometimes distinguish themselves as "Reformed Arminians."^[43]

The Remonstrants' doctrine was condemned at the Synod of Dort held in Dordrecht, Holland, in 1618/1619, and followers of either Arminius or the Remonstrants are not generally considered "Reformed" by most Calvinists. Many Evangelical Christians adopted the position advocated by the Remonstrants, and Arminius's system was revived by evangelist John Wesley and is common today, particularly in Methodism.

Comparison among Protestants[link]

This table summarizes the classical views of three Protestant beliefs about salvation.^[44]

See also[link]

Calvinism portal

• List of Calvinist educational institutions
• Moderate Calvinism
• Synod of Jerusalem (1672)
• Cage Stage Calvinism

History[link]

• Crypto-Calvinism: German Protestants accused of Calvinist leanings within the Lutheran church in the late 16th century
• Jansenism: a radical Augustinian group within the Catholic Church with doctrinal distinctives very similar to Calvinism
• Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
• Welsh Methodist revival, 1904-1905 Welsh Revival

Doctrine[link]

• Common grace and free offer of the Gospel
• Moderate Calvinism
• Monergism, as opposed to synergism

People groups[link]

• Category:Calvinists
• Boer Calvinists: Boere-Afrikaners that hold to Reformed Theology.
• Huguenots: followers of Calvinism in France, the 16th and 17th century.
• Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony): Puritan separatists who left Europe for America in search of religious toleration.
• Presbyterians: Calvinists in Scotland
• Puritans: Calvinists in England.
• Reformed churches: denominations that have historically adhered to Calvinist doctrine.
• Waldensians: Calvinists in Italy

References[link]

• 48. Calvins liturgy :William D. Maxwell, An Outline of Christian Worship: Its Development and Forms (London: Oxford University Press, 1936),

Further reading[link]

• David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended, and Documented (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2004).
• Ford Lewis Battles and John Walchenbach, Analysis of the "Institutes of the Christian Religion" of John Calvin (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980).
• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeil, trans. Ford L. Battles (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1960).
• John Thomas McNeill, The History and Character of Calvinism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1954).
• Philip Benedict, Christ's Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002).

External links[link]

Look up calvinism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Calvinist websites[link]

• What are the doctrines of grace? – related article from TheologyForums.org.
• Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics – offers many materials from a Calvinist perspective.
• Monergism.com – many Reformed and Calvinist resources
• Calvinism Index by Colin Maxwell
• Calvinist Theological Seminary – Calvinist Education & Resources
• Sola Scriptura – a Reformed theology resource.
• International Center for Reformation of Faith and Life Calvinist resources and reading

Calvinism and other theological systems[link]

• Argument on the Arminian Controversy – Five Points of Gospel Truth Asserted and Defended (1836) by Moses Roney, defending Calvinism against Arminianism.
• Calvinism & Arminianism – a brief comparison of Calvinism and Arminianism from The Five Points of Calvinism – Defined, Defended, Documented by Steele and Thomas
• "Calvinism" from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• The five points of Calvinism

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Hugh Alan Craig Cairns, OC FRSC (born March 2, 1930) is a Canadian political science professor emeritus.

Born in Galt (now part of Cambridge, Ontario), he received his BA in 1953 and his MA degree in 1957 from the University of Toronto. In 1963, he obtained a D.Phil from St Antony's College, Oxford. He was a member of the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia from 1960 until his retirement in 1995 and served as head of the department from 1973 to 1980.

Cairns' most famous piece of writing on Canadian politics is likely his 1971 article "The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and its Critics" which discusses judicial activism in Canada. It is often listed as one of the most-cited academic works concerned with the Canadian political system.

Cairns’ scholarship has explored a multitude of issues within Canadian political science, sparking decades of debate and refinement of his ideas. In reference to Cairn’s intellectual legacy, Gerald Kernerman and Philip Resnick state: “On a remarkably wide range of topics – from the regional impact of Canada’s electoral system, the role of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and the development of Canadian federalism to the ongoing efforts to constitutionally reshape the federation and the effects on minorities of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Cairns has initiated and shaped many of our most pivotal debates.” Cairns’ work focuses extensively on the question of citizenship in the Canadian federation, a theme important to a discussion of Indigenous rights and citizenship. In addressing the situation facing Indigenous communities across Canada, Cairns acknowledges that there is a great challenge in speaking about a group to which one does not belong. He suggests that the present “discontents” between Indigenous peoples and the state are “largely due to the past silencing of Aboriginal voices. The resolution of this set of circumstances can only occur if we talk to each other in a way that both articulates our differences and seeks with empathy to reconcile them in the search for at least a limited version of membership in a common community.”

In his seminal work, Citizens Plus, Cairns draws on H.B. Hawthorne’s idea of the “citizens plus” label as articulated in the Hawthorne Report of the 1960s of which Cairns was a part. As Cairns explains, the Hawthorne Report concluded that, “In addition to the normal rights and duties of citizenship, Indians possess certain additional rights as charter members of the Canadian community.” Cairns calls for an institutional resolution to the “plight” of Indigenous peoples within Canada; however, despite his insistence on a form of citizenship as the answer to the uncertainties and challenges facing their communities, he admits, “Citizenship is a malleable and contested institution that can serve different purposes… In Canada, Aboriginal nationalism leads to the idea of an Aboriginal citizenship in the self-governing Aboriginal nations of the future, the nature of whose reconciliation with Canadian citizenship is unclear.”

Honours[link]

In 1982, he received the Molson Prize. In 1998, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2003, he was inducted into the City of Cambridge Hall of Fame. He has received honorary degrees from Carleton University (1994), the University of Toronto (1996), the University of British Columbia (1998) and the University of Saskatchewan (2002).

References[link]

• "Alan C. Cairns". City of Cambridge. http://www.city.cambridge.on.ca/cs_pubaccess/hall_of_fame.php?aid=79. Retrieved 7 August 2005. 
• Cairns, Alan C. Citizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State. Toronto: UBC Press, 2000.
• Cairns, Alan C., ed. Citizenship, diversity, and pluralism: Canadian and comparative perspectives. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999.
• Cairns, Alan C. First nations and the Canadian State: in search of coexistence. Kingston, Ont.: Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University, 2005.
• Kernerman, Gerald and Philip Resnick, eds. Insiders and outsiders: Alan Cairns and the reshaping of Canadian citizenship. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2005.

Ergun M. Caner
Born	Ergun Michael Caner (1966-11-03) November 3, 1966 (age 45) Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation	Professor of Theology and Apologist
Employer	Arlington Baptist College
Religion	Southern Baptist Convention
Spouse	Jill Morris (m. 1994) «start: (1994)»"Marriage: Jill Morris to Ergun Caner" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Ergun_Caner)
Website
erguncaner.com

Ergun Michael Caner (b. November 3, 1966) is a Swedish-American academic, author, and Baptist minister. Caner's mother converted to Islam, and the couple chose to raise Caner in the Islamic faith.^[1] He emigrated to the United States at a young age and converted to Christianity in the early 1980s.^[2]

Caner is the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Arlington Baptist College. He is a professor of theology and church history, and was the former dean at the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School of Liberty University.

He has authored and co-authored several books, many of which discuss Islam and Christianity. His book Unveiling Islam, co-authored with his brother Emir, sold more than 200,000 copies and has been translated into six languages. It also received a 2003 Gold Medallion Book award by the Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association.

Early life[link]

Caner was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1966.^[2] His mother, Monica Inez Caner, married Acar and converted to Islam for her husband.^[2]

Through the persistent evangelical efforts of a teenage Christian, Caner started attending the Stelzer Road Baptist Church and chose to leave Islam and convert to Christianity. His parents had already divorced at the time, but his father, through court order,^[2] had established the continued religion for the boys being Islam.^[3]

Public career[link]

In 2002 Caner and his brother gained national notoriety after publishing a book, Unveiling Islam, about the Islamic faith.^[4][5] IslamOnline's Ali Asadullah called it "a diatribe against Muslims and their faith."^[6] The book, an insider's look at being raised as a devout Sunni under their father's tutelage, was a commercial success; selling 100,000 copies in a year^[7] and winning a Gold Medallion Award.^[8]

In the years following the publication of Unveiling Islam Caner became a well-known and popular speaker at evangelical schools and churches. After teaching at Criswell College for two years, Jerry Falwell of Liberty University asked Caner to join the faculty in Lynchburg, Virginia. Caner quickly became a popular professor with his humor and the ability to tie academic content to real life. In February 2005, Falwell announced that Caner was to be the first former Muslim to become the President and Dean of an evangelical seminary, making Caner head of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.^[9]Caner's leadership at Liberty Seminary and with the faculty he built saw the enrollment triple in a relatively short period of time.^[10]

His positions have been the subject of criticism. In 2010, an unusual alliance of Muslim and Calvinist bloggers,^[11] accused Caner of making up and lying about his life story by citing details that were incongruent with his regularly stated, printed, and often repeated story. On May 10, 2010, Liberty University announced that it would launch a formal inquiry into allegations of discrepancies in the claimed background of Caner, the Dean and President of the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School.^[12] Caner said, "I am thrilled that Liberty University is forming this committee, and I look forward to this entire process coming to a close."^[13] On June 25, 2010, Liberty University removed Caner from his position as Dean of the seminary after finding "discrepancies related to the matters such as dates, names and places of residence."^[14] Liberty University did decide to retain Caner as a full time faculty member of the seminary for the 2010-2011 school year.

On September 24, 2010, Caner was the keynote speaker for the Twin City's 12th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast in Bristol, Virginia. When interviewed about the controversy, the chairman of the local prayer breakfast committee said that members were aware of the controversy, but the invitation had been issued before the controversy became apparent. He also noted that the Community Prayer Breakfast does not delve into the backgrounds of their motivational/inspirational speakers.^[15] At the meeting, Caner claimed that he and his brother had seen the controversy coming for years. The bloggers were simply "frustrated people in their basements", he said. He said it would take more than edited videos to take him down.^[16]

He left LU in June 2011 to become Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Arlington Baptist College.^[17] The President of Arlington Baptist College, Dr. Dan Moody stated that Caner's controversy was in the past and the new Vice President had his full confidence.

Caner instructs Marines in New River, North Carolina

Books[link]

• Caner, Ergun, and Emir Fethi Caner. Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs. Updated and Expanded ed. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2009. ISBN 0-8254-2428-3
• Caner, Emir Fethi, and Ergun Mehmet Caner. More Than a Prophet: an Insider's Response to Muslim Beliefs About Jesus and Christianity. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2003. ISBN 0-8254-2401-1
• Caner Emir, and Ergun Caner. The Sacred Trust: Sketches of the Southern Baptist Convention Presidents. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2003. ISBN 0-8054-2668-X
• Caner, Ergun Mehmet, and Emir Fethi Caner, eds. The Sacred Desk: Sermons of the Southern Baptist Convention Presidents. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Publishing Group, 2004. ISBN 0-8054-3059-8
• Caner, Ergun Mehmet, ed. Voices Behind the Veil: the World of Islam through the Eyes of Women. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 2004. ISBN 0-8254-2402-X
• Caner, Ergun Mehmet, and Emir Fethi Caner. Christian Jihad: Two Former Muslims Look at the Crusades and Killing in the Name of Christ. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 2004. ISBN 0-8254-2403-8
• Brunson, Mac & Caner, Ergun. Why Churches Die: Diagnosing Lethal Poisons in the Body of Christ. Nashville: B&H Books, 2005. ISBN 0-8054-3181-0
• Hoffman, Paul K., and Norman L. Geisler, eds. Why I Am a Christian: Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe. Rev. and expanded ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8010-6712-X
• Cabal, Ted, ed. The Apologetics Study Bible: Understand Why You Believe. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007. ISBN 1-58640-024-X
• Pollock, Forrest. The Last Sermon I Would Preach If Jesus Were Coming Tomorrow. Encouraging Word, 2007. ISBN 0-615-15940-0
• Hindson, Ed, and Caner, Ergun, general editors. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene, Or.: Harvest House Publishers, 2008. ISBN 0-7369-2084-6
• Falwell, Jonathan, general editor. InnovateChurch. Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Books, 2008. ISBN 0-8054-4826-8
• Caner, Ergun Mehmet. Holier Than Thou: When Faith Becomes Toxic. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009. ISBN 0-687-65840-3
• Allen, David L., and Steve W Lemke, eds. The Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2011. ISBN 1-4336-6972-2

See also[link]

• Southern Baptist Convention
• List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people
• World Baptist Fellowship

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site of Ergun Caner
• In Defense of Dr. Ergun Caner, by Norman Geisler
• "Ergun Caner Out as Seminary Dean", from Christianity Today

John Calvin
Barcelona, Spain (1554)
Born	Jehan Cauvin (1509-07-10)10 July 1509 Noyon, Picardy, France
Died	27 May 1564(1564-05-27) (aged 54) Geneva, Switzerland
Occupation	Pastor, author, theologian
Tradition or movement	Reformed, Calvinism
Notable works	The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Signature

John Calvin (French: Jean Calvin, born Jehan Cauvin: 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where he published the first edition of his seminal work The Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536.

In that year, Calvin was recruited by William Farel to help reform the church in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of Calvin and Farel's ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of a church of French refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and was eventually invited back to lead its church.

Following his return, Calvin introduced new forms of church government and liturgy, despite the opposition of several powerful families in the city who tried to curb his authority. During this time, the trial of Michael Servetus was extended by libertines in an attempt to harass Calvin. However, since Servetus was also condemned and wanted by the Inquisition, outside pressure from all over Europe forced the trial to continue. Following an influx of supportive refugees and new elections to the city council, Calvin's opponents were forced out. Calvin spent his final years promoting the Reformation both in Geneva and throughout Europe.

Calvin was a tireless polemic and apologetic writer who generated much controversy. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition to the Institutes, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, as well as theological treatises and confessional documents. He regularly preached sermons throughout the week in Geneva. Calvin was influenced by the Augustinian tradition, which led him to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation.

Calvin's writing and preachings provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Reformed and Presbyterian churches, which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world.

Early life (1509–1535)[link]

Calvin was originally interested in the priesthood, but he changed course to study law in Orléans and Bourges. Painting titled Portrait of Young John Calvin from the collection of the Library of Geneva.

Calvin was born as Jean Cauvin on 10 July 1509, in the town of Noyon in the Picardy region of France. He was the first of four sons who survived infancy. His father, Gérard Cauvin, had a prosperous career as the cathedral notary and registrar to the ecclesiastical court. He died in his later years, after suffering two years with testicular cancer. His mother, Jeanne le Franc, was the daughter of an innkeeper from Cambrai. She died a few years after Calvin's birth from breast disease (not breast cancer). Gérard intended his three sons—Charles, Jean, and Antoine—for the priesthood.

Jean was particularly precocious; by age 12, he was employed by the bishop as a clerk and received the tonsure, cutting his hair to symbolise his dedication to the Church. He also won the patronage of an influential family, the Montmors.^[1] Through their assistance, Calvin was able to attend the Collège de la Marche, in Paris, where he learned Latin from one of its greatest teachers, Mathurin Cordier.^[2] Once he completed the course, he entered the Collège de Montaigu as a philosophy student.^[3]

In 1525 or 1526, Gérard withdrew his son from the Collège de Montaigu and enrolled him in the University of Orléans to study law. According to contemporary biographers Theodore Beza and Nicolas Colladon, Gérard believed his son would earn more money as a lawyer than as a priest.^[4] After a few years of quiet study, Calvin entered the University of Bourges in 1529. He was intrigued by Andreas Alciati, a humanist lawyer. Humanism was a European intellectual movement which stressed classical studies. During his 18-month stay in Bourges, Calvin learned Greek, a necessity for studying the New Testament.^[5]

During the autumn of 1533 Calvin experienced a religious conversion. In his later life, John Calvin wrote two different accounts of his conversion that differ in significant ways. In the first account he portrays his conversion as a sudden change of mind, brought about by God. This account can be found in his Commentary on the Book of Psalms:

In his second account he speaks of a long process of inner turmoil, followed by spiritual and psychological anguish.

Being exceedingly alarmed at the misery into which I had fallen, and much more at that which threatened me in view of eternal death, I, duty bound, made it my first business to betake myself to your way, condemning my past life, not without groans and tears. And now, O Lord, what remains to a wretch like me, but instead of defence, earnestly to supplicate you not to judge that fearful abandonment of your Word according to its deserts, from which in your wondrous goodness you have at last delivered me.^[7]

Scholars have argued about the precise interpretation of these accounts, but it is agreed that his conversion corresponded with his break from the Roman Catholic Church.^[8][9] The Calvin biographer, Bruce Gordon, has stressed that "the two accounts are not antithetical, revealing some inconsistency in Calvin's memory, but rather [are] two different ways of expressing the same reality."^[10]

By 1532, Calvin received his licentiate in law and published his first book, a commentary on Seneca's De Clementia. After uneventful trips to Orléans and his hometown of Noyon, Calvin returned to Paris in October 1533. During this time, tensions rose at the Collège Royal (later to become the Collège de France) between the humanists/reformers and the conservative senior faculty members. One of the reformers, Nicolas Cop, was rector of the university. On 1 November 1533 he devoted his inaugural address to the need for reform and renewal in the Catholic Church.

The address provoked a strong reaction from the faculty, who denounced it as heretical, forcing Cop to flee to Basel. Calvin, a close friend of Cop, was implicated in the offence, and for the next year he was forced into hiding. He remained on the move, sheltering with his friend Louis du Tillet in Angoulême and taking refuge in Noyon and Orléans. He was finally forced to flee France during the Affair of the Placards in mid-October 1534. In that incident, unknown reformers had posted placards in various cities attacking the Catholic mass, which provoked a violent backlash against Protestants. In January 1535, Calvin joined Cop in Basel, a city under the influence of the reformer Johannes Oecolampadius.^[11]

Reform work commences (1536–1538)[link]

In March 1536, Calvin published the first edition of his Institutio Christianae Religionis or Institutes of the Christian Religion. The work was an apologia or defense of his faith and a statement of the doctrinal position of the reformers. He also intended it to serve as an elementary instruction book for anyone interested in the Christian religion. The book was the first expression of his theology. Calvin updated the work and published new editions throughout his life.^[12] Shortly after its publication, he left Basel for Ferrara, Italy, where he briefly served as secretary to Princess Renée of France. By June he was back in Paris with his brother Antoine, who was resolving their father's affairs. Following the Edict of Coucy, which gave a limited six-month period for heretics to reconcile with the Catholic faith, Calvin decided that there was no future for him in France. In August he set off for Strasbourg, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire and a refuge for reformers. Due to military manoeuvres of imperial and French forces, he was forced to make a detour to the south, bringing him to Geneva.

Calvin had only intended to stay a single night, but William Farel, a fellow French reformer residing in the city, implored a most reluctant Calvin to stay and assist him in work of reforming the church there – it was his duty before God, Farel insisted. Yet Calvin, for his part, desired only peace and privacy. But it was not to be; Farel's entreaties prevailed, but not before his having had recourse to the sternest imprecations. Calvin recalls the rather intense encounter:

Then Farel, who was working with incredible zeal to promote the gospel, bent all his efforts to keep me in the city. And when he realized that I was determined to study in privacy in some obscure place, and saw that he gained nothing by entreaty, he descended to cursing, and said that God would surely curse my peace if I held back from giving help at a time of such great need.^[13] Terrified by his words, and conscience of my own timidity and cowardice, I gave up my journey and attempted to apply whatever gift I had in defense of my faith.^[14]

Calvin accepted without any preconditions on his tasks or duties.^[15] The office to which he was initially assigned is unknown. He was eventually given the title of "reader", which most likely meant that he could give expository lectures on the Bible. Sometime in 1537 he was selected to be a "pastor", although he never received any pastoral consecration.^[16] For the first time, the lawyer-theologian took up pastoral duties such as baptisms, weddings, and church services.^[17]

William Farel was the reformer who convinced Calvin to stay in Geneva. Portrait from Theodore Beza's Icones (1580).

Throughout the fall of 1536, Farel drafted a confession of faith while Calvin wrote separate articles on reorganizing the church in Geneva. On 16 January 1537, Farel and Calvin presented their Articles concernant l'organisation de l'église et du culte à Genève (Articles on the Organization of the Church and its Worship at Geneva) to the city council.^[18] The document described the manner and frequency of their celebrations of the eucharist, the reason for and the method of excommunication, the requirement to subscribe to the confession of faith, the use of congregational singing in the liturgy, and the revision of marriage laws. The council accepted the document on the same day.^[19]

Throughout the year, however, Calvin and Farel's reputation with the council began to suffer. The council was reluctant to enforce the subscription requirement, as only a few citizens had subscribed to their confession of faith. On 26 November, the two ministers heatedly debated the council over the issue. Furthermore, France was taking an interest in forming an alliance with Geneva and as the two ministers were Frenchmen, councillors began to question their loyalty. Finally, a major ecclesiastical-political quarrel developed when Bern, Geneva’s ally in the reformation of the Swiss churches, proposed to introduce uniformity in the church ceremonies. One proposal required the use of unleavened bread for the eucharist. The two ministers were unwilling to follow Bern's lead and delayed the use of such bread until a synod in Zurich could be convened to make the final decision. The council ordered Calvin and Farel to use unleavened bread for the Easter eucharist; in protest, the ministers did not administer communion during the Easter service. This caused a riot during the service and the next day, the council told the ministers to leave Geneva.^[20]

Farel and Calvin went to Bern and Zurich to plead their case. The synod in Zurich placed most of the blame on Calvin for not being sympathetic enough toward the people of Geneva. However, it asked Bern to mediate with the aim of restoring the ministers. The Geneva council refused to readmit the two men, who took refuge in Basel. Subsequently Farel received an invitation to lead the church in Neuchâtel. Calvin was invited to lead a church of French refugees in Strasbourg by that city's leading reformers, Martin Bucer and Wolfgang Capito. Initially Calvin refused because Farel was not included in the invitation, but relented when Bucer appealed to him. By September 1538 Calvin had taken up his new position in Strasbourg, fully expecting that this time it would be permanent; a few months later, he applied for and was granted citizenship of the city.^[21]

Minister in Strasbourg (1538–1541)[link]

Saint-Nicolas Church, Strasbourg, where Calvin preached in 1538. The building was architecturally modified in the 19th century.

Martin Bucer invited Calvin to Strasbourg after he was expelled from Geneva. Illustration by Jean-Jacques Boissard.

During his time in Strasbourg, Calvin was not attached to one particular church, but held his office successively in the Saint-Nicolas Church, the Sainte-Madeleine Church and the former Dominican Church, renamed the Temple Neuf.^[22] (All of these churches still exist, but none is in the architectural state of Calvin's days.) Calvin ministered to 400–500 members in his church. He preached or lectured every day, with two sermons on Sunday. Communion was celebrated monthly and congregational singing of the psalms was encouraged.^[23] He also worked on the second edition of the Institutes. Although the first edition sold out within a year, Calvin was dissatisfied with its structure as a catechism, a primer for young Christians.

For the second edition, published in 1539, Calvin dropped this format in favour of systematically presenting the main doctrines from scripture. In the process, the book was enlarged from six chapters to seventeen.^[24] He concurrently worked on another book, the Commentary on Romans, which was published in March 1540. The book was a model for his later commentaries: it included his own Latin translation from the Greek rather than the Latin Vulgate, an exegesis, and an exposition.^[25] In the dedicatory letter, Calvin praised the work of his predecessors Philipp Melanchthon, Heinrich Bullinger, and Martin Bucer, but he also took care to distinguish his own work from theirs and to criticise some of their shortcomings.^[26]

Calvin's friends urged him to marry. Calvin took a prosaic view, writing to one correspondent:

I, who have the air of being so hostile to celibacy, I am still not married and do not know whether I will ever be. If I take a wife it will be because, being better freed from numerous worries, I can devote myself to the Lord.^[27]

Several candidates were presented to him including one young woman from a noble family. Reluctantly, Calvin agreed to the marriage, on the condition that she would learn French. Although a wedding date was planned for March 1540, he remained reluctant and the wedding never took place. He later wrote that he would never think of marrying her, "unless the Lord had entirely bereft me of my wits".^[28] Instead, in August of that year, he married Idelette de Bure, a widow who had two children from her first marriage.^[29]

Geneva reconsidered its expulsion of Calvin. Church attendance had dwindled and the political climate had changed; as Bern and Geneva quarrelled over land, their alliance frayed. When Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto wrote a letter to the city council inviting Geneva to return to the Catholic faith, the council searched for an ecclesiastical authority to respond to him. At first Pierre Viret was consulted, but when he refused, the council asked Calvin. He agreed and his Responsio ad Sadoletum (Letter to Sadoleto) strongly defended Geneva's position concerning reforms in the church.^[30] On 21 September 1540 the council commissioned one of its members, Ami Perrin, to find a way to recall Calvin. An embassy reached Calvin while he was at a colloquy, a conference to settle religious disputes, in Worms. His reaction to the suggestion was one of horror in which he wrote, "Rather would I submit to death a hundred times than to that cross on which I had to perish daily a thousand times over."^[31]

Calvin also wrote that he was prepared to follow the Lord's calling. A plan was drawn up in which Viret would be appointed to take temporary charge in Geneva for six months while Bucer and Calvin would visit the city to determine the next steps. However, the city council pressed for the immediate appointment of Calvin in Geneva. By summer 1541, Strasbourg decided to loan Calvin to Geneva for six months. Calvin returned on 13 September 1541 with an official escort and a wagon for his family.^[32]

Reform in Geneva (1541–1549)[link]

Calvin preached at St. Pierre Cathedral, the main church in Geneva.

In supporting Calvin's proposals for reforms, the council of Geneva passed the Ordonnances ecclésiastiques (Ecclesiastical Ordinances) on 20 November 1541. The ordinances defined four orders of ministerial function: pastors to preach and to administer the sacraments; doctors to instruct believers in the faith; elders to provide discipline; and deacons to care for the poor and needy.^[33] They also called for the creation of the Consistoire (Consistory), an ecclesiastical court composed of the lay elders and the ministers. The city government retained the power to summon persons before the court, and the Consistory could judge only ecclesiastical matters having no civil jurisdiction. Originally, the court had the power to mete out sentences, with excommunication as its most severe penalty. However, the government contested this power and on 19 March 1543 the council decided that all sentencing would be carried out by the government.^[34]

In 1542, Calvin adapted a service book used in Strasbourg, publishing La Forme des Prières et Chants Ecclésiastiques (The Form of Prayers and Church Hymns). Calvin recognised the power of music and he intended that it be used to support scripture readings. The original Strasbourg psalter contained twelve psalms by Clément Marot and Calvin added several more hymns of his own composition in the Geneva version. At the end of 1542, Marot became a refugee in Geneva and contributed nineteen more psalms. Louis Bourgeois, also a refugee, lived and taught music in Geneva for sixteen years and Calvin took the opportunity to add his hymns, the most famous being the Old Hundredth.^[35]

In the same year of 1542, Calvin published Catéchisme de l'Eglise de Genève (Catechism of the Church of Geneva), which was inspired by Bucer's Kurze Schrifftliche Erklärung of 1534. Calvin had written an earlier catechism during his first stay in Geneva which was largely based on Martin Luther's Large Catechism. The first version was arranged pedagogically, describing Law, Faith, and Prayer. The 1542 version was rearranged for theological reasons, covering Faith first, then Law and Prayer.^[36]

During his ministry in Geneva, Calvin preached over two thousand sermons. Initially he preached twice on Sunday and three times during the week. This proved to be too heavy a burden and late in 1542 the council allowed him to preach only once on Sunday. However, in October 1549, he was again required to preach twice on Sundays and, in addition, every weekday of alternate weeks. His sermons lasted more than an hour and he did not use notes. An occasional secretary tried to record his sermons, but very little of his preaching was preserved before 1549. In that year, professional scribe Denis Raguenier, who had learned or developed a system of shorthand, was assigned to record all of Calvin's sermons. An analysis of his sermons by T.H.L. Parker suggests that Calvin was a consistent preacher and his style changed very little over the years.^[37][38]

Very little is known about Calvin's personal life in Geneva. His house and furniture were owned by the council. The house was big enough to accommodate his family as well as Antoine's family and some servants. On 28 July 1542, Idelette gave birth to a son, Jacques, but he was born prematurely and survived only briefly. Idelette fell ill in 1545 and died on 29 March 1549. Calvin never married again. He expressed his sorrow in a letter to Viret:

I have been bereaved of the best friend of my life, of one who, if it has been so ordained, would willingly have shared not only my poverty but also my death. During her life she was the faithful helper of my ministry. From her I never experienced the slightest hindrance.^[39]

Throughout the rest of his life in Geneva, he maintained several friendships from his early years including Montmor, Cordier, Cop, Farel, Melanchthon and Bullinger.^[40]

Discipline and opposition (1546–1553)[link]

Sixteenth-century portrait of John Calvin by an unknown artist. From the collection of the Bibliothèque de Genève (Library of Geneva)

Calvin encountered bitter opposition to his work in Geneva. Around 1546, the uncoordinated forces coalesced into an identifiable group whom he referred to as the libertines. According to Calvin, these were people who felt that after being liberated through grace, they were exempted from both ecclesiastical and civil law. The group consisted of wealthy, politically powerful, and interrelated families of Geneva.^[41] At the end of January 1546, Pierre Ameaux, a maker of playing cards who had already been in trouble with the Consistory, attacked Calvin by calling him a "Picard", an epithet denoting anti-French sentiment, and accused him of false doctrine. Ameaux was punished by the council and forced to make expiation by parading through the city and begging God for forgiveness.^[42] A few months later Ami Perrin, the man who had brought Calvin to Geneva, moved into open opposition. Perrin had married Françoise Favre, daughter of François Favre, a well-established Genevan merchant. Both Perrin's wife and father-in-law had previous quarrels with the Consistory. The court noted that many of Geneva's notables, including Perrin, had breached a law against dancing. Initially, Perrin ignored the court when he was summoned, but after receiving a letter from Calvin, he acquiesced and appeared quietly before the Consistory.^[43]

By 1547, opposition to Calvin and other French refugee ministers had grown to constitute the majority of the syndics, the civil magistrates of Geneva. On 27 June an unsigned threatening letter in Genevan dialect was found at the pulpit of St. Pierre Cathedral where Calvin preached. Suspecting a plot against both the church and the state, the council appointed a commission to investigate. Jacques Gruet, a Genevan member of Favre's group, was arrested and incriminating evidence was found when his house was searched. Under torture, he confessed to several crimes including writing the letter left in the pulpit which threatened God and his ambassadors and endeavouring to subvert church order. The civil court condemned him to death and, with Calvin's consent, he was beheaded on 26 July.^[44]

The libertines continued their opposition, taking opportunities to stir up discontent, to insult the ministers, and to defy the authority of the Consistory. The council straddled both sides of the conflict, alternately admonishing and upholding Calvin. When Perrin was elected first syndic in February 1552, Calvin's authority appeared to be at its lowest point. After some losses before the council, Calvin believed he was defeated; on 24 July 1553 he asked the council to allow him to resign. Although the libertines controlled the council, his request was refused. The opposition realised that they could curb Calvin's authority, but they did not have enough power to banish him.^[45]

Michael Servetus (1553)[link]

Michael Servetus exchanged many letters with Calvin until Calvin decided he was a heretic.

The turning point in Calvin's fortunes occurred when Michael Servetus, a fugitive from ecclesiastical authorities, appeared in Geneva on 13 August 1553. Servetus was a Spanish physician and Protestant theologian who boldly criticised the doctrine of the Trinity and paedobaptism (infant baptism).^[46] In July 1530 he disputed with Johannes Oecolampadius in Basel and was eventually expelled. He went to Strasbourg where he published a pamphlet against the Trinity. Bucer publicly refuted it and asked Servetus to leave. After returning to Basel, Servetus published Two Books of Dialogues on the Trinity (Latin: Dialogorum de Trinitate libri duo) which caused a sensation among Reformers and Catholics alike. The Inquisition in Spain ordered his arrest.^[47]

Calvin and Servetus were first brought into contact in 1546 through a common acquaintance, Jean Frellon of Lyon.They exchanged letters debating doctrine signing as Michael Servetus and Charles d' Espeville,Calvin's pseudonym for these letters. Eventually, Calvin lost patience and refused to respond; by this time Servetus had written around thirty letters to Calvin. Calvin was particularly outraged when Servetus sent him a copy of the Institutes of the Christian Religion heavily annotated with arguments pointing to errors in the book. When Servetus mentioned that he would come to Geneva if Calvin agreed, Calvin wrote a letter to Farel on 13 February 1547 noting that if Servetus were to come, he would not assure him safe conduct: "for if he came, as far as my authority goes, I would not let him leave alive."^[48]

In 1553, Calvin's front man, Guillaume de Trie, sent letters trying to address the inquisition to Servetus. He was sending the letters and accusing Michael Servetus of being "castillian-portuguese", suspecting and accusing him of his recently proved jewish converso origin.^[49][50][51] When the inquisitor-general of France learned that Servetus was hiding in Vienne according to Calvin under an assumed name, he contacted Cardinal François de Tournon, the secretary of the archbishop of Lyon, to take up the matter. Servetus was arrested and taken in for questioning. His letters to Calvin were presented as evidence of heresy, but he denied having written them, and later said he was not sure it was his handwriting. He said, after swearing before the holy gospel, that "he was Michel De Villeneuve Doctor in Medicine about 42 years old, native of Tudela of the kingdom of Navarre, a city under the obidience to the Emperor".^[52]The following day he said, after swearing before the holy gospel that " ..although he was not Servetus he assumed the person of Servet for debating with Calvin".^[53] He managed to escape from prison, and the Catholic authorities sentenced him in absentia to death by slow burning.^[54]