The year celebrating 500 years since the birth of John Calvin has made us aware not only of his stature as a theologian but also his passion for the mission of the church and the direction of the Holy Spirit. These aspects of Calvin are made highly accessible to us in a very readable book by the Rev. Dr. David Chen, former Professor of Systematic Theology, Christian Ethics and World Religions, and for a time President, at Taiwan Theological Seminary in Taipei, Taiwan.
Dr. Chen has had a life-time interest in pursuing these threads in Calvin’s voluminous and varied writings. He has brought it all together in an ordered narrative that clearly sets forth Calvin’s thoughts on the nature of the church, its life and practice, and on the Holy Spirit as the creator, sustainer and completer of the life of faith and of the church.
The thoroughness and usefulness of the book is reflected in 27 pages of footnotes that show us where to find the source in Calvin for the view that is set forth. This is a good resource for checking out what we think we know about Calvin’s teaching and filling out what we don’t.
The book, entitled Calvin’s Passion For The Church And The Holy Spirit, is published by Xulon Press (xulonpress.com).
