John Calvin: Man of God’s Word Written and Preached
By Peter Barnes
Banner of Truth: 2011
I should start with an apology for this review. It seems as though reviewers of Christian books feel obligated to give a positive review unless the book contains heresy, or a lack of what the reviewer considers a sufficient dose of the gospel. To that I can’t submit. Those are important. But it is also the reviewer’s job to tell the reader if the book will be worth their time. Is it readable? Does it tell us anything? Does it inspire? If not, it’s not worth the money.
Peter Barnes says nothing heretical–nothing, even, that I disagree with. I had hoped, expected, to love this book, considering the subject, and to sing its praise. To that end, I can say three things. Barnes has done his research, and his book makes us want to read Calvin. Also, for someone who knows nothing about John Calvin’s view of Scripture, this may be a fair introduction. But the book sounds like a seminary research paper, and is as dry.
Barnes has nothing new to say. In fact, Barnes himself says very little. He takes the reformed writer’s obsession with quotes to a new extreme. Regarding how Calvin structured his sermons, for instance, Barnes throws out 6 quotes, and then picks the one he thinks best. Here are the contents of a typical page:
“Dawn DeVries writes….Andrew Blackwood suggests….Not for nothing does William Bouwsma describe….Herman Selderhuis perhaps exaggerates….T.H.L. Parker waxes eloquent….Randall Zachman begs to differ….,” (pages 48-49).
Barnes strives to point out flaws in Calvin’s preaching or writing, as if we should be astonished that the man from Geneva was human. Calvin’s sermon breaks, for instance, were sometimes “unnatural,” or even “somewhat disconcerting.” Barnes spends a few pages describing the abruptness of Calvin’s sermon endings. In one sermon, Barnes tells us, Calvin “breaks off quite suddenly…He then launched into the prayer after the sermon!”
“Nor was his exegesis always entirely convincing.”
The reader may fairly ask: Whose exegesis is “always entirely convincing?”
Barnes amazes us with such insights into Calvin as his belief that “The preacher is called upon to be faithful to God before he is sensitive to the seeker,” or, “Calvin held to what today would be called `intelligent design.’”
“Calvin almost never told anecdotes in the pulpit,” nor does Barnes in his book. It is almost entirely free of narrative or warmth.
Barnes mentions Calvin’s polished writing and speaking. Unfortunately, the simplicity and brevity of Calvin’s style has not rubbed off:
“One ought not be beguiled into thinking that the Lord’s supper with its celebration of the once for all perfect sacrifice of Christ is anything like the Mass where, supposedly, Christ is repeatedly sacrificed,” (page 70).
This style, along with the content, makes Mr. Barnes’ John Calvin unsuitable for the lay person. The shortness of the book and lack of anything new make it useless to the scholar.