Table Of ContentJOHN CALVIN AS SIXTEENTH-CENTURY
PROPHET
John Calvin as
Sixteenth-Century
Prophet
JON BALSERAK
1
3
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To the memory of David F. Wright
Acknowledgments
ThefirstthingIeverreadfromCalvinwastheprefacewhichhewrote
tohiscommentaryonthePsalms.Ihadnoideaatthetimethatwhat
Iwasperusing held such aunique placewithinhisbody of writings.
Irecallreadingquitepersonaldetailsaboutthismanandhiscallingto
serve within the Christian church and being, if I may say, charmed
by his openness. Twenty-seven years later, it is interesting for me to
pondertheinfluencewhichthatfirstencounterwithCalvinmayhave
hadonmeandonthewritingofthisbook.Iinterpretitasaninfluence
forgood.Mywifeusuallyhasotherideas,particularlywhenshesees
thatIhavepurchasedyetanothertomeaboutthisstrangeindividual.
While writing the present study, I have benefitted enormously from
thatsamewife,Bilgay(despitehermisgivingsaboutCalvin);fromher
unselfishencouragementandherprobingquestions.
Ihavealsoprofitedfromthewealthoferuditionandacumenthat
Calvin scholars, medievalists, and Early Modern historians have
lavished on the subjects of prophecy, French history, religious iden-
tity,war,andchurchreform.IamparticularlygratefultoErikdeBoer
for allowing me to read the manuscript of his new monograph on
Calvin’s congrégation before its publication. Thanks are also due to
Bruce Gordon for directing my attention to discussions of prophecy
written by Theodor Bibliander of which I was unaware and for
allowingmetoreadhisexcellenttreatmentofBiblianderonprophecy
prior to its publication. Max Engammare, Sujin Pak, and Barbara
Pitkin participated, with me, in a session at the 2011 Sixteenth
Century Studies Conference (SCSC) in Fort Worth at which some
of the ideas found in this book were presented and discussed. I am
grateful to them for their constructive comments and also to those
whoattendedoursession.Presentationsatthreeotherconferences—
the International Colloquium on Calvin Research (in Bloemfontein,
South Africa, 2010), the Renaissance Society of America Conference
(in Washington, DC, 2012), and the Society for French Historical
StudiesConference(inBoston,USA,2013)—alsoyieldedveryhelpful
results.Inrelationtothese,andother,gatheringsthroughoutthelast
four years, I should express my appreciation to a number of people
including Olivier Millet, Peter Wilcox, Emidio Campi, Peter Opitz,
viii Acknowledgments
Robert Kingdon, Randall Zachman, John Thompson, Shannon
Miller, Amy Nelson Burnett, Ann Blair, and Sara Beam. Herman
Selderhuis’ invitation, in late 2008, to speak at the “Saint or Sinner”
conference,inPutencelebratingJohnCalvin’sbirthiswhatspawned
myinterestinthistopic,sosincerethanksareduetohimaswell.
Research for this monograph was made possible, in part, by a
generous University Research Fellowship which I won from The
Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol, and which
allowed me to take research leave for the academic year 2011 to
2012. My leave, which I took in Philadelphia at the University of
Pennsylvania,wasmadeeasierbythehelpoftheirlibrarians.Specif-
ically, John Pollack and Lynne Farrington have been tremendously
helpful,ashasLapisDavidCohen,whoassistedmeingainingaccess
to the 1551 printing of Calvin’s Isaiah commentary, Ioannis Calvini
Commentarii in Isaiam prophetam...(Geneva: ex officina Ioannis
Crispini,1551).AnnMatterandTomSafleyhelpedmakemytimeat
Penn both fruitful and enjoyable. I thank them for their friendship
and for sharing their insights into so many areas of scholarship. My
colleagues at the University of Bristol are due my thanks as well for
theirconstantencouragement.
LizzieRobottom,ofOxfordUniversityPress,hasbeenapleasureto
workwith.Mythanksarealsoduetothreeanonymousreadersofmy
manuscriptfortheirinvaluablesuggestionsandcomments.
I have dedicated this work to my doktorvater and friend, David
F.Wright,whopassedawayon19February2008.Irecall,atthestart
ofmyPh.D.studiesattheUniversityofEdinburgh,beingsoterrified
of my first Latin reading session with David that I contemplated
skipping it. I’m glad I didn’t. I count it an enormous privilege to
havestudiedunderhim.Heisstill,inmyeyes,anabsolutegiantboth
asascholarandanindividual.
J.B.
30May2013,thefeastdayofStJoanofArc
Philadelphia,USA
Whyareprophetsandteacherssent?
Thattheymayreducetheworldtoorder.
Calvin,fromhislectureonJeremiah
1:9–10;CO37:480
Description:John Calvin as Sixteenth-Century Prophet examines Calvin's sense of vocation. Jon Balserak argues that Calvin believed himself to be a prophet "placed over nations and kingdoms to tear down and destroy, to build and to plant" (Jer 1: 10). With this authority, Calvin pursued an expansionist agenda wh
