Blogging The Institutes

In the English-speaking web there is an abundance of great Christian resources and blogs. One that I've just subscribed to is Blogging The Institutes. A group of Christian leaders are reading John Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion.

Would you believe that Calvin is no big deal in France? Yes, we're celebrating his 500th birthday, but I don't know if many people actually know anything about the man. I think the Catholic influence here never took kindly to Calvin's strong criticism. He's just known for two clichés: condemning people to be burned to the stake and founding a strict religion where people are predestined to hell.

I don't have the theological savvy of all the English bloggers out there, nor do I have the time. But I'm working my way through The Institutes and enjoying myself. Did you know that The Institutes are the first theological work published in the French language? In Calvin's day, every serious book was published in Latin. In fact his first edition was in Latin, but he then translated his book into French so that it could be read by a larger number. It became one of the greatest books in the French language.

I Think My Wife's a Calvinist Video

You've probably seen this. But I watched this video for the first time and had a good laugh.

John Calvin? Who's that?

2009 is the 500th birthday of John Calvin. What's cool is that he's a French dude and we're still talking about him 500 years later. Cooler still is the fact that he was a Christian and coolest of all is that this guy wrote amazing Christ-centered books of theology, in French. It takes a Frenchman to understand how cool that last statement was.

So on my To Read list for 2009 is a landmark book, The Institutes of Christian Religion. I hear so much about Calvin and by my protestant roots deeply indebted to the work of the man, but I realize I don't know him yet. I intend to remedy that before the year is over.

If you want to know more about a dead guy that is still famous (500 years later), you can start here.