John Calvin and The Reformation of the Refugees

Heiko A. Oberman dedicated the last fifteen years of his scholarly career to the study of John Calvin and the pan-European movement he launched, described by Oberman as the "Reformation of the Refugees". In the eight essays collected here, Oberman assesses a half-century of research on Calvinism, probes the matrix of Calvin's early thought, addresses Calvin's message and its appeal to persecuted churches in France and exile communities throughout Europe, and, on a fundamental level, seeks to identify why Calvinism and the Reformed tradition became the most successful branch of Protestant Christianity by the end of the sixteenth century. Oberman concludes that church discipline, the "call" of predestination, and Old Testament narratives of a God "trekking" with his people in the desert all provided pastoral comfort in times of uncertainty. Incisive in his arguments and creative in his insights, Oberman's findings have contributed greatly to the current shape of research on Calvin and Calvinism.