A Reader's Guide to Calvin's Institutes

by Lane, Anthony N. S.

• ISBN13: 9780801037313
• ISBN10: 080103731X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-01
• Publisher: Baker Academic

Summary

John Calvin's Institutes is one of the great classics of Christian theology. Now, at the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth, a leading Calvin expert offers an affordable guide to reading the Institutes (keyed to the McNeill/Battles translation).The book includes selected readings and annotations to offer a streamlined introduction to the heart of Calvin's theology. Dividing the Institutes into thirty-two portions, the author has chosen an average of eighteen pages to be read from each to cover the whole range of the Institutes. The notes guide readers through the text, concentrating on the sections chosen for reading and summarizing the material. An introduction and questions at the beginning of each portion direct the reader's attention to important points.

Author Biography

Anthony N. S. Lane (DD, University of Oxford) is professor of historical theology and director of research at the London School of Theology. He is the author of A Concise History of Christian Thought, John Calvin: Student of the Church Fathers, Justification by Faith in Catholic-Protestant Dialogue, and The Lion Christian Classics Collection. A world-class Calvin scholar, he abridged the Institutes into a popular student edition and also edited the translation of Calvin's Bondage and Liberation of the Will.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations	p. 7
How to Use This Book	p. 9
John Calvin and His Institutes	p. 11
Introduction to the Notes	p. 23
Reading Guide
Introductory Material (pp. 3-8; "Prefatory Address")	p. 27
The Knowledge of God the Creator	p. 33
Knowing God and Ourselves (1.1-4)	p. 35
God Revealed in Creation (1.5)	p. 38
The Bible and the Holy Spirit (1.6-9)	p. 42
Idolatry and the Trinity (1.11-13)	p. 49
The Created World and Humanity as Created (1.14-15)	p. 53
God's Sovereign Providence (1.16-18)	p. 57
The Knowledge of god the Redeemer in Christ	p. 63
Original Sin (2.1-2.3.5)	p. 65
How God Works in the Human Heart (2.3.6-2.5)	p. 71
The Place of the Law (2.6-7)	p. 75
Exposition of the Moral Law (2.8)	p. 79
Relation between the Old and New Testaments (2.9-11)	p. 83
The Person of Jesus Christ (2.12-14)	p. 87
The Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ (2.15-17)	p. 91
The Way in Which We Receive the Grace of Christ	p. 95
Saving Faith (3.1-2)	p. 97
Regeneration and Repentance (3.3-5)	p. 101
The Christian Life: Self-Denial (3.6-7)	p. 105
The Christian Life: Bearing Our Cross and Attitude toward This Life (3.8-10)	p. 108
Justification by Faith (3.11.1-3.14.8)	p. 112
The Value of Our Good Works (3.14.9-3.18)	p. 116
The True Nature of Christian Freedom (3.19)	p. 121
Prayer (3.20)	p. 124
Election and Reprobation (3.21-23)	p. 128
Predestination and the Final Resurrection (3.24-25)	p. 132
The External Means or Aids	p. 137
The True Church (4.1)	p. 139
The Roman Church and the Christian Ministry (4.2-7)	p. 143
The Authority of the Church (4.8-9)	p. 148
Church Discipline (4.10-13)	p. 151
The Sacraments in General (4.14; 4.19)	p. 155
Baptism and Infant Baptism (4.15-16)	p. 159
The Lord's Supper (4.17-18)	p. 163
Civil Government (4.20)	p. 170
Appendix Table of Reading Lengths	p. 173
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.