Calvin by Bruce Gordon
Yale University Press, £25
John Calvin was born five hundred years ago, in 1509, yet his influence remains in Protestant churches today. There is a sizeable Calvinist movement in the Anglican church, for example. A deeply Christian man, he inspired great loyalty among his friends and followers but attracted serious enemies, too. Bruce Gordon’s biography is one of a number published to mark the reformer’s birth. It concentrates on the story of Calvin’s life, mainly via his letters, through which we see his theology develop. As such it is a good way to understand the man and the world in which he lived.
That we talk now about a part of the worldwide Christian church being “Protestant” is because European reformers challenged the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century. At the forefront was Martin Luther, who famously nailed his 95 theses to a church door in 1517. Calvin then provided the intellectual leadership which sustained the reform movement in the years, and centuries, after his death.
Calvin, born a Catholic in the town of Noyon in Picardy in France, was originally destined for the priesthood before deciding, on parental advice, to become a lawyer. While at Bourges he underwent a religious conversion to which he refers in his Commentary on the Book of Psalms and which corresponds with his break with Rome. Deciding there was no future for him in France he made his way to Geneva, which was famous for housing religious refugees who were being persecuted for challenging Roman Catholic beliefs and practices – many fellow believers were killed – and he set about reforming the church there.
The relationship between church and state – between religious belief and politics – was a deadly serious issue. The reformers were dedicated to understanding the Bible for themselves and for living lives and running the church in accordance with its teachings. Salvation came not from trying to do good or via a priest but by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Gordon suggests Calvin modelled himself on the apostle Paul, nurturing and teaching the church. This encouraged a sense of great responsibility but also could give a rather superior impression.
Calvin’s theology is most clearly evident in his Institutes, first published in 1536 and subsequently revised and expanded throughout his life. Calvin emphasised the Biblical message about the love and mercy of God towards human beings, all of whom deserved judgement. A person was not saved through his or her own actions but by God’s grace evident on the cross, and even their response was in some way God-given. This was in sharp contrast to religious beliefs that suggested people needed to do something themselves to persuade God to rescue them.
Calvin’s reputation has been marred by the execution of Servetus, an outspoken heretic, in 1553. Denying the existence of the Trinity (God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit) was illegal in Christian countries (Roman Catholic and Protestant) and Servetus faced the death penalty wherever he came out of hiding. He chose to appear in Geneva, where Calvin reported his presence. He was arrested and tried, with Calvin opposing his heresy, though also trying to reason with him. Found guilty, he was burned at the stake, with the authorities ignoring Calvin’s request that the sentence be commuted to death by sword.
The episode seems harsh and alien to us in the 21st century, with little sign of love and mercy. Gordon explains it well and emphasises that heresy was considered a moral issue. It threatened, too, the very existence of the faith. The Genevan magistrates who condemned Servetus to death were acting independently of Calvin. Nevertheless, though the heresy was not in doubt, the trial and sentence was used against Calvin by his enemies in subsequent years.
Calvin was intelligent but he seems to have been a very driven man, as this biography makes clear. Being Calvin’s friend was sometimes an uncomfortable experience, and one could receive very direct letters of admonishment. Calvin did engage seriously where there were genuine theological differences and recognised where differences went to the root of the faith and where they did not. There were many debates among the different reforming strands and indeed there were really distinct movements. Despite a posthumous reputation for intolerance, probably made worse by some later Calvinists, Calvin himself worked hard to reconcile the different strands of reformist theology.
Gordon, Professor of Reformation History at Yale Divinity School, has written a readable and comprehensive biography of Calvin’s life. I finished reading it wanting to engage further with the theology. Calvin was a man of great faith and commitment, highly intelligent and industrious, living in tough times. Like anyone, he also had his faults. Church reformers including those in Britain were influenced by him. He helped ensure the Protestant faith lived on and in doing so affected the lives of millions of people over the centuries.
Stephen Beer
