John Calvin S American Legacy

Though his influence on American society has often been forgotten or misunderstood, John Calvin played a formative role in the traditions of almost every sector of American life. This wide-ranging study, comprising twelve essays, shows for the first time the extraordinary extent to which Calvinist thoughts and practices are woven into the fabric of American society, theology, and letters, from the colonial period to the twenty-first century. John Calvin's American Legacy examines the economics of the Colonial period, Calvin's effect on American identity, and the evidence for Calvin's influence on American democracy. The book next addresses Calvin's critical role in American theology, inspecting the relationship between Jonathan Edwards's and Calvin's church practices, the diverse views on the Calvinist theological tradition in the nineteenth century, the ways in which Calvin was understood in the historiography of Williston Walker and Perry Miller, and Calvin's influence on twentieth-century theologies. Finally, the book explores Calvinism's influence on American literature, examining the work of such writers as Samson Occom, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Max Weber, Mark Twain, John Updike, and Marilynne Robinson. This important book is the first to introduces readers to the breadth and depth of Calvin's influence along the spectrum of American thought and society, from the 18th century to modern times.

This title explores the ways Calvin and the Calvinist tradition have influenced American life. In addition, each section moves chronologically, ranging from colonial times to the 21st century.

This latest offering by noted theologian Sung Wook Chung examines the ways in which John Calvin continues to impact the global evangelical movement in the twenty-first century. This useful collection is perhaps most distinguished by the diversity of its contributors. Literally spanning the globe, the group of scholars whose work is included represents a wealth of viewpoints from various traditions including Dutch neo-Calvinism, the French Reformed tradition, Scottish-American Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Congregationalism, the Baptist tradition, Calvinist Dispensationalism, Asian Reformed tradition, African American Reformed tradition, and Latin American Evangelicalism. Together, they offer an enlightening glimpse into the historical Calvin and project that understanding on the evangelical movement of the future.

The chapters in this volume were originally presented as papers at the 2009 colloquium of the Calvin Studies Society, held to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of John Calvin's birth. They offer a fresh evaluation of Calvin's ideas and achievements, and describe how others--from his contemporaries to the present--have responded to or built upon the Calvinist heritage. This book dispels popular misperceptions about Calvin and Calvinism, allowing readers to make a more accurate assessment of Calvin's importance as a theologian and historical figure. Contributions address areas in which Calvin's legacy has been most controversial or misunderstood, such as his attitude toward women, his advocacy of church discipline, and his understanding of predestination. These essays also give a nuanced picture of the impact of Calvinism by taking account of both the positive and negative reactions to it from the early modern period to the present. Part 1: Calvin: The Man and His Work Part 2: Appeal of and Responses to Calvinism Part 3: The Impact of Calvin's Ideas

David Hall identifies ten seminal ways that Calvin's thought transformed the culture of the West, complete with a nontechnical biography of Calvin and tributes by other leaders. The Legacy of John Calvin is brief enough for popular audiences and analytical enough to provide much information in a short space.

Many events were staged and a plethora of new books appeared to mark the quincentenary of the birth of John Calvin, in 2009. But one area received considerably less attention in that anniversary year - namely, Calvin's ecclesiology. This study explores the development and fundamental legacy of Calvin's perspectives on and relationship with the church. Contributions are included which explore the later development and 'denominational variations' of Calvin's ecclesiology, along with ecumenical discussions/responses to and implications of Calvin's understanding of the church. There are further chapters which focus on particular aspects such as Calvin's ecclesiological method, understanding of ministry, the 'sacramental' principle, the 'invisible church' etc. Contributions on the use of Calvin's ecclesiology by later and modern/contemporary ecclesiologists also feature. This is a volume that brings together leading and emerging theological voices from Europe, North America and Latino America and from across the different theological sub-disciplines. Significantly, the book has a decidedly ecumenical perspective, with writers from several different denominational traditions contributing.

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.

The metaphor of a “wall of separation” between church and state obscures the substantial connection that exists between the Christian religion and American liberalism. The central thesis of this work challenges the legitimacy of this metaphor as it appears in Supreme Court decisions and in the thought of the philosopher John Rawls. The Religious Origins of American Freedom and Equality provides a provocative interpretation of the nature of Christian and liberal principles, suggesting that the principles of individual freedom and equality were forged even within the conservative elements of Calvinism and Puritanism. Recognition of this substantial intellectual connection has the potential to help reshape our conception of the separation of church and state by tempering the opposition between religious and political concepts and values. The purpose of The Religious Origins of American Freedom and Equality then, is to contribute to an understanding of public reason that is more open to the contributions of religious perspectives. The work attempts to show how religious doctrines, currently obscured by historical context and hermeneutical dogmatism, have nonetheless played a formative role in the evolution of the freedom and equality that is foundational to contemporary liberalism. Understanding the genesis of the concepts of freedom and equality tempers the conceptual opposition between church and state and allows a clearer more inclusive interpretation of the nature of their separation. The originality of the work is fourfold: (1) the challenge its central thesis poses to dominant constructions of public reason, freedom, and equality; (2) the interdisciplinary method through which it brings the findings of a variety of disciplines to bear on a central issues in political philosophy; (3) the challenge it brings to the analytic and pragmatic approach of contemporary liberalism through its assertion of the importance of historical context to contemporary ideas; and (4) the degree to which it engages theology in its relation to contemporary questions.