Institutio

by John Calvin, Th. van den End (Editor), Jan S. Aritonang (Translator)

Yohanes Calvin adalah seorang tokoh Reformasi Gereja yang berasal dari Perancis. Karya fenomenal yang lahir dari pemikiran Calvin - dan menjadi judul buku ini - adalah Institutio. Institutio menjadi pintu gerbang bagi setiap orang yang hendak mengenal dan mempelajari pemikiran-pemikiran Calvin. Calvin menulis Institutio untuk memberikan ikhtisar ajaran Kristen yang sesuai dengan Injil bagi mereka yang berminat. Institutio juga berguna untuk mempertahankan dan membela ajaran Injil dan Reformasi terhadap musuh-musuh mereka.

Calvin menulis karyanya secara sistematis, seperti tampak dalam Institutio, yang membahas seluruh ajaran Kristen. Namun, disampaikan dalam gaya bahasa yang menarik. Melalui Institutio, Calvin mencurahkan seluruh isi hati dan pikirannya yang menyatakan kebesaran dan keagungan Allah. Calvin tidak hanya merumuskan pemikirannya tentang Allah, tetapi juga berbicara mengenai Allah dari pengalamannya sendiri yang bertolak belakang dari Firman Allah dalam Alkitab. Institutio diharapkan Calvin dapat "membawa manfaat bagi gereja karena mempertahankan ajaran murni tentang kesalehan".

Isi buku ini tetap cocok dan bermanfaat bagi para pembaca masa kini yang tidak memiliki pendidikan teologi, tetapi berminat pada ajaran gereja, khususnya Reformasi.

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1536

About the author

French-Swiss theologian John Calvin broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1533 and as Protestant set forth his tenets, known today, in Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536).

The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.

* Jehan Cauvin
* Iohannes Calvinus (Latin)
* Jean Calvin (French)

Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.

After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.

Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.

Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.