Calvin for Armchair Theologians
Christopher Elwood
I suppose I am revealing myself here by starting with this one. Yes, I do consider myself a Calvinist and at the same time I struggle with the label because it often carries unfair baggage with it. Some have unhelpfully distorted the teaching of John Calvin and others have taken it to an extreme beyond what even Calvin himself would recognize. The result is that being a Calvinist is for some a label just shy of being called a puritan. (I like that idea as well but for reasons I can’t explain here)
The book is described on google as “An introduction to the life and main teachings of John Calvin (1509-1564), this book blends Calvin’s theology into the story of his life to provide those with no knowledge of the Genevan reformer with a concise picture of his key theological views.”
This was one of the audio books I explored over the summer. It was so good I listened to most of it twice! Having read some of Calvin’s Institutes and heard lectures on him, I was really seeking a rounded summary of the man and his ideas. I was not disappointed! The fun thing about listening to the audio version was that it is read by a Brit ,which made it sound a bit like listening to Harry Potter books as the reader on those audio books has the same posh, well educated accent. I highly recommend it and in fact discovered that you can read this book online for free! Or you can borrow my CD version. The armchair series has a variety of people covered. The next one I will be exploring is Augustine.
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