This stimulating collection of essays originated as the plenary addresses at the international conference on “Calvin and His Influence, 1509–2009” held in Geneva in 2009. The introduction, written by the editors, is the longest chapter in the book, often twice the size of many of the essays, and provides a valuable summary of the agenda of the conference as well as helpful guidance for navigating the complexity of contemporary Calvin studies. Irena Backus and Philip Benedict chart their agenda through five strategic topics. First, what is the nature and significance of the term “Calvinism”? How has it been appropriated and abused? Second, they address Calvin's personal life. This is a particularly noteworthy section that details Calvin's “difficult and tightly wound” (7) personality and some of his conflicts including those with Jerome Bolsec and, of course, Michael Servetus. Many untrained readers today do not realize that numerous theologians beyond Geneva encouraged Servetus's death and Calvin and Geneva were less likely to kill heretics than other cities in Europe. However, beginning with the appearance of Bolsec's Life of Calvin in 1577, Calvin frequently suffered from antagonistic biographers that created the vastly negative and typically unbalanced impressions of his life. Closely related is the critical question regarding Calvin's flexibility with his theological friends. Third, the editors consider the often repeated assertion of predestination's dominance in Calvin's thinking. Accurately, they report that Calvin was clearly not alone in teaching this doctrine, nor even original in his presentation of predestination. Fourth, is their consideration of the textual history of the Institutes and to what degree Calvin's followers were indebted to the actual content or more simply the structure and adaptability of this document's themes to differing contexts. Finally, the introduction concludes with the expanding awareness of Calvin's influence on the political and economic spheres of life.

Structurally, the first half of this book examines the life of Calvin including considerations of the Genevan reformer's frenetic work habits, his use of patristic and medieval sources, his self–awareness of his writings, and his structuring of church leadership (that is, elders, deacons, and consistory) and the company of pastors. The second half of this study moves centrifugally from Geneva to record Calvin's reception and influence in specific locations, such as Netherlands, England, and South Africa, as well as thematically around political and economic issues. Obviously a spectrum of readers will be drawn to differing chapters dependent upon their own research and teaching. Personally, I found Max Engammare's chapter on Calvin's workaholic nature, Herman Selderhuis's five-hundred year summary of Calvin's influence, Richard Muller's perceptive treatment of Calvin's reception in the seventeenth century, and David Bebbington's expansive study of the British Evangelical reception of Calvin in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to be most satisfying. A common theme that appeared at numerous places revealed that many who claimed the Calvinist label beyond the sixteenth century had little awareness of the depth and breath of Calvin's theology. While they identified with Calvin, they often did this through a very truncated approach.

While there is much value to many of the essays assembled here, there are a number of gaps and minor concerns that should be noted. No chapter explored the impact of Calvin's influence in Asia, especially with his prominence in Korea. Nor is there any chapter that provides a similar treatment of Calvin's reception in North America. It is unfortunate that the growing popularity of Calvin among younger North American Evangelicals associated, especially with the Passion Movement, was not included. Further, while there were a number of chapters that did helpfully analyze the political and economic contributions of Calvin, I missed an equal assessment that was devoted more expansively to his theology. As previously indicated, the topic of Calvin's view of predestination was apparent, but there was virtually no mention of union with Christ or other central components of his thought. There was also an inconsistency in writing. Not only did chapters vary greatly in length and, at times, betray an unevenness in development, but also some provided translation of the Latin, French, and German quotations, while others did not. Since many chapters assume a fairly advanced level of awareness of Calvin and his writings, this book would serve best as a text for a graduate level seminar on Calvin studies.

This volume strongly articulates the reality what we as historians recognize, but what we might fail to adequately convey to our students regarding the complexity and multifaceted dimensions of the key leaders of the church. Therefore, this study of Calvin's life and relationship with those in his own century and his continuing influence that reaches us today is a welcome addition to the field of Calvin studies.