Tracts Containing Treatises On The Sacraments V2: Catechism Of The Church Of Geneva, Forms Of Prayer, And Confessions Of Faith

by John Calvin, Henry Beveridge

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Genres: Theology, Prayer, Faith

594 pages, Hardcover

First published November 21, 2002

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.

Reviews

[Joseph Wolcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, the title is a little misleading. The vast majority of this book is about the Lord's Supper, while baptism is barely touched on. Bear this in mind if you are reading this expecting to understand Calvin's view of both sacraments. That said, the content of the book is excellent. Calvin clearly articulates his position and how he differs from other popular views of the Lord's Supper. He extensively argues against the local presence of Christ's body (as believed by Roman Catholics and Lutherans), and yet he also explains why a mere memorial view is inconsistent with scripture. He shows on several fronts why his position is the best. As a slight negative, the latter half of the book is somewhat repetitive. It's understandable why. The book is a collection of different treatises Calvin wrote throughout his life and several of the ones collected at the end (in which he answers objections to his position) end up treading the same arguments because the objections remained essentially the same. Even if you don't agree with Calvin or are biased against Calvin, you should read this book. It gives great insights from one of history's great theologians, it helps you understand a position that might not be your own, and it is one of the many evidences that anyone who wants to condense Calvin to being primarily focused on the doctrine of predestination and election are really doing the man a disservice.

[Aaron Cummings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the Geneva Catechism. Solid stuff here. I'd quibble over words, but the substance of it is good stuff. It would be tough to teach a child using this catechism, but a group of adults might enjoy the conversational nature of it.