Institutes of the Christian Religion
Overview
Theologian par excellence of the Reformation, John Calvin is best known for his Institutes of the Christian Religion, written as a theological introduction to the Bible and a vindication of Reformation principles. After appearing in several editions beginning in 1536, Calvin’s Institutes was finally published in this authoritative 1559 edition. This particular edition includes footnotes by translator Henry Beveridge and an additional set of footnotes from Robert Dunzweiler’s edition of the Institutes.
Top Highlights
“Hence we may infer, that the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols.” (source)
“Hence that dread and amazement with which as Scripture uniformly relates, holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God. When we see those who previously stood firm and secure so quaking with terror, that the fear of death takes hold of them, nay, they are, in a manner, swallowed up and annihilated, the inference to be drawn is that men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.” (source)
“That there exists in the human minds and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute, since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews and occasionally enlarges, that all to a man being aware that there is a God, and that he is their Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience when they neither worship him nor consecrate their lives to his service.” (source)
“We shall now have a full definition of faith284 if we say that it is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ,D57 and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit.” (source)
“because error never can be eradicated from the heart of man until the true knowledge of God has been implanted in it.” (source)
- Title: Institutes of the Christian Religion
- Author: John Calvin
- Publisher: Logos Bible Software
- Print Publication Date: 1997
- Logos Release Date: 2001
- Era: era:reformation
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Reformed Church › Doctrines; Theology, doctrinal
- Resource ID: LLS:42.110.15
- Resource Type: Systematic Theology
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-09-28T18:26:57Z
John Calvin (1509–1564), one of the most important thinkers in church history, was a prominent French theologian during the Protestant Reformation and the father of Calvinism. His theological works, biblical commentaries, tracts, treatises, sermons, and letters helped establish the Reformation throughout Europe.
Calvinism has spawned movements and sparked controversy throughout the centuries. Calvin began his work in the church at the age of 12, intending to train for the priesthood. Calvin attended the Collège de la Marche in Paris at 14, before studying law at the University of Orléans and continuing his studies at the University of Bourges.
In 1532, Calvin’s first published work appeared: a commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia. The controversy of calling for reform in the Catholic Church disciplined Calvin in his writing project, and he began working on the first edition of The Institutes of the Christian Religion, which appeared in 1536. Calvin’s Commentaries and The Letters of John Calvin are also influential; both appear in the Calvin 500 Collection.