No, not the kid in the cartoon strip with the toy tiger, but the great theologian whose writings set the course of much of Protestant theology, and as a result, Western culture. I think John Calvin was a very smart guy who got a lot of stuff right, but some of the interpretations of his theology that go by the name “Calvinism” sometimes go to some wrong extremes.
Here’s a few interesting Calvin-related articles and stuff from around the web:
- The New York Times: Man of Contradictions, Shaper of Modernity – article looking at Calvin’s influence, and how there’s much more to him than the caricature of a grim authoritarian obsessed with predestination!
- Theology Network: Introducting… John Calvin – three talks introducing Calvin’s life and theology by Mike Reeves, UCCF’s theological advisor.
- Homebrewed Christianity Podcast: Happy 500th Birthday to John Calvin with Paul Capetz.
- Desiring God Conferences: With Calvin in the Theatre of God has lots of interesting videos about Calvin.
- Discussion of Calvin’s 500th birthday on the Ship of Fools forum.
- I’ve also written a few thoughts on Calvin, and why I don’t think Calvin and free will were necessarily enemies.
One final thought from Acts29 on Twitter:
John Calvin is still dead (~500 years) and Jesus is still alive (~2000 years). Just sayin’
