Tracts and Letters of John Calvin
7 Volume Set
500 in stock
Weight | 10.52 lbs |
---|---|
Dimensions | 8.8 × 5.75 × 8.9 in |
ISBN | 9780851519876 |
Binding | Cloth-bound |
Topic | Church Life, Encouragement, Life Issues |
Original Pub Date | 1564 (actually 1858) |
Banner Pub Date | Feb 1, 2009 |
Page Count | 3488 |
Format | Book |
Book Description
Long unavailable the republication of Calvin’s Tracts and Letters will delight all who have come to delight in the writings of the sixteenth-century reformer of Geneva.
3 Vols of Tracts
Three volumes of Tracts comprise some of Calvin’s most important writings. Volume 1 begins with the Life of Calvin written by his close friend and colleague, Theodore Beza. An outline of Calvin’s life and work by an eye-witness and intimate friend, it will never be entirely superseded by any other biography. There follows several miscellaneous Tracts relating to the reformation, which all have a strong bearing on the leading points at issue between Roman Catholics and Protestants. Among them is the famous exchange with Cardinal Sadaleto and The Necessity of Reforming the Church.
The Tracts contained in the second volume discuss subjects which are of the highest importance in themselves. They range widely over a very extensive field, presenting us both with general summaries of the Truth, in its most elementary form (Calvin’s Catechism, etc.), and also with learned and profound treatments of more difficult points, particularly the nature of our Saviour’s Presence in the Supper.
The four Tracts that comprise the third volume, were selected partly on account of their own intrinsic value, and partly on account of the additional interest which recent controversies have given to some of the subjects considered in them. They contain lucid discussions on all the leading points in the controversy with Rome, furnish wholesome advice in answer to a question which once was, and will probably again become, of great practical importance (The True Method of Reforming the Church and Healing Her Divisions); and refute the wild dogma which a kind of infidel fanaticism had devised, asserting, that in the interval between death and the final judgment the soul remains in a state of sleep or unconscious existence.
All the Tracts sustain the reputation of their distinguished author; and, considering their controversial nature, do not often display the virulent spirit and intemperate language for which modern critics all too often condemn Calvin.
4 Vols of Letters
The man who regularly lectured to theological students, preached on average five times a week and authored enough material to fill forty-eight enormous volumes could scarcely be expected to show enthusiasm for correspondence. Yet in the Complete Works of John Calvin there are to be found no less than eleven volumes of his correspondence!
Calvin wrote to kings and princes, reformers and friends, nobility and common people alike. His letters discuss affairs of State, but also the most mundane problems of everyday life, and through them all is revealed a man of deep pastoral concern, consistent and exemplary evangelistic zeal, with a humble sense of the final authority of God and his word.
The four volumes of letters in this edition range from 1528 to the year of the reformer’s death in 1564, and are of enormous historical interest. But their permanent significance lies in the reminder they provide of a great work of God, and the example they set of compassionate Christian care, and a deep concern for the advance of the gospel wherever it is proclaimed. Calvin’s personal ambition undergirds each letter: ‘It is enough that I live and die for Christ who is to his followers a gain both in life and in death.’
Table of Contents Expand ↓
Volume 1 | ||
Life Of John Calvin, By Theodore Beza | Xvii | |
Letter By James Sadolet, A Roman Cardinal, To The Senate And People Of Geneva | 3 | |
Reply By John Calvin To Letter By Cardinal Sadolet To The Senate And People Of Geneva | 25 | |
Articles Agreed Upon By The Faculty Of Sacred Theology Of Paris, With The Antidote | 72 | |
The Necessity Of Reforming The Church | 123 | |
A Paternal Admonition By The Roman Pontiff, Paul Iii To The Most Invincible Emperor, Charles V | 237 | |
Remarks On The Letter Of Pope Paul Iii | 257 | |
An Admonition, Showing The Advantages Which Christendom Might Derive From An Inventory Of Relics | 289 | |
Volume 2 | ||
Translator’S Preface | vii | |
I | Catechisim Of The Church Of Geney A | 33 |
II | Forms Of Prayer | 95 |
III | Form Of Administering The Sacraments | 114 |
IV | Visitation Of The Sick | 127 |
V | Brief Confession Of Faith | 130 |
VI | Confession Of Faith Of The Reformed Churches Of France | 137 |
VII | Short Treatise On The Lord’S Supper | 163 |
VIII | Mutual Consent As To The Sacraments | 199 |
IX | Second Defence Of The Sacraments | 245 |
X | Last Admonition To Joachim Westphal | 346 |
XI | True Partaking Of The Flesh And Blood Of Christ | 495 |
XII | Best Method Of Concord On The Sacraments | 573 |
Volume 3 | ||
Translator’S Preface | vii | |
I | Canons And Decrees Of The Council Of Trent, With The Antidote | 17 |
II | Adultero-German Interim, With Calvin’S Refutation, And | 189 |
The True Method Of Reforming The Church And Healing Her Divisions | 240 | |
III | The Sinfulness Of Outward Conformity To Romish Rites | 359 |
IV | Psychopannychia; Or, The Soul’S Imaginary Sleep Between Death And Judgment | 413 |
Volume 4 | ||
Letters Sent In 1528 | 25 | |
Letters Sent In 1529 | 27 | |
Letters Sent In 1530 | 30 | |
Letters Sent In 1532 | 31 | |
Letters Sent In 1533 | 35 | |
Letters Sent In 1534 | 41 | |
Letters Sent In 1536 | 42 | |
Letters Sent In 1537 | 47 | |
Letters Sent In 1538 | 60 | |
Letters Sent In 1539 | 104 | |
Letters Sent In 1540 | 171 | |
Letters Sent In 1541 | 225 | |
Letters Sent In 1542 | 311 | |
Letters Sent In 1543 | 364 | |
Letters Sent In 1544 | 403 | |
Letters Sent In 1545 | 434 | |
Volume 5 | ||
Letters Sent In 1545 | 15 | |
Letters Sent In 1546 | 26 | |
Letters Sent In 1547 | 94 | |
Letters Sent In 1548 | 157 | |
Letters Sent In 1549 | 201 | |
Letters Sent In 1550 | 257 | |
Letters Sent In 1551 | 287 | |
Letters Sent In 1552 | 331 | |
Letters Sent In 1553 | 384 | |
Volume 6 | ||
Letters Sent In 1554 | 15 | |
Letters Sent In 1555 | 114 | |
Letters Sent In 1556 | 247 | |
Letters Sent In 1557 | 308 | |
Letters Sent In 1558 | 390 | |
Volume 7 | ||
Letters Sent In 1559 | 15 | |
Letters Sent In 1560 | 87 | |
Letters Sent In 1561 | 161 | |
Letters Sent In 1562 | 252 | |
Letters Sent In 1563 | 286 | |
Letters Sent In 1564 | 348 | |
Last Discourses Of Calvin | ||
Last Will And Testament Of Master John Calvin | 365 | |
Calvin’S Farewell To The Seigneurs Of Geneva | 369 | |
Calvin’S Farewell To The Ministers Of Geneva | 372 | |
Appendix | ||
Letters Sent In 1534 | 381 | |
Letters Sent In 1538 | 382 | |
Letters Sent In 1539 | 400 | |
Letters Sent In 1546 | 405 | |
Letters Sent In 1548 | 409 | |
Letters Sent In 1552 | 413 | |
Letters Sent In 1553 | 419 | |
Letters Sent In 1555 | 421 | |
Letters Sent In 1557 | 427 | |
Letters Sent In 1558 | 429 | |
An Historical Calumny Refuted | 434 | |
XVI | To Monseigneur, Monseigneur Du Poet, General Of Religion In Dauphiny | 438 |
XVII | Monseigneur, Monseigneur Du Poet, Grand Chamberlain Of Navarre And Governor Of The Town Of Montelimart At Crest | 439 |
XVIII | A Baron Of Dauphiny | 441 |
Review
More items to consider:
Collected Writings of John Murray
Volume 4: Studies in Theology
Description
Long unavailable, the republication of Calvin’s Tracts and Letters will delight all who have come to appreciate the 16th-century reformer’s writings—3 volumes of tracts; 4 volumes of letters. 456–592pp. per volume.
The Works of John Bunyan
Volume 1: Experimental, Doctrinal and Practical
Description
Long unavailable, the republication of Calvin’s Tracts and Letters will delight all who have come to appreciate the 16th-century reformer’s writings—3 volumes of tracts; 4 volumes of letters. 456–592pp. per volume.
Titus –
Highly recommended. The first three volumes of treatises are indispensable literature from the sixteenth century. The last four volumes of letters show Calvin the man and the pastor. Biographers of Calvin always say that really to acquaint yourself with him, you should read his letters. I now see why.
The treatises are available for free online, but as usually the hardcover books from Banner are of high quality. I expect to pass these down to my son–if I don’t buy him a set of his own before then.