John Calvin: A Biography
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Book Overview
John Calvin, the French Protestant theologian, had planned a life of quiet, scholarly study. But while travelling to Strasbourg in 1536, a local war forced him to make a detour through Geneva. Here he stayed, apart from a short period of exile, until the end of his life. His time in Geneva was marked by long, bitter struggles over the independence of the Church from the State and the rules Calvin tried to impose on Geneva as as a whole. Calvin's reputation as a controversialist is strong even today. In this major biography, he is seen against the background of the turbulent times in which he lived. By putting Calvin in his context, the book brings to life the quiet, timid scholar whose ideas took Europe by storm.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0745952283
ISBN13:9780745952284
Release Date:April 2006
Publisher:Lion Books
Length:224 Pages
Weight:0.68 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
A Quick One
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
It's very painful to read the first few pages as they document Calvin's early childhood, where he lives, and education. It gets better and easier to read as you go on. My only problem is that you have to know a lot about theological events and people because the author mentions them without explanation, assuming that you will know what he is talking about. Therefore, you either have to look them up yourself or just keep reading.
A widely-quoted book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
I bought this book because it's quoted so extensively in other books. After I read it, I really find it helpful.
Beautifully Done
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
THL Parker has continued to place us all in his debt with his solid, serious, inspirational work on the various aspects of John Calvn's theology. This is one of the better biography's in print on Calvin's life and I would recommend it enthusastically. Though now roughly thirty years old, it was the first biography written on Calvin's life in quite some time when it was published. Though not as current as Bernard Cottret's recent biography, it seems more in touch with the subject matter than Cottret does. Cottret, it seems to me, seeks too much "objectivity" in rehearshing the details of Calvin's life--Parker clearly has a fondness for Calvin and the sources with which he is familiar and it shows in this biography. Parker has an enthusiasm for the material that I find missing in Cottret's otherwise outstanding work. I would recommend everything that Parker has authored as worthy of being read, reflected upon, and used. Particularly this biography of Calvin.
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