John Calvin: Father of Reformed Theology

by Sam Wellman

Though he was a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin (1509-1564) may be best remembered for his influential theological positions. Calvin fled his native France to escape the persecution his reformation teaching was attracting. Later, in Geneva, his positions led to his expulsion from the city, but when Protestant forces regained control of Geneva, Calvin established a new theocratic government--which harbored persecuted Protestants from across Europe. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion laid out his understanding of Bible doctrine, including his beliefs in the primacy of Scripture, predestination, and salvation by grace alone.

Genres: Biography

7 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Sam Wellman, PhD, is a writer of numerous biographies. He has traveled to Germany many times and twice stayed for several months (in Berlin and Wittenberg). He blogs and tweets on Martin Luther and Frederick the Wise. He lives near Wichita, Kansas.

Reviews

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death penalty for heretics?

I owe John Calvin an apology. I’ve sullied his good name by perpetuating the myth that he had a guy killed (Michael Servetus). After reading this bio (and working on another), I’ve learned that its more complex than that. Servetus was ultimately burned at the stake, and Calvin argued for a lighter penalty. Servetus had been a challenge for Calvin for years and was working with Calvin's enemies to undermine him.

However, the fact remains that Calvin's Geneva put Michael Servetus to death for heresy. This is troubling. Here're a few thoughts. These are mine, not Sam Wellman's, lest I sully another man's good name.

1. It should bother us that the Church put heretics to death. There should be liberty for differing views
2. But we should be careful when judging those in the past according to modern sensibilities. The Catholic Church had the death penalty for heresy, and it should tell us something that the Protestant Church, which had serious beef with the Catholics, was willing to carry on that tradition. For them, it made sense.
3. While these days we don't execute people for having different religious beliefs, we do have a modern analog, treason. America can and has put traitors to death, and the reasons they have are very similar to the reasons Geneva did. What Servetus was teaching threatened to derail the young movement, and Calvin had worked for decades to get him to see reason. Servetus was like Benedict Arnold in that he was aiding Calvin's very enemies.

Now, let me be clear. I wish the Church had been more tolerant. Hopefully these are helpful thoughts to put things into context. And for every point you disagree with, I shall kill you.

[Bob Ladwig · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is simply an embarassment. The entire thing not once mentions Calvin's theological distinctives and contributions to the reformation. The doctrine of predestination (What Calvin is most known for) is not mentioned at all until an appendix. That appendix is written in puerile form by Norman Geisler, a flaming Arminian. But Geisler doesn't call himself an Arminian, he rather refers to himself as a "Soft-Calvinist" as opposed to the "Hard Calvinist" (You know, those Synod of Dordt TULIP guys, yeah the guys everyone for centuries have called Calvinists) this of course simply confuses the lay reader, and frankly is dishonest at best. Geisler, just like Ingsoc in 1984, thinks he can just change what the terms mean.

As I said, I read the entire book in maybe 1 sitting, the book being written at roughly a 5th grade reading level, and was shocked that not once were the doctrines of predestination/election mentioned in the main text. Then, I was enraged to see Norman Geisler's name written in crayon in the appendix, basically giving a sottish attempt of a refutation of Calvin's doctrine of predestination. What a joke, they ought to be ashamed of themselves, but it seems that fellows of Geisler's ilk are beyond shame.