Calvin's Institutes is one of the most important theological works of the last millennium, but even seminarians and pastors have difficulty finishing it. The author guided students through Calvin's classic for more than forty-five years. His detailed outline and summary of it have been made available posthumously to all.
An essential biography of the most important book of the Protestant Reformation John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is a defining book of the Reformation and a pillar of Protestant theology. First published in Latin in 1536 and in Calvin's native French in 1541, the Institutes argues for the majesty of God and for justification by faith alone. The book decisively shaped Calvinism as a major religious and intellectual force in Europe and throughout the world. Here, Bruce Gordon provides an essential biography of Calvin's influential and enduring theological masterpiece, tracing the diverse ways it has been read and interpreted from Calvin's time to today. Gordon explores the origins and character of the Institutes, looking closely at its theological and historical roots, and explaining how it evolved through numerous editions to become a complete summary of Reformation doctrine. He shows how the development of the book reflected the evolving thought of Calvin, who instilled in the work a restlessness that reflected his understanding of the Christian life as a journey to God. Following Calvin's death in 1564, the Institutes continued to be reprinted, reedited, and reworked through the centuries. Gordon describes how it has been used in radically different ways, such as in South Africa, where it was invoked both to defend and attack the horror of apartheid. He examines its vexed relationship with the historical Calvin—a figure both revered and despised—and charts its robust and contentious reception history, taking readers from the Puritans and Voltaire to YouTube, the novels of Marilynne Robinson, and to China and Africa, where the Institutes continues to find new audiences today.
John Calvins The Institutes of the Christian Religion presents one of the most winsome, thought-provoking, spiritually inspiring, and heart-searching summations of Christian truth ever written. Although works exist that either offer an analysis of Calvins views or serve as a guide to his Institutes, none fully share the aim of J. Mark Beachs Pietys Wisdom. Keeping to the form, shape, and tenor of Calvins own work, Pietys Wisdom offers busy pastors, seminarians, interested college students, and motivated laypersons a book that presents Calvin on his own terms. This summary can be used as an introduction to the Christian faith, as a primer for the study of Calvin, or a combination of each. While the book is suitable for individual study, the inclusion of study questions makes it an ideal tool for facilitating discussion in adult study groups. Author J. Mark Beach is an Associate Pastor at Redeemer United Reformed Church in Dyer, Indiana. He also serves as Professor of Ministerial and Doctrinal Studies, and Dean of Students at Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Endorsements "Though road maps (or a GPS) are no substitute for the experience of traveling through the country side, they can be a great help to the traveler in identifying the best route and the highpoints of the trip. J. Mark Beachs Pietys Wisdom is such a help for the reader who hopes to travel or navigate his or her way through Calvins great exposition of the Christian faith, The Institutes. Written for the general reader, Beach offers a useful guide that identifies the important landmarks, points the way through, and thereby whets the readers appetite for a first-hand acquaintance with Calvins theology." - Cornelis Venema
Shepherd's Notes- Christian Classics Series is designed to give readers a quick, step by step overview of some of the enduring treasures of the Christian faith. They are designed to be used along side the classic itself- either in individual study or in a study group. The faithful of all generations have found spiritual nourishment in the Scriptures and in the works of Christians of earlier generations. Martin Luther and John Calvin would not have become who they were apart from their reading Augustine. God used the writings of Martin Luther to move John Wesley from a religion of dead works to an experience at Aldersgate in which his "heart was strangely warmed." Shepherd's Notes will give pastors, laypersons, and students access to some of the treasures of Christian faith.
A succinct, systematic summary of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion that sets forth the essence the reformer's teachings in his Institutes on all the truths of the Christian religion. This summary is either expressed or supported by the most important and vivid statements of Calvin, so the readers hears Calvin himself. The book also gives a brief explanation of certain of Calvin's teachings, offers analysis of his doctrine, applies his teachings to contemporary doctrinal issues, and sometimes even criticizes Calvin's doctrine. The book provides exact references to the Institutes enabling the reader to compare the summary with Calvin's presentation.
A leading Calvin scholar provides an annotated guide to the reading of Calvin's Institutes, selecting passages critical to understanding Calvin's theology.
The chief work of the theologian John Calvin, the institutes have set the theological framework of Calvinists and Reform thinkers for many hundreds of years. Although originally written in the 16th century, Calvins work still holds many truths that we can learn from today
