I grew up in a church culture in which when the central charismatic figure spoke everyone dutifully nodded their heads, scribbled his wisdom in their Bible’s margins, and then proceeded to begin all subsequent conversations with, “Well, Pastor C- says….” Of course, that culture isn’t unique to that particular fellowship of churches. It’s part and parcel of evangelicalism: we need our heroes. You might wonder then about the appropriateness of all the fuss being made over the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birthday. After all, here was a man who wished to be buried in an unmarked grave, who would be horrified to see his picture emblazoned on the t-shirts of the young Calvinists, and who just might reconsider Rome if he saw his visage on a bobble-head doll. That’s why you won’t read any articles in this issue of Modern Reformation that exalt Calvin the man or even Calvin the theologian. We have not gathered here to praise John Calvin! Instead, we’re asking-as observers of the Protestant scene Calvin helped to create-if Calvin even matters anymore.
It’s beyond dispute that the sort of Christianity most of us know and practice has been affected in at least some small way by John Calvin’s theology and practice in Geneva, mediated through the refugees who spent time in Geneva before returning to their homelands as a new generation of reformers. But it’s not at all clear that the future of Christianity, not even Protestantism, perhaps not even the Reformed and Presbyterian branches of the church, need Calvin or still find Calvin relevant five hundred years down the road. To answer that question, our editor-in-chief Michael Horton returns not to Calvin’s influence in Geneva or through church history, but to his God-centered, gospel-saturated theology. In whatever ways we have ceased to find Calvin relevant, he argues, we have ceased to believe the same gospel that enlivened the Reformation. Dr. Horton, of course, is a “Calvinist,” so you might expect him to say something like that. We’re also pleased to reprint an important essay from Roman Catholic scholar Father Dennis Tamburello, which makes much the same point: the genius of Calvin’s influence wasn’t his reforms or his personality, it was his Christ-centered theology, and that should never fail to move us or realign our thinking and practices as Christians.
In the center of the magazine, you’ll find a series of smaller, bite-sized articles that explore the many different facets of thought that helped flesh out Calvin’s theology. Ten Calvin scholars covering a broad range of traditions and sensibilities take on particular elements of Calvin’s doctrine and practice to give us a well-rounded understanding of this important Reformer. We’re grateful to FitzSimmons Allison, Peter Anders, R. Scott Clark, Alexandre Ganoczy, Paul Helm, Serene Jones, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Keith Mathison, Lawrence Rast, and David VanDrunen for participating in this historic collection.
The magazine concludes with a bit of a travelogue for those of you unable to attend all the festivities in Geneva this year. Doug Bond retraces Calvin’s footsteps from his birth and early training to his conversion, ministry, and death. Through his descriptive prose, Calvin’s world comes alive again in our pages.
We hope you enjoy this special issue of Modern Reformation magazine. We’re back in just a few short weeks with our July/August issue, “A Feast in a Fast-Food World.” It’s not too late to send a friend or colleague a gift subscription to Modern Reformation. If you give a gift subscription by the end of July, we’ll start their year with this special issue as our gift, too.
Eric Landry
Executive Editor
