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Article: Theologian in the service of piety: a new portrait of Calvin. (John Calvin)(includes bibliography)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- April 23, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When I was a student at Yale Divinity School a friend of mine gave me a pamphlet much like those handed out by street evangelists. This one was a parody of the five articles of the Synod of Dort, a 17th-century document long considered to represent the essence of John Calvin's theology. The tract's cover declared in bold block letters, "God hates you and has a horrible plan for your life."
The title accurately summarizes the impression most people have of Calvin and his theology, including many within the academic community. Encyclopedia articles about Calvin feature a fairly predictable cluster of terms skill associated with his name: strict, moralistic, ...