CalvinA revealing new portrait of John Calvin that captures his human complexity and the sixteenth-century world in which he fought his personal and theological battles During the glory days of the French Renaissance, young John Calvin (1509-1564) experienced a profound conversion to the faith of the Reformation. For the rest of his days he lived out the implications of that transformation—as exile, inspired reformer, and ultimately the dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin’s vision of the Christian religion has inspired many volumes of analysis, but this engaging biography examines a remarkable life. Bruce Gordon presents Calvin as a human being, a man at once brilliant, arrogant, charismatic, unforgiving, generous, and shrewd. The book explores with particular insight Calvin’s self-conscious view of himself as prophet and apostle for his age and his struggle to tame a sense of his own superiority, perceived by others as arrogance. Gordon looks at Calvin’s character, his maturing vision of God and humanity, his personal tragedies and failures, his extensive relationships with others, and the context within which he wrote and taught. What emerges is a man who devoted himself to the Church, inspiring and transforming the lives of others, especially those who suffered persecution for their religious beliefs. |
From inside the book
... Marguerite of Navarre . Theodore Beza , Icones , 1580 . 4 Guillaume Farel . Theodore Beza , Icones , 1580 . 5 Martin Bucer . Theodore Beza , Icones , 1580 . 6 Pierre Viret . Theodore Beza , Icones , 1580 . 7 Geneva in Calvin's day ...
... Marguerite of Navarre, who was closely linked to a group of reform-minded figures, known as the Circle of Meaux.53 Reform and the Meaux Circle With its stunning gothic cathedral, built between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, Meaux ...
... Marguerite of Navarre was a devout and talented woman who shared her brother's love of learning, but her interests ran more to religion. Deeply attracted to ideas of Lefèvre, she became involved with the Meaux Circle from 1521, inviting ...
... Marguerite of Navarre . Wolmar , Daniel and Duchemin all later joined Calvin in the city while storm clouds gathered in Paris as the Sorbonne turned on the royal lecturers of the Collège Royal ( Budé , Nicolas Cop , Pierre Danès and ...
... Marguerite's court, delivered a series of sermons before crowds of up to five thousand.15 The degree of royal ... Marguerite of Navarre herself, who promptly complained to her brother, the king. This 36 Calvin.