This book is very well done. While his edition of the Institutes is nowhere as good as the two volume edition by John T. McNeill,
Battles has an excellent grasp on the content of the institutes. He takes, in order, every book, section, and paragraph and explains the content of it in a concise way. The book is in outline form and can readily be used as a systematic theology--even though the institutes are not technically a systematic theology.

This is simply the finest translation of Calvin's Insitutes. What makes this translation so good is the indexes of names, topics, and biblical verses....Mcneil's edition is tried and tested in this two volume set. It is a must have for anyone wanting to read Calvin in a durable hardcover edition. The indexes are invaluable in finding subjects that Calvin addresses. This is the one--i think. While the isbn matches, the price does not. You might want to contact amazon and make sure you are getting the hardback two volume set. The isbn is 0664220207 for the first book and 0664220215 for the second. The price should be around 60 dollars or so.

Whatever else may be said about French intellectuals, French historians are the finest in the world. Their biases don't get as flagrantly in the way as is sometimes the case with British and American historians. They are less chatty than the British can often be and they are far less inclined to the grand, sweeping statement than the Americans. The best of them observe even French people and events with scientific detachment.

This new biography of Calvin could only have been written by a Frenchman and Bernard Cottret does a wonderful job. The Calvin who emerges here is a far more complex figure than the cartoon that other historians have drawn. Far from a firebrand, John Calvin was a remote, shy, almost withdrawn figure who had whatever offices he held forced upon him. Geneva had gone in for Reformed Protestantism long before he arrived there and Calvin's Geneva was far from the "theocracy" it is often caricatured as.

Calvin's faults are not papered over; Cottret does not attempt to hide his displeasure at the burning in Geneva of many accused of witchcraft or of the burning of Michael Servetus, for example. But in the case of Servetus which is dealt with extensively here, he points out that Geneva only did what the Roman Church would have done if it had the chance and that Calvin actually cooperated with the Roman Catholic Church in this matter, seeing Rome as less of a threat than certain radical Protestants, rather cutting the ground out from under those who believe Calvin was rabidly anti-Catholic.

All in all, Calvin is an outstanding book that I cannot recommend too highly.

This work is a translated version of Calvin's response to Albert Pighius regarding the issue of the eternal predestination of God. Calvin deals with the historical proof (i.e. other theologians/writers prior to Calvin) of the doctrine of predestination as well as the biblical proof. The last section of the book is simply Calvin responding to the claims/arguments of Pighius regarding the issue at hand. This book is crucial to the overall debate between the Calvinist and the Arminian. Therefore, if you are researching the issues and miss this book then you have missed one of the best primary sources from Calvin himself. Another good reason to purchase and read this book is to find out what Calvin really espoused. All too often people assume Calvin espoused certain things which he in fact never espoused because they read secondary sources written ABOUT Calvin's view. Thus, it is crucial to read the primary sources. Another book that works well with this text is titled "The Bondage and Liberation of the Will" by John Calvin (ISBN - 0-85364-718-6) which is also available for a good price here at Amazon. However, don't miss this one in your research!

This book is an excellent survey of the influence of Calvinism in not only Europe but early America as well. It does a wonderful job of capturing the historical as well as theological influence of perhaps the greatest theologian since the Apostles, John Calvin.

If you want to know the thoughts of a great reformer and know the bases of the Reformed Churches, you should read "The Institutes" by Calvin. He really gave us a sytematic view of our faith. It is really worth reading.

John Calvin is among the clearest, and most systematic of the Reformers. "Instruction in Faith" is an early work, written when Calvin was no more than 29 years of age. In this small volume Calvin has no polemic goals in mind. He is only interested in expounding Biblical Christianity, as he understands it, with as much pith and perspicacity as he is able. It is a superb introduction to Calvin and the Reformers and a nonpareil brief systematic theology. Indeed, it is in that capcity that the volume has the greatest value. I know of no more succinct summation of Christian doctrine (excepting, of course, the Westminster Shorter Catechism and in many ways I prefer this) and certainly know of no other with an author of comparable authority. This is well worth the time of any Christian young or old. Paul Fuhrmann's introduction is quite informative as well.

This is a splendid collection of pieces by the late Ford Lewis Battles, one of the 20th century's premier Calvin scholars. Battles was the translator of the Library of Christian Classics edition of Calvin's '1559 Institutes' as well as translator of his '1536 Institutes.'

The pieces here have been gathered from Battles' contributions to scholarly literature on Calvin over a number of years. The value of the collection is that it places these hard to find pieces together in one convenient place. The two introductory essays convey the scope of Battles' contributions as a Calvin scholar.

Two of the most important essays in the collection should be noted. One is Battles', 'Calculus Fidei' in which he puts forth his view of the structure of Calvin's overall theology. This piece will be one with which Calvin scholars will interact for years to come.

The second piece on 'Accommodation' conveys one of the most imporant interpretive aspects of Calvin's thought. It has been an important piece in the years since it was published in drawing attention to the principle of accommodation as an interpretive tool in Calvin's understanding of divine revelation.

Editor Benedetto has done a masterful job in assembling these pieces, providing the helpful Battles' diagrams and producing an important resource for Reformation scholars as well as scholars of Calvin.

Ford Battles was my teacher and was a Calvin scholar without peer. It is a pleasure to commend this book with the highest commendation.

This is an incredibly readable and helpful volume! This was assigned by Dr. Peter Enns at Westminster Theological Seminary in our Old Testament class, and I have re-read it, and referred back to it several times. It will particularly help those who desire to understand the continuity, as well as the discontinuity, between the Old and New Testaments. Calvin's exegesis will help the mature Biblical expositor from falling into irresponsible "spiritualizing" and allegorical interpretations of the Old Testament. Buy it! Read it! Tolle, Lege! Tolle, Lege!