The Tenth International Congress on Calvin Research took place at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. »Reconciliation« was choosen as the overall theme of the plenary papers in order to relate scholarly research to present day issues and, in this case, the recent history of South Africa. It is noteworthy that all presenters have managed to deal with this topic in various ways and without doing injustice to academic standards. Even a good number of short papers took notice of the theme and all of this results in this volume, in which the latest in Research on Calvin is presented.Other than some had expected, the attention for Calvin did not decline after the Calvin Year 2009 in which so many conferences were held and so many books were published. Bloemfontein proved that quite the opposite is true, namely that the 500th celebration of Calvin's birthday gave a boost to research and encouraged many young scholars and from a growing number of countries to deal with the Genevan's theology, biography and influence.

This comprehensive systematic theology by respected theologian Robert Letham covers the whole field of Reformed Christian doctrine from biblical, historical, and theological angles. Letham begins with God's ultimate selfrevelation as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in indivisible union, continuing on with the works of God in creation, providence, and grace. He draws deeply from Scripture and important voices from the church to provide a clear and concise articulation of the Reformed faith. He also addresses current issues such as feminism, charismatic gifts, sexual ethics, environmentalism, other religions, the nature of truth, and civil liberties. Each chapter is followed by discussion questions, with a glossary of terms included at the end. This work grounds theological understanding and practice in the life and ministry of the church, accessible to pastors, students, scholars, and anyone who desires to understand, believe, and live scriptural doctrine more fully.

In her work Rebekah Earnshaw provides an analysis of Creator and creation according to Calvin on Genesis. This offers a new theological reading of Calvin's Genesis commentary and sermons, with an eye to systematic interests. This analysis is presented in four chapters: The Creator, The Agent and Act of Creation, Creatures, and Providence. Calvin on Genesis gives unique insights into each of these. First, the Creator has priority in Calvin's thought. The Creator is l'Eternal, who is infinitely distinct and abundantly for creatures in his virtues. Second, the agent of creation is triune and the act of creation is "from nothing" as well as in and with time. This is a purposeful beginning. Third, Calvin affirms creaturely goodness and order. The relation of humans and animals illustrates Calvin's holistic view of creation as well as the impact of corruption and disorder. Providential sustenance and concursus are closely tied to the nature of creatures and the initial word. Fourth, fatherly governance for the church is presented separately and demonstrated by Calvin's treatment of Abraham and Joseph. Earlier presentations of Calvin on Creator and creation are incomplete, because of the lack of sustained attention to Calvin on Genesis. This analysis supplements works that concentrated on the Institutes and Calvin on Job, by bringing new material to bear. Further, throughout this analysis lies the implicit example of a biblical theologian, who pursues what is useful from scripture for the sake of piety in the church. Insights from Calvin's thought on Genesis provide a foundation for systematic work that reflects on this locus and the integrated practice of theology.

This collection of essays in honour of Anthony N. S. Lane has two main foci, picking up themes which resonate with some of Lane's most important work. The first broad theme is the reception of the thought of earlier generations of biblical interpreters and theologians. The essays here explore various facets of reception history-textual transmission, the identification of editions used, the deployment of these sources in doctrinal formulation, in polemic, and in relation to the contested site of 'catholicity'. The second broad theme is engagement with other confessional identities and allegiances. The essays presented here shed light on the past and stimulate contemporary theological reflection.

Closely entwined with the educational revolution of early modernity, the Reformation transformed the pedagogical landscape and culture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Embracing a broad understanding of the Reformation this volume examines the confessional dynamics which shaped the educational transformations of early modernity, including Calvinists, Lutherans, Anabaptists and Roman Catholics in its scope. Going beyond conventional emphases on the role of the printing press and theological education of clergy in university settings, it also explores the education of laity in academies, schools and the home in all manner of topics including theology, history, natural philosophy and ethics. More well-known figures like John Calvin and Philipp Melanchthon are examined alongside less-well known but important figures like Caspar Coolhaes and Lukas Osiander. Likewise, more prominent centres of reform including Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands are considered together with often overlooked locations like the Czech Republic and Denmark.

Students of the Reformation identify and elucidate areas of sixteenth century reforming exegesis, theology and activity in Martin Luther, John Calvin and other leading reformers to demonstrate the thoroughgoing nature of the Reformation agenda.

Suk Yu Chan provides a revisit of John Calvin's interpretation of the doctrine of divine providence and builds upon a vast repository of quality research conducted by previous Reformation scholars. The author adopts a historical approach to explore Calvin's works from 1534–1559, and argues that from 1534–1541, Calvin used the image of the fountain to portray God as the source of everything, who has power to preserve and give life to all creatures on earth. Between the Latin edition of the Institutes in 1539 and the French translation of that work in 1541, Calvin was indecisive about the definition of special providence, articulating a fitful relationship between providence and soteriology in these two texts. In 1552, Calvin gradually ceased using the image of the fountain to portray God as the source of everything, and he also delivered three definitions of divine providence: general providence, special providence, and the very presence of God. Based on the theological understanding of divine providence which he had developed from 1534–1552, Calvin presented his exegesis on the Book of Job and the Book of Psalms through his sermons and commentaries. Furthermore, Calvin also discussed the importance of the human role in God's providence. While Calvin's theological understanding of God's providence was inherited by his successor, Theodore Beza, Beza applied it differently in his exegesis on the Book of Job. From 1534–1559, Calvin formulated his biblical doctrine of divine providence, articulating that divine providence is heavenly providence which is comprised of eternal predestination and divine preservation.

How does John Calvin view the church? And how does the pivotal event of Pentecost influence his view on the church? In his commentary on the Acts of the Apostles Calvin shows how Pentecost and the preaching of the Gospel gives rise to the church. For Calvin the new and peculiar aspect of Pentecost is articulated by the phrases »I will pour out« and »on all flesh« (Acts 2:17). The first phrase ("I will pour out") leads to a discussion of the Holy Spirit who leads the church and the believers by the Word and his secret guidance. All gifts flow from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the study focuses on Calvin's view on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and on their use in church. The author argues that the gifts of the Spirit are the basis of Calvin's interpretation of Christian church. The second phrase ("on all flesh") leads to a discussion of the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church. The author treats different ecclesiologic topics of importance: He analyses the most important aspects of church that Calvin identifies in the book of Acts. His reflections are aiming at a convincing theological appreciation of the sacraments, in particular of the sacrament of baptism. By addressing Calvin's thoughts as elements of his historical context and including contemporary impulses to these issues, the author is able to present conclusive arguments for his main claim: Calvin's commentary on Acts enriches and qualifies Calvin's own systematic ecclesiology as found in his main doctrinal work, the Institutes.

What did Paul mean when he wrote that the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom? Through close analysis of the sixteenth-century reception of Paul's discourses of folly, this book examines the role of the New Testament in the development of what Erasmus and John Calvin refer to as the “Christian philosophy.” Erasmus and Calvin on the Foolishness of God reveals the importance of Pauline rhetoric in the development of humanist critiques of scholasticism while charting the formation of a specifically affective approach to religious epistemology and theological method. As the first book-length examination of Calvin's indebtedness to Erasmus, which also considers the participation of Bullinger, Pellikan, and Melanchthon in an Erasmian exegetical milieu, it is a case study in the complicated cross-confessional exchange of ideas in the sixteenth century. Kirk Essary examines assumptions about the very nature of theology in the sixteenth century, how it was understood by leading humanist reformers, and how ideas about philosophy and rhetoric were received, appropriated, and shared in a complex intellectual and religious context.

James E. Bruce explores the relationship between morality and God's free choices in the thought of Francis Turretin (1623–1687). The first book-length treatment of Turretin's natural law theory, Rights in the Law provides an important theological backdrop to Early Modern moral and political philosophy. Turretin affirms Thomas Aquinas's approach to the natural law, calling it the common opinion of the Reformed orthodox, but he develops it, too, by introducing a threefold scheme of right (ius)—divine, natural, and positive—to explain how change within the law is possible. For example, God can change the specific day for Sabbath observance from Saturday to Sunday—from positive right—without changing the natural law precept that finite creatures ought to rest. Yet even with respect to the natural law God is still free. God can make a world in which there is no such thing as murder: he can choose not to make a world that contains such a thing as man. What God cannot do is make a murderable man. So God's free choices determine the natural law insofar as the natural law is constituted by the nature of the things that God has chosen to create.