Ernst Renan, the nineteenth century French historian, thought he was "the most Christian man of his age."

Will Durant, the twentieth century American historian, thought Calvin “darkened the human soul with the most absurd and blasphemous conception of God in all the long and honored history of nonsense."

The nineteenth century English preacher. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, wrote that "the longer I live the clearer does it appear that John Calvin’s system is the nearest to perfection."

The twentieth century American televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. thinks that "Calvin has... caused untold millions of souls to be damned."

Hated and loved by many. John Calvin remains, after 450 years, one of the most controversial figures of church history. His influence on Western civilization has been spectacular. But far more important than these political, economic, and social consequences of Calv in’s thought is the role he played in the recov ery and propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which had been all but eclipsed by the superstitions and hegemony of the Roman church.

Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion became the manifesto of the Reformation. An indefatigable preacher and writer. Calvin turned Geneva into the arsenal of Christianity', flooding Europe and the world with tracts, books, sermons, and missionaries. Perhaps at no time since the first Christian century has the world seen such a rapid spread of Christianity.

What Calvin Says is a readable introduction to the thought of one of the most influential thinkers in history. John Calvin.

About the Author

W. Gary Crampton was born in Washington, D.C. in 1943. He is a graduate of Randolph-Macon College, holds an M.B.S. from the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies, the Th.M. and Th.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the Central School of Religion in Surrey, England. Dr. Crampton is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Forest, Mississippi. He is married and has two daughters.

What Calvin Says

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