These two public letters are Calvin’s first publication for a wider audience since his arrival in Geneva. Its preface is dated on 12 January 1537. After years of scholarly activity and travelling in anonymity Guillaume Farel forcefully committed him to the church of Geneva. The young author of the Institutes (1536) was at Farel’s and Viret’s side at the Disputation of Lausanne. He broke any allegiance with the Circle of Meaux and sided wholeheartedly with the reformed cause. The contents of the Epistolae duae, drafted in Ferrara, reveal that Calvin must have revised the manuscript to give testimony to the appeal of the Disputation to the roman catholic clergy. The first letter challenges Christians to break away for idolatry and confess publicly. The second letter is a challenge to the clergy either to reform or lay down their offices. The Epistolae duae are the opening move in the exchange among the reformers on nicodemism. Calvin, as ghost writer of Farel, breaks with the reform movement of Meaux, France. That was what the reformed position in October 1536 had implied. Calvin’s two minor contributions to the Disputation of Lausanne have been added to the present edition.

John Calvin lived in a divided world when past certainties were crumbling. Calvin claimed that his thought was completely based upon scripture, but he was mistaken. At several points in his thought and his ministry, he set his own foundations upon tradition. His efforts to make sense of his culture and its religious life mirror issues that modern Western cultures face, and that have contributed to our present situation. In this book, R. Ward Holder offers new insights into Calvin's successes and failures and suggests pathways for understanding some of the problems of contemporary Western culture such as the deep divergence about living in tradition, the modern capacity to agree on the foundations of thought, and even the roots of our deep political polarization. He traces Calvin's own critical engagement with the tradition that had formed him and analyzes the inherent divisions in modern heritage that affect our ability to agree, not only religiously or politically, but also about truth. An epilogue comparing biblical interpretation with Constitutional interpretation is illustrative of contemporary issues and demonstrates how historical understanding can offer solutions to tensions in modern culture.

Calvin@500 is an exercise in appreciative criticism and appropriation of the Reformer's work for church and society. The collection serves as an introduction to the life and thought of this sixteenth-century Reformer in his context. The book also traces Calvin's continuing legacy for political, economic, theological, spiritual, and inter-religious practices of our own time. The essays reflect the depth and breadth of Calvin scholarship from the sixteenth century to the present. They also reflect Calvin's own wide-ranging ministry: the authors are pastors, teachers, social justice workers, and theologians. Calvin@500 arose from two Canadian conferences on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth.

Volume 59 Humanistica Lovaniensia: Journal of Neo-Latin Studies, published annually, is the leading journal in the field of Renaissance and modern Latin. As well as presenting articles on Neo-Latin topics, the journal is a major source for critical editions of Neo-Latin texts with translations and commentaries. Its systematic bibliography of Neo-latin studies (Instrumentum bibliographicum Neolatinum), accompanied by critical notes, is the standard annual bibliography of publications in the field. The journal is fully indexed (names, mss., Neo-Latin neologisms).

This study examines the ethical character of John Calvin and his Genevan colleagues' evangelizing of France. It reveals that Calvin's plans for proselytizing his homeland involved lying, deception, and obfuscation which were employed as a means of evading detection by the French authorities. Balserak considers important questions about the relationship between godliness and cunning, about Calvin's manufacturing of his image, and about the lengths to which he and his colleagues went to spread their gospel.

Research on French theologian John Calvin is flourishing around the world, and his quincentennial in 2009 has given such research even greater momentum. Designed to support and stimulate this research, The Calvin Handbook gathers contributions from internationally renowned scholars. Offering a comprehensive view of Calvin s life, his theology, and the history of his reception, this handbook is a uniquely helpful resource on Calvin for readers of every interest level.

The role played by artistic, literary, historical and theological representations in the establishment of the European Reformation has attracted scholarly attention over the years. While they were generally regarded as a significant means of conveying the evangelical message, particularly in a society with a low average literacy rate, this scholarly consensus was then seriously challenged by objecting that their meaning must have remained opaque to those who couldn't read and interpret their sometimes multilayered imagery and their verbal and figurative messages. This volume, which publishes some of the papers delivered at the Fourth Reformation Research Consortium Conference held in Bologna, May 15th–17th, 2014, is an attempt to examine the visual intelligibility of the European Reformation by a comparative, multiconfessional and multidisciplinary analysis of examples taken from both the Catholic and the Protestant world in the Early Modern and Modern Era, with particular reference to the figurative arts, but also to history and theology. All the case studies included here examine their peculiar subjects with regard to their religious and artistic contexts, in order to understand their historical significance in a new fashion, combining approaches from political history, history of arts, historiography, anthropology, philosophy and theology. Thus, the volume offers a very rich outline of how visual culture and representation through arts was embodied in very different cultural portraits and images.

A unique, wide-ranging volume exploring the historical, religious, cultural, political, and social aspects of Christian martyrdom Although a well-studied and researched topic in early Christianity, martyrdom had become a relatively neglected subject of scholarship by the latter half of the 20th century. However, in the years following the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the study of martyrdom has experienced a remarkable resurgence. Heightened cultural, religious, and political debates about Islamic martyrdom have, in a large part, prompted increased interest in the role of martyrdom in the Christian tradition. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom is a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon from its beginnings to its role in the present day. This timely volume presents essays written by 30 prominent scholars that explore the fundamental concepts, key questions, and contemporary debates surrounding martyrdom in Christianity. Broad in scope, this volume explores topics ranging from the origins, influences, and theology of martyrdom in the early church, with particular emphasis placed on the Martyr Acts, to contemporary issues of gender, identity construction, and the place of martyrdom in the modern church. Essays address the role of martyrdom after the establishment of Christendom, especially its crucial contribution during and after the Reformation period in the development of Christian and European national-building, as well as its role in forming Christian identities in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This important contribution to Christian scholarship: Offers the first comprehensive reference work to examine the topic of martyrdom throughout Christian history Includes an exploration of martyrdom and its links to traditions in Judaism and Islam Covers extensive geographical zones, time periods, and perspectives Provides topical commentary on Islamic martyrdom and its parallels to the Christian church Discusses hotly debated topics such as the extent of the Roman persecution of early Christians The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of religious studies, theology, and Christian history, as well as readers with interest in the topic of Christian martyrdom.

Calvin lectured on the Minor Prophets from 1555/6 to 1559, beginning at the time of the implementation of the Peace of Augsburg. He saw the era in which he lived – particularly the period following the calling of the Council of Trent (1545) and the enforcing of the Augsburg Interim (1548) – as like that of Elijah; a fundamentally troubled era for the church. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of these lectures, their context, audience, and aims. It argues that they were integral not simply to his training of ministers and missionaries for France but to Calvin’s endeavors to call the faithful remnant out of a corrupt Roman Church and to re-establish the Christian Church in France (and Europe).

A unique resource for the study of John Calvin's theology, its reception, and insights for today.