Calvin for the World
The Enduring Relevance of His Political, Social, and Economic Theology
About
John Calvin was arguably the most influential of the sixteenth-century Reformers. His supporters praise his transformative influence on the ecclesial, political, and economic spheres of modern life, while his detractors paint him as a ruthless proponent of theocracy. These conflicting images suggest there is more to Calvin than meets the eye.
In Calvin for the World, Rubén Rosario Rodríguez offers a creative engagement with Calvin's theological and political thought and a critical reclamation of the Reformer's legacy. Rosario Rodríguez presents Calvin's theology in historical context and explores his global impact by examining his views on a broad range of social and cultural issues, including those that pertain to political theology, migration and dislocation, nationalism, social welfare policies, revolution, racism, and religious pluralism. This book shows how Calvin's theological legacy impacted the formation of the modern world, its worldview, and its social institutions and presents Calvin as an engaging interlocutor on contemporary matters of social, political, racial, and economic justice.
This book will be ideal for professors and students of theology for use in courses on Calvin, the Reformation, and church history. It will also be of interest to pastors and church leaders.
Introduction: Why Calvin? Why Now?
1. Calvin's Theology of Public Life
The Biblical Foundations of Governance
Calvin on Civil Government
The Reception of Calvin's Political Thought
2. Calvin, Proto-liberationist?
Understanding Latin American Liberation Theology
The Pastoral Praxis of Archbishop Romero
John Calvin's Emancipatory Theology
3. The Undocumented Calvin
Refugees in Geneva
A Theology of Exile
Calvinist Missionaries in Sixteenth-Century Brazil
The Reformed Tradition's Migratory Identity
4. Calvin's Vision for an Ecumenical and Transnational Church
Calvin's "High" Ecclesiology and the Idolatry of Rome
The Promise of Communion Ecclesiology
Plural Ministries in Calvin's Ecclesiology
Martin Bucer's Influence on Calvin's Ecclesiology
5. The Cosmopolitan Calvin and Religious Intolerance
The Question of Religious Toleration
Jews and Muslims in the Protestant Reformation
The Case of Michael Servetus
Christianity and the Problem of Other Religions
6. A Scattered Inheritance--Calvin's Reception in Latin America
Understanding the Latin American Context
Protestantism and Democracy in Latin America
Presbyterian Missions in Latin America
Cotton Mather's Spanish Catechism
7. Calvin against Apartheid Calvinism
Black Resistance to Apartheid
Calvin's Role in the Church Struggles
Sacramental Theology and Human Liberation
Conclusion
Indexes
Endorsements
"In the perpetual struggle against historical amnesia, Rubén Rosario Rodríguez's helpful and timely book goes beyond simply demonstrating how Calvin's 'critics got it wrong' with their facile, reductionistic interpretations of the reformer's thought. Calvin for the World also offers a corrective to the facile and reductionistic tendencies of many of Calvin's friends. By setting Calvin's theology in its original contexts and following oft-neglected lineages of reception, Rosario Rodríguez illuminates the experiences of dislocation and migration that stand behind Calvin's vision for reform and unveils that vision's liberative potential for theologies during and since the Reformation era. This book invites Reformed believers to consider unexpected ways that their tradition might speak to pressing contemporary issues and center new voices that resonate more deeply with Calvinism's past than is often imagined."
Kenneth J. Woo, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"Why would a twenty-first century constructive theologian, especially one from a minority heritage, write a book on John Calvin that invites readers to take a second look? Rosario Rodríguez's Calvin for the World offers some thought-provoking answers. The creative fruit of twenty years of teaching, this lively text ranges over many topics that contemporary people would see as their own concerns--from apartheid, to immigration, to Christian engagement in public life, to liberation theology, and more. Professor Rosario Rodríguez shares the exciting surprises that his students have encountered when he has brought voices from many contexts into dialogue with Calvin, and he makes a good case that the so-called dictator of Geneva has something relevant to say today, that this long misread (or rather, unread) pastor is a viable and even worthwhile conversation partner on these 'modern' issues. Rosario Rodríguez never glosses over Calvin's legendary negative reputation. However, by a combination of historical context and fascinating comparisons with figures like Bartolomé de Las Casas, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Thomas More, Allan Boesak, Cotton Mather, and Archbishop Romero, he draws out grounds for reconsidering whether Calvin just might be a more valuable resource for contemporary thought than the old stereotypes would suggest."
Elsie McKee, Archibald Alexander Professor of Reformation Studies and the History of Worship, Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
"Calvin for the World shows us what it looks like to thoughtfully engage with a theological giant who bears a complicated legacy and yet still says much that may be of value for us today: not pretending or ignoring but also not canceling or forgetting. In Rubén Rosario Rodríguez's capable hands, Calvin is revealed to be a proto-liberationist by the lights of his own convictions as he is interpreted through the genius of his most radical followers."
Jonathan Tran, author of Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism
"This book by Rubén Rosario Rodríguez is an excellent contribution to the analysis of the importance of John Calvin as a leader of the emerging Protestant Christian theology. Rosario Rodríguez carefully analyzes the various aspects of Calvinist thought and their implications for the convergences between Calvinism, Lutheranism, and Catholicism. It includes the importance of support for impoverished people and the possibility of coming together in ecumenical relationships that highlight convergences rather than contradictions. I recommend attentive and careful reading of this extraordinary book."
Luis N. Rivera-Pagán, Henry Winters Luce Professor of Ecumenics, emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary
"Rosario Rodríguez has written a comprehensive analysis of Calvin's theology, practical ministry, and recommendations for Christians in social, economic, and political relations. It addresses Calvin's challenge to sixteenth-century Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anabaptist theologies while also considering how Calvin's theology and practical ministry have influenced Christian involvement in matters of economic justice, government, immigration, and race policy in Latin America and South Africa from Calvin's time to our own. This book is valuable for scholars, students, pastors, and church classes."
Harlan Beckley, Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion, emeritus, and founding director of the Shepherd Program on Poverty and Human Capability, Washington and Lee University
The Author
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Rubén Rosario Rodríguez
Rubén Rosario Rodríguez (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary), an ordained Presbyterian minister, holds the Clarence Louis and Helen Steber Professorship in Theological Studies and directs the Mev Puleo Program in Latin American...
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