John Calvin, Refugee Theologian
Introducing a Reformer in Exile
About
This book offers a robust introduction to John Calvin's writings through the lens of his experience as a religious refugee.
Calvin knew about persecution and political exile from personal experience. He lived as an exiled fugitive engaged in pastoral ministry to a church that included large numbers of immigrants and refugees. Calvin's teaching also addressed an international community experiencing religious violence and displacement in his day. In this engaging book, Kenneth Woo demonstrates how Calvin sought to make the comfort he found in God accessible to others through sermons, commentaries, letters, polemical treatises, and his magisterial Institutes. In his distinct-yet-inseparable roles as teacher, pastor, and polemicist, the reformer adapted his message of hope in exile to diverse audiences. Woo shows how Calvin's theology is an example of Reformed Christianity's refugee roots and history of pastoral care from the margins. And in a brief conclusion, he offers reflections on what a greater awareness of Calvin as refugee theologian could mean for those engaging his theology today.
John Calvin, Refugee Theologian helps students read Calvin for themselves, attuned to how his theology reflected dynamics of religious violence and migration in his day, making this book especially useful for undergraduate and seminary classes on Calvin, the Reformation, and the history of Christianity. It will also appeal to pastors and Christian educators.
Introduction: Recovering the Refugee Theologian
Part 1: The Exilic Contexts of Calvin's Theology
1. From France to Faithfulness: Calvin's Personal History and His Theology of Exile
2. Comfort and Confrontation: The Diverse Audiences of Calvin's Works
Part 2: Calvin as Teacher
3. Calvin's Institutes as Roadmap: Theological Coordinates for an Exilic Imagination
4. Calvin's Commentaries: The Bible for Exiles
Part 3: Calvin as Pastor
5. Schooling God's Children in Exile: Calvin's Writings on Church Organization and Worship
6. Stirring the Exilic Imagination: Calvin's Sermons and the Challenge of Faithful Exile
Part 4: Calvin as Polemicist
7. Herding God's Flock in Exile: Calvin's Polemical Works
8. Conformity and Commitment: Calvin's Anti-Nicodemite Writings
Conclusion: Reading a Reformer in Exile
Appendix: Questions for Continuing the Conversation
Index
The Author
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Kenneth J. Woo
Kenneth J. Woo (ThD, Duke University) is associate professor of church history at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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