The Calvinpalooza heads into the home stretch this summer. Modern Reformation has a special issue out this month focusing on you-know-whom. Mike has the lead essay. Excellent. There’s an appendix surveying the history of Calvin’s bad press. Dennis Tamburello (a Roman scholar) has a piece on Clavin’s legacy for those outside of the Reformed churches. There is a special section tackling issues in understanding Calvin (capitalism, Calvin v the Calvinists—I did that one—Calvin and Anglicanism, Calvin and Barth, Calvin and Vatican II, Calvin and Edwards Calvin and Luther etc. Contributors to this section include Diamaid MacCulloch, C. Fitzsimmons Allison, Alexandre Ganoczy, Paul Helm, Serene Jones, Keith Mathison, Lawrence Rast, and David VanDrunen. There’s a biographical essay and and a special book review section. If you’re new to the Reformed faith or even if you’re not, this is a great resource for catching up quickly on what’s happening in the study of Calvin. If you’re not a subscriber, why not? If you’re a student you can get it for $25 per year. That’s about three lattes. For those who are not students it’s $32 a year. A bargain at any price.
Great issue of a great magazine.
MR is like an oasis in the desert.
I wish MR would provide subscribers with an electronic version of their periodical (e.g., PDF), but they seem to be resisting it for some reason.
Concerning the various articles in their special issue in commemoration of Calvin: does one of them cover the differences between what Calvin actually taught/believed during the 16th Century vs. what passes for “Calvinism” or “Calvinist” in some of today’s denominations? The following statement is taken from MBI’s website under their statement of beliefs,
“… Whereas biblical Christianity is defined by the central tenets of the faith, throughout the history of the church various groups have employed more specific definitions to define themselves. Historically MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as non-charismatic, dispensational, and generally Calvinistic …”
From what I’ve studied about traditional, confessional Reformed beliefs, some of the claims they make in that last sentence are incompatible with each other. Moreover, I am acquainted with some pastors who were MBI graduates and lay people who are strong supporters of the institution. Based on the things they say, their beliefs weigh heavily in an Arminian direction, which also seems to be at odds with anything Calvin taught.
George –
Concerning your first comment: We actually do have an electronic version of the magazine (at least all the articles, side-bars, and book reviews), as well as a complete archive of the whole history. These aren’t PDFs of the actual pages, but all the content is there. All of this is available to our current subscribers, who also get a print version mailed to them. If you want to give it a try you can sign up for a free trial which gives you access to everything for 30 days and you get a free copy mailed to you.
We are working through how to offer the magazine electronically in the future, so stay tuned! We are not “resisting” per se, but are trying to work within the resources we have so that we can be good stewards of what we have been graciously given and put out the magazine of record for a modern reformation. Feel free to contact us if you have any more questions!
Mark Vander Pol
Webmaster
Modern Reformation
Does he still matter? You bet your sweet bippy he does. Without him, how would we understand the Bible? Where would our confessional standards originate? Without him, Christianity would not have survived beyond the seventeenth century. America wouldn’t exist. The sun wouldn’t rise. There’d be no sliced bread. Shall I continue…?
Happy birthday to you too, Joe!
LOL
A latte costs $8 over there? I’m gonna have to save up before coming over…
Ben – in Melbourne, Australia
Ben nabbed my comment. $25 for three coffees: no wonder the Geneva conference pricing structure is so, um, aspirational.
Having been in Geneva earlier this year, $8 lattes there wouldn’t surprise me much. It’s one extremely expensive city.
Please send me a free copy of Modern Reformation Calvin issue. Thanks. My address is Presbyterian College, 3495 University St., Montreal, QC H3A 2A8. All the best. BK
Hi Bill,
I’ve forwarded your post to the Modern Reformation folks.
blessings.