Calvinism: A History Hardcover – July 30, 2013

As a student of typical MDiv seminary studies, my exposure to church history during and after the Reformation came in broad swaths of all varieties of important people, doctrinal developments, authors, denominations and movements, with the organizing center being a linear time-line approach. While helpful and necessary to get that massive scope of denominational and doctrinal trajectories, I've never taken a class or read anything quite like Hart's synthesis of a gigantic scope of historical and geopolitical Reformed church data into a readable work of history that also draws out some lessons to teach us about the historic development of the various strands of Reformed denominations in various countries and their failures to replicate or their successful efforts to plant Reformed movements in other countries. How much we take for granted that church is separate from state in the US, given the multiplied tragedies of 900 plus years of church-state enmeshment in Europe's war-torn history.Hart has helped me see more clearly the American Reformed church debt to the sacrifices and gifts of particular individuals in their historical moment, how hard it was for churches to forsake cultural or political privileges when doctrine was being compromised, and more of the limitations and mistakes of various strands, and see how Hart's book indirectly points us to the need for coining a sixth sola of the Reformation: Solus Ecclesia, (he does not use this term), the church alone, in the senses that salvation is mediated through Christ's true body in earth and that the church must be free from worldly entanglements (such as with the state or with popular culture). The original Reformers wanted a total reformation of doctrine, worship AND church government. The five solas relate to the key points of doctrine and to eliminating all that was not biblical (thus, Sola Scriptura). But the five existing solas fail to capture a major Reformation goal of reforming the church government structures and seeing Christ perfect his bride as a corporate body, not simply a scattered collection of godly individuals.What Hart shows us clearly through the trajectories of geopolitical Reformed church expansion and dissolution, is that where the corporate church as a body of assembled individual national churches were financially self-supporting (not dependent on state or overseas funding), winning converts by cultural apologetics and evangelism, maintained their localized (that is, not run from an assembly in another country) doctrinal authority to be faithful to Scripture, especially in the training and ordination of confessionally subscribing ministers and discipline of any leaders who fail to uphold Reformed doctrine or live according to its principles, its health remained and could continue to another generation. Hart shows us how the New England Congregational Reformed movement could not sustain itself as a scattered, disassociated group of independent churches, but the Irish-Scottish missionary-ministers like Francis Makemie who founded Reformed Presbyterian churches in the US, recruited more pastors, saw the link between the local wealth of towns and cities and the need to plant churches in those centers first, founded the first presbytery in Philadelphia in 1706 with the localized freedom to train and ordain ministers according to the doctrine of the Westminster Standards and to assemble in presbyteries and national assemblies--these became Reformed movements that saw successive generations flourishing. The early US Dutch Reformed missionaries who had to submit to the torturously slow overseas oversight of the Netherland's assemblies, who felt overseas resistance to local US training and ordination of its ministers, who persisted in their foreign language worship in a majority English-speaking US, also failed to flourish. Hart also points us to the sovereign hand of God in orchestrating the international expansion of the Reformed churches as they tagged along (so erasing much boasting about missions prowess) with larger politico-religious persecutions, demographic upheavals, emigration and colonial expansion of world trading, international treaties and military powers. In this regard, the Scottish & English Presbyterian Churches seem to have spread most rapidly around the world in the 1800's, in part due to the corresponding expansion of the British empire to those same regions, while the American Presbyterian churches grew in mission work from about 1837 onwards, also in part due to the expanding influence of American economic, political and military power.Overall Hart offers us a heart-stirring challenge to be thankful to our forefathers in the Reformed faith, to "consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith" (Heb 13:7), to learn from history lest we repeat its mistakes, but also a heart-warming story of God-in-Christ building a church that the gates of hell cannot prevail against!

... to glorify God continuously.On the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, I celebrated, choosing “Calvinism” to more deeply dive the people and personalities who resolved a coherent theology anchored in the primacy of the Creator’s sovereignty. Calvinism is a theology, an approach to link the Bible’s first verse with the last. The theology demands that its adherents carry the responsibility as God’s chosen own.So, my purpose was not a history foray so much as an exploration of thought evolution. Who, when and how did TULIP appear and develop? How did such a ‘hard teaching’ and rigorous theology gain traction?The narrative delivered. Familiar and unfamiliar aspects were revealed. The books research and refs open new avenues to walk.Delightful.

Darryl does a great job interweaving the impact of political developments during the Reformation with the spiritual and ecclesiastical developments especially showing how the combination of persecution in some realms coupled with support and sponsorship in other realms greatly aided the growth and spread of the Reformed Christian denominations. A must read for those interested in understanding how Calvinism and the Reformation were born and grew to greatly influence our modern world. Toward the end of the book Darryl allows the current academy bias against European colonialism to dominate his comments, but overall the book is full of insightful commentary about Calvinism and the many forms it grew to include over the centuries.

A good written history how thinking people acted on their knowledge of Christianity when they were able to read the bible in English, how they tried to reform the cities in which they lived, Jesus in the first century taught his followers not to involve themselves in politics and government for good reason. the catholic church created havoc on the world because of their taking over the roman empire, when the reformed church followed the same pattern similar results, Luther also. I did enjoy the historicity of the subject. thanks for your work.

Hart has done a good job in surveying a massive amount of global material. At some points the factional ins and outs are a bit over described. I note that he squarely includes Barth as a reformed theologian, which is correct, but gives many present day American Calvinists the vapors.

A very useful history that describes the foundations of the positive integration that was necessary as individual Cantons decided to go protestant or remain Roman Catholic. Keen insights into the personality of the central figure and how he drove the transition forward. I was most amazed to learn that the schism between the forebears of modern Baptists, the Anabaptist, and the Reformed Faith was more a politically, and more particularly Taxes-driven division than it was doctrinal.

Strong on later events, breezy but informative on the earliest times. An enjoyable, informative read.

Good review of the development of this branch of Protestantism. Many of us need to learn more of the historical aspect of our heritage and beliefs.

Although this is, as proclaimed, a “comprehensive history” of Calvinism, for me it was very difficult to follow the waxing and waning of the arduous progress it describes. Because it is so detailed (which in itself is a good thing) it constantly refers to small cities and towns in Europe, to religious/cultural/political alliances that are very often relatively local and thus unfamiliar to anyone not thoroughly familiar with the five centuries (and five continents) discussed. During that period alliances and boundaries altered frequently, very frequently. The retelling of these changes is what this book is about. From the first defiant sausage-eating incident to the triumphant denouement the author traces a tortuous path. But to me the telling reflects a knowledge so comprehensive that it became incomprehensible without attendant explanatory maps, and there were alas none included with the text.