Calvin, John

(1509–64)

   Theologian and Denomination Founder.

   Calvin was born in Noyon, Picardy and was trained as a lawyer. By 1533 he was an avowed Protestant and was compelled to leave Paris where he was pursuing literary studies. He spent the next three years travelling through France, Italy and Switzerland. His first book, published in 1532, was a commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia; then in 1534 he produced his first religious work, Psychopannychia, and this was followed in 1536 by his Christianae Religionis Institutio, which was a short summary of the Christian faith, expounded from a Protestant viewpoint. In response, he was invited by Guillaume Farel to stay in Geneva and establish Protestantism there. Both Farel and Calvin were soon expelled from the city and between 1538 and 1541, Calvin lived in Strasbourg where he was a pupil of Martin bucer and the pastor of the French refugee congregation. Then in 1541, the government of Geneva changed and Calvin returned. His aim was to found a theocracy, a holy city, and, although he held no official position, he largely fulfilled his objective. He established a system of education; he drew up a list of laws for both Church and State and he revised the liturgy. Geneva became a magnet for Protestant refugees from all over Europe; they imbibed Calvin’s principles and returned to their own countries to spread the word. A prolific writer, Calvin conducted a voluminous correspondence and also wrote commentaries on almost all the books of the Bible. He was a frequent preacher and notes taken at his sermons have survived. In addition he revised the Institutes and the final 1559 version is a systematic exposition of his theology. It has been translated into many languages and gone through many editions. Calvin himself insisted that his theology was entirely based on the Bible. The doctrines associated with him include the total depravity of humanity, unconditional election, limited atonement and irresistible grace. The system, which is frequently contrasted with that of arminius, is relentless in its logic. If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then God knows from all time who is to be numbered among the elect. This has nothing to do with good works or the cultivation of virtue. It is entirely the result of the boundless grace of God. Atonement was effected by the death of Jesus, but since only the elect are predestined to salvation, Jesus did not die for everyone, only for the chosen. John Calvin must be seen as one of the central figures of the Protestant Reformation. His influence on the thought of Christendom cannot be exaggerated.

   John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, edited and translated by J.T. Mcneill, 2 vols (1961);

   D.A. Erichson, Bibliographia Calviniana, reprinted (1960);

   A. McGrath, A Life of John Calvin (1990);

   T. Torrance, The Hermeneutics of John Calvin (1988);

   R.S. Wallace, Calvin, Geneva and the Reformation (1988).