Calvin, John (1509-1564)

French reformer and theologian. Calvin is one of the pivotal figures in the history of theology in Western Europe. Schooled in Paris, in theology and canon law, he began to appreciate the ideas of early reformers and examined the Greek New Testament, during which time he experienced some form of conversion, whereon he begins to read and teach the scriptures along the lines laid out in the reformers approach.

Calvin’s best known theological work is his Institutes of the Christian Religion, across 79 chapters. His foundation was that scripture was the only source of knowledge about God. Nature, for example, may contain some inkling of God, but this was partial due to the fall of man in Eden. Calvin’s theology emphasised the God-man nature of Jesus, the revelation of the Trinity and the glory of God, as well as insisting that the fall has meant that humans are incapable of doing any good.

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Contributed by: Richard P Whaite