Topic Archives: 16th Century

I’ve just come to the end of a Sunday morning series on ‘The Five Points’. I have preached several series going through all the great doctrines of the Bible. But I’ve never wanted to pick out the five points particularly. Partly, that’s because I’m aware that some folk have emphasised them in an unhelpful way. […]

Introduction In a highly technical article entitled ‘Philosophic Calvinism’ (Living for God’s Glory, ed. J. R. Beeke, Reformation Trust, 2008, pages 150-159) James Grier argues (using Abraham Kuyper’s Stone Lectures as his starting point) that John Calvin had a unified world view. This view was in principle comprehensive: it embraced theology, philosophy, culture, science and art. ‘The […]

‘You are holding in your hands a rare and precious book’, reads the publisher’s description on the jacket of this book.1 ‘It contains the choicest practical writings of a man whom God used to transform his native country and bring it into the light and under the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and […]

These are some notes of what was said on a tour which took place during a Free Presbyterian Youth Conference in Edinburgh, on Wednesday 13 April 2011. 1. John Knox’s House and Trunk’s Close. John Knox’s house is one of the oldest surviving houses in Edinburgh. It is not definite that Knox lived in the […]

Jakob Herman did not have an easy childhood. Born into a Reformed family, he lost his father while still a child. Adopted by the family Pastor, young Jakob was sent to school, but when he was fourteen the Pastor died, and his mother was tragically killed just a year later. Befriended by Rudy Snell, a […]

In his address to the 1960 Synod, ‘John Knox: Central Figure of the Reformation’, Rev J P MacQueen said:1 It is to be feared that his reputation as one of the most powerful and eloquent preachers of his day, with the fruit of widespread revivals, the edification, comfort and establishment of believers, and the salvation […]

Introduction Martin Luther is not merely a key figure in the unfolding of events in the Protestant Reformation; he also played a major role in moulding its ideas. ‘Perhaps more than any other person, Luther shaped the presuppositions that define Protestantism.’ (Stephen J. Nichols) These presuppositions are known to scholars in their Latin form as […]

The Geneva Bible, first printed in 1560, is arguably the second most important English translation of the Bible after the King James Version. It was the work of a group of English Protestant exiles who lived in Calvin’s Geneva during the oppressive reign of Mary Tudor. This translation became immediately popular with over 150 editions […]

In Geneva, 450 years ago, a new version of the Bible in English began to come off the printing presses. For the first time, English-speaking people in the British Isles could purchase a Bible in their own tongue translated, in its entirety, directly from the original Hebrew and Greek – a notable milestone on the […]

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the martyr John Bradford (1510-55). As a broken-hearted sinner, a self-condemning saint, a firm believer, a man of prayer, a sharp reprover of sin, a preacher with power, a comforter of others and a staunch martyr ‘for Christ’s gospel’s sake’ (his own words), Bradford was […]

Protestantism can be an embarrassing concept at times . . . For the first twenty years of my life the term was identified with the Troubles which raged around my generation, and the ugly notion of taking aggravated and hostile sides against ‘the other sort’. As school life at a Protestant boys’ school gave way […]

The Church of Scotland Glasgow Presbytery held a ‘Commemoration of the 450th Anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland’ service in Glasgow Cathedral on 29th June. The address was given by a prominent Roman Catholic, Prof. Tom Devine of the University of Edinburgh on ‘The importance of the Reformation for the Development of Scotland’ and it […]

Introduction In all the extant biographies of England’s worthies, we rarely hear of one who was ‘more devout and godly’ than the writer ever knew, who not only led ‘a heavenly life himself’, but also ‘very earnestly and heartily’ laboured ‘to persuade others’ to do the same. Yet such a man was John Bradford1 – […]

INTRODUCTION I have betrayed John Calvin1. We all have. We betray Calvin every time we talk about him, because Calvin did a lot to stop people talking about him. He once commented, ‘I am unwilling to speak of myself, but since you do not permit me to be altogether silent, I will say what I […]

During this the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin I would like to express three ways in which John Calvin is an inspiration to me. First he is an inspiration as a pastor/preacher. John Calvin was a pastor for 27 years. First he served at St Peter’s Church in Geneva from 1536 to […]