The Legacy of John Calvin, Part Three

Dr. Lawson concluded his presentation by expanding upon the idea that Calvin exerted an international influence. Calvin's ideas spread to the world. Geneva was a refuge city; once those refugees were able to return to their homelands they took Calvin's thought with them. Many returned to be martyrs. Translations of Calvin's work were made in several languages. Alistair McGrath refers to "a new type of being--the Calvinist--with a can-do approach to life." By 1556 there were about 2000 Reformed congregations in France; fully one-tenth of the French population was Reformed, at a time when it was required to be Roman Catholic and no one was permitted to emigrate. In Scotland, John Knox preached a complete rebuilding of the church. Puritan and Scottish Presbyterian thought was brought to American shores. The Westminster Standards and the Belgic Confession are both hugely based on Calvin's teaching. Lawson spoke of the Synod of Dort. The Great Awakening and Presbyterian influence on the American Revolution. William Carey and the modern missions movement. Time magazine has just published an edition in which the "new Calvinism" is listed as the number three idea shaping the world.