Product Description

The first biography of John Calvin since 1975 and the only life of the great reformer to analyse his impact on subsequent generations of theologians, politicians, economists and philosophers. This biography is theologically unbiased and is written as much for historians and general readers as for those interested in Calvin the Church reformer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #532363 in Books
• Published on: 1993-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 332 pages

From Library Journal
This biography by the young yet amazingly prolific scholar of the Reformation ably combines historical narrative and theological interpretation. McGrath refuses the reductionistic temptation to isolate one central doctrine within Calvin's thought (such as predestination), contending instead that the Reformer's humanistic sympathies eschewed such rigid systematizing. In compelling fashion he argues both that Calvin must be understood as primarily a religious thinker and that his world-affirming outlook launched an international social and economic revolution comparable only to Marxism of the 20th century. McGrath acknowledges that his subject is a private, enigmatic figure, but thanks to this study he is perhaps a little less so. A very readable book, far more balanced than William Bouwsma's more psychological profile, John Calvin: A Sixteenth Century Portrait ( LJ 10/1/87).
- John R. Muether, Reformed Theological Seminary, Maitland, Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A most welcome study filling a real need for a scholarly biography that is historically sensitive and theologically well-informed." Religious Studies Review

"Not since Wendel's Calvin has one volume given as much breadth and depth to the life and thought of Calvin as this one... A splendid resource for both novices and Calvin scholars. McGrath's work will endure as a balanced, sensitive, historical-theological treatment." Sixteenth Century Journal

"A full range of Calvin students and scholars will be grateful for this book. Wide in scope, detailed in coverage, yet clear in focus, McGrath's work will find a secure niche for many years to come." Christianity Today

"A Skillful combination of biography, theology and history. A number of maps, charts and (monochrome) reproductions of paintings and other art works enhance the attractiveness of this handsome volume, which should serve students as a useful and readable introduction to John Calvin's life and times." Critical Review

"An absorbing study. It cannot be stated too strongly that Beyond Borders deserves high praise. Better than any other book known to the author." The Expository Times

"The best study of Calvin in English." Teaching History

"A most welcome study filling a real need for a scholarly biography that is historically sensitive and theologically well-informed." Religious Studies Review

"Not since Wendel's Calvin has one volume given as much breadth and depth to the life and thought of Calvin as this one... A splendid resource for both novices and Calvin scholars. McGrath's work will endure as a balanced, sensitive, historical-theological treatment." Sixteenth Century Journal

"A full range of Calvin students and scholars will be grateful for this book. Wide in scope, detailed in coverage, yet clear in focus, McGrath's work will find a secure niche for many years to come." Christianity Today

"A Skillful combination of biography, theology and history. A number of maps, charts and (monochrome) reproductions of paintings and other art works enhance the attractiveness of this handsome volume, which should serve students as a useful and readable introduction to John Calvin's life and times." Critical Review

"An absorbing study. It cannot be stated too strongly that Beyond Borders deserves high praise. Better than any other book known to the author." The Expository Times

"The best study of Calvin in English." Teaching History

Review
"A most welcome study filling a real need for a scholarly biography that is historically sensitive and theologically well-informed." Religious Studies Review

"Not since Wendel's Calvin has one volume given as much breadth and depth to the life and thought of Calvin as this one... A splendid resource for both novices and Calvin scholars. McGrath's work will endure as a balanced, sensitive, historical-theological treatment." Sixteenth Century Journal

"A full range of Calvin students and scholars will be grateful for this book. Wide in scope, detailed in coverage, yet clear in focus, McGrath's work will find a secure niche for many years to come." Christianity Today

"A Skillful combination of biography, theology and history. A number of maps, charts and (monochrome) reproductions of paintings and other art works enhance the attractiveness of this handsome volume, which should serve students as a useful and readable introduction to John Calvin's life and times." Critical Review

"An absorbing study. It cannot be stated too strongly that Beyond Borders deserves high praise. Better than any other book known to the author." The Expository Times

"The best study of Calvin in English." Teaching History

Customer Reviews

Biography of Ideas
It's a pity this book is so expensive. I checked it out of the library, and so I don't have a copy on hand to refer back to as I would like to. This book is good because it focuses more on Calvin's ideas and writings and his place in the intellectual climate of his times than on biographical details. Years ago, I read the Cottret biography of Calvin, which I also recommend as a way to learn a little more about Calvin the elusive man, but McGrath provided me with a refresher on what Calvin thought. McGrath is a superb scholar of late Scholasticism and the Reformation, and he illuminates Calvin's intellectual ties to his predecessors as well as to contemporaries like Luther and Zwingli. Some of the interesting chapters of this book include an overview of Calvin and the experiment of Geneva and the process of writing and revising The Institutes. It's a great book for the general reader.

You can't judge a book by its cover.
Based on the title of Alister McGrath's book, A Life of John Calvin, one would expect to read some sort of biography about John Calvin. This is not the case. A Life of John Calvin can be divided into three major sections, the first describes historical France, especially the universities in Paris and Orleans, the second describes Geneva and Calvin's role there, and the third attempts to show Calvin's impact on the modern world. Information on John Calvin is severely lacking in this book, the author's opinions are often unfounded, and his writing style is difficult to read.

McGrath proposes many of his own opinions, some of which are simply confusing, others are offensive, and some are heretical. McGrath refers to the Roman Catholic Church as the catholic church, with a lowercase "c", and capitalizes the "v" in virgin Mary. The reason for this is not clear, surely a man as learned as McGrath should know that the capitalization of these words changes their entire definition. Similarly, since John Calvin spoke French, McGrath constantly quotes him in French, without giving a translation. McGrath's most heretical and agenda filled attack is pages 255-257, in which he wholeheartedly defends evolution. How a person that confronts the high priest of the religion of evolution, Dr. Richard "Dinky" Dawkins, can believe in evolution is beyond this reviewer's comprehension. Even more insulting, McGrath implies that John Calvin would accept evolution and shun the literal Creation account of Genesis 1-3. Earlier, McGrath had attacked Luther as being a hindrance to the reformation process and calls justification by faith alone, "Luther's Doctrine", a rather strange thing for a protestant theology professor to say.

A Life of John Calvin has many flaws, chief among these is failing to detail John Calvin's life, however the idiosyncratic nature ensures that the reader is buried in history without any discernable relation to John Calvin. Pages upon pages are dedicated to describing the areas surrounding Geneva, the universities of Paris, Orleans, and famous people who attended them, almost with the assumption that this somehow described John Calvin. This reviewer attended the same university as the 9/11 Hijackers, to assume that a study of a university could describe an attendee is both presumptuous and a waste of pages.

Where this book nearly redeems itself is in the description of Calvin's Geneva, the historical and chronological aspects are impeccable, but after fifty-pages describing nearly thirty years, the reader realizes a grave disservice has been done in the examination of Calvin's Geneva. As the Apostle Paul said of pre-Messiah Israel, "For we see through a glass, darkly," (1 Cor 13:12) this is how Calvin comes across in this work, a fuzzy, blurry, incomplete image of the man, and especially his role in the city. There are no sermon quotes, no examples of Calvin's preaching, church services, church schedules, evangelization efforts, missionary events, or anything that could possibly cause the reader to learn something about John Calvin, or improve their own ministry. In between Calvin's two Geneva ministries is a forced sabbatical to Strasburg, in which Calvin greatly improved his theology and stewardship. This book devotes two pages to this monumental event, saying little more than it occurred.

In a book titled A Life of John Calvin, one would expect to find a biography about the sixteenth century reformer, however Alister McGrath has failed to describe the man who has so greatly influenced Western Culture. A person somewhat familiar with John Calvin will leave this book confused for its lack of depth. A person unfamiliar with John Calvin may be permanently damaged by this extremely poor representation of the life, theology, and subsequent following of one of the most important men in history.

McGrath managed to cloud this reviewer's otherwise clear image of Calvin, something that will take much study and examination to bring back into focus.

Critical Review of "A Life of John Calvin"
John Calvin has been cast by many biographical writers as an austere, iron-fisted, dictatorial sixteenth century theologian. Alister McGrath's exhaustive and detailed work seeks to dispel these myths while giving insight into the character and thinking of Calvin that profoundly shaped Western Culture. McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and author of several theology textbooks, including Christian Theology, The Christian Theology Reader, Christian Spirituality, Science and Religion, Historical Theology, and An Introduction to Christianity.

McGrath's purpose is to show how Calvin's theological thinking and events, that gained momentum even beyond his life time, shaped Western Culture. This includes the startling premise that capitalism and Marxism both owe their foundation, to some degree, to Calvin's innovating thinking, financial institutions, manufacturing developments, and ecclesiastical structures put in place while at Geneva.

McGrath's chronological approach starts with Calvin's educational background, where McGrath delved into obscure records and examines the Universities and professors he studied under, thereby forming his thinking and theology. McGrath even includes city maps and physical relationships of the various universities Calvin attended to help the reader sense and comprehend Calvin's learning environment. Contrasts and comparisons are made throughout the book between Calvin and Luther differentiating their theological viewpoints and emphasis. One such contrast is made between Luther's focus on justification by faith and Calvin's focus on sanctification by faith. In many cases, it appears McGrath is trying to prove Calvin's superiority over Luther.

McGrath chips away at various myths regarding Calvin's theology and behavior while at Geneva. Some have suggested that Calvin developed a systematic theology. However, McGrath believes Calvin did not consider himself a systematic thinker nor did he develop or arrange his works (primarily his Institutes) in any systematic form. McGrath notes, "To speak of Calvin as a theological systematizer is to imply a degree of affinity with medieval scholasticism which contradicts his known attitudes." McGrath also seeks to debunk the idea that Calvin's theology was dominated by the concept of predestination, particularly double predestination. McGrath states, "One may identify certain centrally important themes, certain fundamental root metaphors, which allow insights into Calvin's religious thought--but the notion of a central doctrine or axiom which controls it cannot be maintained. `There is no `hard core', no `basic principle' or `central premise', no `essence' of Calvin's religious thought." McGrath believes that if any doctrine was central to Calvin's theology, it was the centrality of Jesus Christ, which is covered in the first book of his Institutes. The `Calvinism' known today (hyper Calvinism) was not adhered to at all by Calvin, but developed by those who followed after him.

McGrath also seeks to dispel social myths that have captured people's imagination of Calvin as a `radical reformer', a `hard liner', or one ready to enforce his policies to the point of execution. McGrath points out "Geneva was not free to choose its own road to reformation: it must adopt the religious beliefs and practices already associated with Berne itself." "...the romantic and idealized vision of a reformer arriving in a city to preach the gospel with an immediately ensuing decision to adopt the principles of the Reformation must be abandoned as quite unrealistic." Further, regarding the myths of Calvin's propensity for enforcement of the ecclesiastical structures set in place within Geneva, (Balzac asserted that Calvin `reigned in terror' and Huxley asserted that Calvin had a child beheaded for striking his parents), McGrath's research shows "In the first place, there is no record of any such incident in the Genevan archives (which are as comprehensive as one could wish); in the second, there is no basis in the Genevan criminal or civil codes which could possibly justify such a prosecution, let alone such a draconian penalty; in the third place, the substance and execution of the Genevan civil and criminal codes owed nothing to Calvin." Throughout his book, McGrath portrays Calvin as an intellectual introvert, almost to the point of being a victim of circumstances, whom God chose to use in a unique way at precisely the correct moment in history to further the Protestant reformation. The result was an impact reaching further than Calvin dared to hope.

McGrath's key emphasis is the social and cultural impact Calvin made through his religious ideas during his lifetime and practical structures set in place while at Geneva. From Calvin's refining of the French language through his exegesis and sophisticated religious arguments, his use of printed medium to spread the reformation (in just over a seven-year period, Calvin's Institutes experienced over twelve printings in French), his use of foreign capitalization to sustain Geneva (during the siege by the House of Savoy), to his ideas of work ethic (through use of manufacturing and his ideas that God gave every man a unique job to perform), Calvin impacted not only Geneva but France and ultimately Western Culture. It was Calvin's financial ideas, social work ethic, and theology regarding predestination that provided the seed bed for the development of Marxism and Capitalism.

McGrath's biography of Calvin uncovers truly unique aspects of his life, blasts away long standing myths, and highlights God's amazing capability to take a humble man and use him to greatly impact the world. The careful and accurate research, fresh perspectives, and scholarly approach make this book a solid and necessary resource for theologians, historians, scholars, and those who just love reading a great biography.


(Initially submitted by N. J. Borrett to Liberty Theological Seminary (LTS)in partial fulfillment for M.Div degree requirements - CHHI-525 on 3/28/2007)