Calvin at the Centre explores the impact of various ideas on the thought of John Calvin and also that of later theologians who were influenced by him. The book therefore calls into question the attitude that Calvin's views are purely biblical and unaffected by the particular intellectual circumstances in which he lived. It also provides reason for thinking that the relation between Calvin and Calvinism is more complex than is commonly believed. The focus is on philosophical ideas as they find a place within Calvin's theology, and the chapters are organized to reflect this, deal ... More

Calvin at the Centre explores the impact of various ideas on the thought of John Calvin and also that of later theologians who were influenced by him. The book therefore calls into question the attitude that Calvin's views are purely biblical and unaffected by the particular intellectual circumstances in which he lived. It also provides reason for thinking that the relation between Calvin and Calvinism is more complex than is commonly believed. The focus is on philosophical ideas as they find a place within Calvin's theology, and the chapters are organized to reflect this, dealing in turn with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues. So the book follows the general outlook of the author's John Calvin's Ideas (OUP: 2004), but extends its scope and range. The emphasis is upon the coincidence of ideas between Calvin and other thinkers, rather than offering a historical account of how that influence came about. So, for example, there is a study of the extent to which Calvin's view of the atonement is Anselmic in its character, and how Calvin's view was treated in later discussions of the atonement in Puritanism. But the question of the exact ways in which Anselm's ideas came to Calvin's notice is left to one side. Among the topics treated are: the knowledge of God and of ourselves, Scripture and reason, the visibility of God, providence and predestination, Calvin and compatibilism, and the intermediate state