Yale University Press releases new Calvin biography
June 16, 2009One Comment
July 10 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. On that day Yale University Press will release what some scholars are predicting will become the standard work on the life of John Calvin. Authored by Yale’s Professor of Reformation History, Bruce Gordon, the book presents Calvin from a perspective many admirers of Calvin will find unique.
I’m only about 25% of the way through my copy, so I will withhold a complete commentary until I’ve finished it. I will admit, however, to skipping ahead to the section that covers Calvin’s treatment of the heretic Michael Servetus. Suffice it to say that Gordon’s handling of the history around this controversial event makes it clear that he is approaching Calvin’s life dispassionately and objectively.
The book will be released on June 22, 2009. Read more here.
I have always wondered, is Michael Servetus considered a heretic because of his views on the Trinity (or lack there of), or because he did not believe that infant baptism was commanded by God as Calvin did: “infants cannot be deprived of it[baptism] without open violation of the will of God” (Inst.4, 16, 8)?