Imprisoned And Faithful: A Letter From Marie Durand

[Marie Durand] would be born in 1711 in Bouchet-de-Pranles into a community with a hoary past of linguistic, cultural, political, and religious autonomy. She was born into a church whose beliefs and practices were deeply rooted in the sixteenth-century Reformation and the . . . Continue reading →

Calvin Against The Chiliasts

But Satan has not only befuddled men’s senses to make them bury with the corpses the memory of resurrection; he has also attempted to corrupt this part of the doctrine with various falsifications that he might at length destroy it. I pass . . . Continue reading →

What A Confessional Presbyterian Learned from Luther

“What is a nice OPC minister like you doing constantly quoting Martin Luther on Twitter?” is the familiar refrain after people take a gander at my feed. Normally, I admit when I am guilty as charged, but there is no great guilt . . . Continue reading →

This Is A Good Book And Now Very Affordable

This is a fine little volume that makes a good entry point to the Reformation. Bob Godfrey published this several years ago. These chapters are based on his lectures, which he gave for decades as Professor of Church History at Westminster Seminary . . . Continue reading →

Asking For A Friend: How To Love A Jerk

Who Says That Calvin Was Not Practical?

…But how do we do that with someone we might think to be unworthy of our love and good deeds? How do you love a jerk? You might say take a look in the mirror. Humbly realizing that we’re all unworthy jerks . . . Continue reading →

Calvin As Theologian Of Comfort

Wikipedia, that ubiquitous source of unimpeachable scholarship, defines “consolation” as “something of value, when one fails to get something of higher value….” That is precisely the opposite of what John Calvin (1509–64) meant by “consolation.”For Calvin, the consolation that Christ gives to his people, by the gospel, through the Spirit, is not second prize but to be valued above that which we lost. When we consider Calvin, “consolation” might not be the thing we first associate with him. The dominant perception of Calvin in our culture is that of a tyrannical, dyspeptic fellow, who delighted in nothing more than to dispatch a few heretics to the flames before breakfast. That caricature, however, was one drawn by his enemies during his lifetime and sadly, despite the facts, it has stuck for a variety of reasons. Continue reading →

The Weber Thesis Is Still Wrong (Updated)

Introduction The one thing Political Science profs (I earned a BA in Poli Sci, University of Nebraska, 1984) think they know about John Calvin (1509–64) is that his doctrine of predestination created grave doubts in the hearts and minds of his followers . . . Continue reading →