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Life of John Calvin
Few Christian Leaders have suffered quite so much mis-understanding
as John Calvin. He has often been dismissed as a theologian without humanity.
In fact the very reverse is much nearer the truth. He was a man of deep and
lasting affection, passionately concerned for the cause of Christ in the world;
a man who burned himself out for the gospel; a man whose heart belonged to Christ.
In this book the reader will find a straightforward introduction to
the life and work of the great Reformer of Geneva. W J. Grier's fast-
moving biography not only depicts the titanic struggle by which the
gospel was established in Geneva, but also provides valuable insights
into the work of God that we know as 'the Reformation'. In Calvin's
own words, 'God's loving-kindness to us was wonderful, when the
pure gospel emerged out of that dreadful darkness in which it had
been buried for so many years.'
For Calvin, the Reformation was primarily a movement of the
Holy Spirit that turned attention from man-centred religion to God.
It is the prayer of the publishers that the retelling of this 'wonderful'
story will help in the recovery of God-centred Christianity and the
raising up of more 'burning and shining lights' today.
as John Calvin. He has often been dismissed as a theologian without humanity.
In fact the very reverse is much nearer the truth. He was a man of deep and
lasting affection, passionately concerned for the cause of Christ in the world;
a man who burned himself out for the gospel; a man whose heart belonged to Christ.
In this book the reader will find a straightforward introduction to
the life and work of the great Reformer of Geneva. W J. Grier's fast-
moving biography not only depicts the titanic struggle by which the
gospel was established in Geneva, but also provides valuable insights
into the work of God that we know as 'the Reformation'. In Calvin's
own words, 'God's loving-kindness to us was wonderful, when the
pure gospel emerged out of that dreadful darkness in which it had
been buried for so many years.'
For Calvin, the Reformation was primarily a movement of the
Holy Spirit that turned attention from man-centred religion to God.
It is the prayer of the publishers that the retelling of this 'wonderful'
story will help in the recovery of God-centred Christianity and the
raising up of more 'burning and shining lights' today.
- GenresBiographyChurch History
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 10, 2015
A very good, though far too short, book about one of the most important figures of the Protestant reformation. Spurgeon called him a "prince of men" and referred to his corpus as "an almost inexhaustible mine of profound thought and wholesome exposition". Warfield said that Calvin was "in a true sense the creator of the Protestant Church" and Albrecht Ritschel (far from being a Calvinist himself) called Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion "the masterpiece of Protestant Theology."
Despite these shining commendations, Calvin is still one of the most misunderstood and caricatured reformers. But, if one takes the time to dive into his corpus, be it his commentaries, the Institutes, or one of his 4,000 letters that we still have today, you will find that that sovereign God of all glory and the Gospel of his Son are the center of his life and teaching. This (very) short biographical sketch by W.J. Grier I warmly recommend. Though even more so do I recommend the man who is the subject of the biography.
Despite these shining commendations, Calvin is still one of the most misunderstood and caricatured reformers. But, if one takes the time to dive into his corpus, be it his commentaries, the Institutes, or one of his 4,000 letters that we still have today, you will find that that sovereign God of all glory and the Gospel of his Son are the center of his life and teaching. This (very) short biographical sketch by W.J. Grier I warmly recommend. Though even more so do I recommend the man who is the subject of the biography.
April 23, 2016
A fantastic, warm introduction to the man, John Calvin. It's easy and clear.
This is the type of work you put in a church library or hand off to a hungry learner who might not know anything of Jean Calvin.
Not the book if you are looking for deeper insight into this thought, theology or if you already know a good bit about his life.
Oh, and see Beza's quote on persecution on p. 139.
This is the type of work you put in a church library or hand off to a hungry learner who might not know anything of Jean Calvin.
Not the book if you are looking for deeper insight into this thought, theology or if you already know a good bit about his life.
Oh, and see Beza's quote on persecution on p. 139.
June 3, 2025
If you would like to read a biography about Calvin in the clearest, shortest way, in this age of "Anti-Calvin" I would say read this book.
I my opinion there hasn't been a person more misrepresented, misunderstood and undervalued than Calvin. Apart from the Lord Jesus and His sacred apostles, I would say he [Calvin] has undergone one of the most slander of the Church. I can say with Bullinger and Beza "our Calvin", due to the likeableness of his character and love for God and his word, as well as being at the forefront for battling the truths of the scriptures and risking his life for them. He also had great care for the saints and wanted the world to be transformed by the gospel. Because of this he is a man I take great pleasure in associating with. You might not agree with all things he believed. Yet even Calvin was moderate when it came to those issues. He tackled and heralded the truth in the essential matters, but his composure when it came to "secondary" things is remarkable to say the least.
In short: we can all benefit greatly from Calvin. If you are a born-again believer anyway. Much of Calvin is forgotten, and for that we should be ashamed (including myself). My desire after reading this book is to dive into all of Calvin's works.
The sheer testimony of brilliant theologians on Calvin is stunning.
We all should read Calvin, or read him more.
There will never be someone like Calvin ever again. What a gift to the Church he was. His influence remains. We ought to be thankful for that.
I my opinion there hasn't been a person more misrepresented, misunderstood and undervalued than Calvin. Apart from the Lord Jesus and His sacred apostles, I would say he [Calvin] has undergone one of the most slander of the Church. I can say with Bullinger and Beza "our Calvin", due to the likeableness of his character and love for God and his word, as well as being at the forefront for battling the truths of the scriptures and risking his life for them. He also had great care for the saints and wanted the world to be transformed by the gospel. Because of this he is a man I take great pleasure in associating with. You might not agree with all things he believed. Yet even Calvin was moderate when it came to those issues. He tackled and heralded the truth in the essential matters, but his composure when it came to "secondary" things is remarkable to say the least.
In short: we can all benefit greatly from Calvin. If you are a born-again believer anyway. Much of Calvin is forgotten, and for that we should be ashamed (including myself). My desire after reading this book is to dive into all of Calvin's works.
The sheer testimony of brilliant theologians on Calvin is stunning.
We all should read Calvin, or read him more.
There will never be someone like Calvin ever again. What a gift to the Church he was. His influence remains. We ought to be thankful for that.
February 26, 2020
Good enough read. It was a short biography. Biographies are not always my favorite genre and I tend to read shorter ones so I don't get bogged down. This one wasn't terrible. Take it for what it's worth for a guy that isn't an avid biographical reader.
Grier does a fine enough job of introducing us to Calvin. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, most of us have been influenced by Calvin in one way or another. For a rather poor man who lived a rather sickly life, Calvin certainly had an impact.
I'm a Baptist pastor so I certainly would disagree with Calvin on a few points. That said, I am challenged by his resolve. And, I was challenged by this book.
Grier does a fine enough job of introducing us to Calvin. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, most of us have been influenced by Calvin in one way or another. For a rather poor man who lived a rather sickly life, Calvin certainly had an impact.
I'm a Baptist pastor so I certainly would disagree with Calvin on a few points. That said, I am challenged by his resolve. And, I was challenged by this book.
December 11, 2021
What an encouragement! We are so fortunate for men like Calvin that God used to proclaim that God’s Word is the same yesterday, today, or tomorrow. We can put our complete faith in all of scripture. I praise and thank God that we have Calvin’s abundance of writings and his Institutions.
I definitely recommend this book.
I definitely recommend this book.
August 2, 2018
This is an excellent and concise overview of Calvin's life and thought which seeks to overcome common misrepresentations by revealing the whole man through his life, letters, sermons, commentaries, and influence.
September 5, 2021
Very good overview of the life and work of John Calvin
October 27, 2021
A brief, but very good, biography of John Calvin, plus a couple of chapters on him as a thinker, and as a preacher and expositor.
March 20, 2024
This is the first biography I have read on John Calvin, and I think it gives a really good and succinct sense of his life from the Calvinist Christian perspective!
Three Reasons Why I gave it Three Stars
+ Grier being Reformed is great for me, as reading a bio from someone who shares my faith helps engage me in the text.
+ You can tell Grier appreciates Calvin. I think that fact combined with its short length makes up for his lack of historian credentials.
- There are some minor historical hiccups factually. Historical pacing is awkward, I might have been more lost if not for already knowing a lot of the life of Calvin.
Three Reasons Why I gave it Three Stars
+ Grier being Reformed is great for me, as reading a bio from someone who shares my faith helps engage me in the text.
+ You can tell Grier appreciates Calvin. I think that fact combined with its short length makes up for his lack of historian credentials.
- There are some minor historical hiccups factually. Historical pacing is awkward, I might have been more lost if not for already knowing a lot of the life of Calvin.
January 9, 2025
I genuinely believe this is the best biography I’ve ever read. Not because of the outstanding scholarship and academic lingo, but because it was so easy to digest and brought forth the most interesting details. You could actually read it devotionally since the chapters are so short. John Calvin was a great man, and he was much misunderstood by modern thinkers or opponents of his. I’d recommend this book to not only Calvinists but also to people who think they “know the real Calvin.” Great work!
February 27, 2014
The Life of John Calvin by W.J. Grier is not your typical biography. Grier had wanted to write a life of John Calvin, but was not able to do so. It turns out that he had written some articles on Calvin in the Evangelical Presbyterian magazine of which he was editor. These articles were edited into the book I am reviewing now. Because these are 'articles', the timeline doesn't flow as smoothly as a normal biography, but this is a minor flaw.
It is very interesting to see how God used Calvin. Calvin's life was not one people would generally envy. It wasn't a life full of health, wealth and the favor of people, actually it was quite the opposite. Calvin didn't want a public life, he wanted to focus privately studying God's word, but God made him a pastor. He didn't want to go back to Geneva after they 'kicked' him out and then desired him to come back, but God moved Him to go back, and things were very rough for him after he returned. He also had horrible physical health, he is compared to a walking hospital. I have finally learned what having a 'consumption' meant(tuberculosis) from reading this biography. He had several enemies who wanted him kicked out of Geneva and some who wanted him dead. Perhaps his biography should be entitled, "Disciplined by God" as his life seems a good demonstration of the loving discipline and sanctification of God(Heb. 12:5-14).
The burning of Michael Servetus is addressed, and here is where I have a bit of criticism. I think that people try to excuse Calvin too much, saying things like, 'even the Catholics burnt heretics' and 'it was an accepted custom of the time'. Accepted or not, why don't we just come out and say Calvin was absolutely wrong to agree with the death penalty in this case? It's not as if he had attained complete sanctification in this world. And Christianity doesn't stand or fall with Calvin's reputation, our faith is not based or found in him anyway but in God's Word. As Christians, we may separate privately and publically from professing Christians who are living contradictory to the God's Word(1 Cor. 5:11-13; 2 Th. 3:6), and we may condemn their doctrine and refute it, but we are never to kill them. Besides, if you kill them, they absolutely cannot repent, you are essentially taking their spiritual condemnation into your own hands. You are making an absolute call that God won't change them in the future.
Perhaps people try to vindicate Calvin because they admire him too much and not the One who used him. The statement is made, "In our opinion God has given to the church no greater man since the days of the apostles than John Calvin…." I don't see how one can even begin to come to that conclusion. That makes it seem as though Calvin wasn't exactly 'the least' in the kingdom of God(Matt.11:11). My guess would be that there are people greater than Calvin who simply did what they were supposed to do in their daily lives, perhaps with unremarkable occupations in life, they may have been housewives, slaves, carpenters…etc. But they did what they did for God, as it was the work He had given for them to do. I am pretty sure that one does not have to live a public life, writing books, speaking, or even influencing thousands of people, in order to be 'great' in the Kingdom of Heaven. God is the One who gives us the work we are to do for Him, and It is the God who made Calvin what he was, and it is He whom we should admire the most. So let Calvin be wrong! It shows all the more that it was God's work in him that produced the good things that came out of him. Okay, so maybe that wasn't just a bit of criticism, but I had to get it out.
Anyway, back to the positives. I found it odd that I liked the chapter that describes what Geneva was like in Calvin's day. Normally I don't care for too much description, but I found this one quite interesting. I also found it funny to learn in this biography that Calvin was a matchmaker of sorts for 'Reformed' people all over the place. Since true Christians were scattered about amongst unbelievers in other countries, and since Christians couldn't marry non-believers, and it just so happened that were many believers in Geneva, Calvin helped them find Christian spouses.
This book was a nice summary of Calvin's life, and the major events in his life. It was neat to see the strength God gave him to plow through the many trials of his life, knowing that this wasn't his home anyway. His life was so hard, from a human perspective that I had almost a sense of relief when he died; his hard work was done, his health was perfect, he no longer had to live by faith, and best of all, he had finally arrived at his true home with God.
Thanks to The Banner of Truth Trust for sending me a free review copy of this book(My review did not have to be favorable.)
It is very interesting to see how God used Calvin. Calvin's life was not one people would generally envy. It wasn't a life full of health, wealth and the favor of people, actually it was quite the opposite. Calvin didn't want a public life, he wanted to focus privately studying God's word, but God made him a pastor. He didn't want to go back to Geneva after they 'kicked' him out and then desired him to come back, but God moved Him to go back, and things were very rough for him after he returned. He also had horrible physical health, he is compared to a walking hospital. I have finally learned what having a 'consumption' meant(tuberculosis) from reading this biography. He had several enemies who wanted him kicked out of Geneva and some who wanted him dead. Perhaps his biography should be entitled, "Disciplined by God" as his life seems a good demonstration of the loving discipline and sanctification of God(Heb. 12:5-14).
The burning of Michael Servetus is addressed, and here is where I have a bit of criticism. I think that people try to excuse Calvin too much, saying things like, 'even the Catholics burnt heretics' and 'it was an accepted custom of the time'. Accepted or not, why don't we just come out and say Calvin was absolutely wrong to agree with the death penalty in this case? It's not as if he had attained complete sanctification in this world. And Christianity doesn't stand or fall with Calvin's reputation, our faith is not based or found in him anyway but in God's Word. As Christians, we may separate privately and publically from professing Christians who are living contradictory to the God's Word(1 Cor. 5:11-13; 2 Th. 3:6), and we may condemn their doctrine and refute it, but we are never to kill them. Besides, if you kill them, they absolutely cannot repent, you are essentially taking their spiritual condemnation into your own hands. You are making an absolute call that God won't change them in the future.
Perhaps people try to vindicate Calvin because they admire him too much and not the One who used him. The statement is made, "In our opinion God has given to the church no greater man since the days of the apostles than John Calvin…." I don't see how one can even begin to come to that conclusion. That makes it seem as though Calvin wasn't exactly 'the least' in the kingdom of God(Matt.11:11). My guess would be that there are people greater than Calvin who simply did what they were supposed to do in their daily lives, perhaps with unremarkable occupations in life, they may have been housewives, slaves, carpenters…etc. But they did what they did for God, as it was the work He had given for them to do. I am pretty sure that one does not have to live a public life, writing books, speaking, or even influencing thousands of people, in order to be 'great' in the Kingdom of Heaven. God is the One who gives us the work we are to do for Him, and It is the God who made Calvin what he was, and it is He whom we should admire the most. So let Calvin be wrong! It shows all the more that it was God's work in him that produced the good things that came out of him. Okay, so maybe that wasn't just a bit of criticism, but I had to get it out.
Anyway, back to the positives. I found it odd that I liked the chapter that describes what Geneva was like in Calvin's day. Normally I don't care for too much description, but I found this one quite interesting. I also found it funny to learn in this biography that Calvin was a matchmaker of sorts for 'Reformed' people all over the place. Since true Christians were scattered about amongst unbelievers in other countries, and since Christians couldn't marry non-believers, and it just so happened that were many believers in Geneva, Calvin helped them find Christian spouses.
This book was a nice summary of Calvin's life, and the major events in his life. It was neat to see the strength God gave him to plow through the many trials of his life, knowing that this wasn't his home anyway. His life was so hard, from a human perspective that I had almost a sense of relief when he died; his hard work was done, his health was perfect, he no longer had to live by faith, and best of all, he had finally arrived at his true home with God.
Thanks to The Banner of Truth Trust for sending me a free review copy of this book(My review did not have to be favorable.)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews