Reformation Day Biographies Collection (13 vols)

by Steven D. Paulson; Theodore Beza; C. G. McCrie; Burk Parsons; Jim West

and

7 more

Publishers:

Westminster John Knox; Religious Tract Society; Reformation Trust

and

8 more

, 1826–2015

Overview

The lives of the Reformers were frought with acts of peril and piety. They were also men and women from different walks of life: some were monks, others were students, still others were cooks and bakers. This collection brings together biographies of the leaders of the Reformation, offering an overview of the lives of the people who lived in the most important movement in church history. Covering the lives of John Calvin, Martin Luther, Philipp Melancthon, John Knox, and more, this set of resources is the perfect introduction to the lives of the Reformers.

Key Features

• Offers overviews of the lives of the Reformers
• Includes the works of key Reformation biographers
• Contains biographies from Reformers on the continent and in England

Product Details

• Title: Reformation Day Biographies Collection
• Publication Date: 1826–2015
• Volumes: 13
• Pages: 4,039
• Resource Type: Biographies
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Resource ID: {3EE00F89-6457-4D39-87F2-A595608612A1}

The Honeycomb Scroll: Phillip Melancthon at the Dawn of the Reformation

• Author: Gregory B. Graybill
• Publisher: Fortress
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 370

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Long overshadowed by Luther and Calvin, Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) is one of the most important figures in the Protestant Reformation and had profound effect on Western church history. This book gives the most detailed English-language biographical treatment of Melanchthon to date, moving from his historical context and personal origins, through his childhood, education, and early career at Wittenberg during the dramatic events at the dawn of the Reformation (1497–1524).

Establishing the deep geopolitical and religious context of Melanchthon’s early life, the volume then follows Melanchthon to the great halls of humanist learning at Heidelberg and Tübingen, where his studies and teaching career began and his faith was richly fostered. The pivotal moment comes in his appointment to the chair of Greek in Wittenberg where Melanchthon became a great ally and supporter of Martin Luther.

Melanchthon’s role as key player in the advocacy for reform expanded through his involvement in the Leipzig Disputation, his visible representation of the evangelical cause in Wittenberg during Luther’s absence at Worms and the Wartburg, and his struggle with the radical wing. The volume closes by looking ahead to Melanchthon’s contribution to the Augsburg Confession of 1530.

What would it be like to have been Martin Luther’s closest theological companion in the birth years of the Protestant Reformation? Greg Graybill answers this question in his deeply researched post-Oxford-doctoral work written (and illustrated) from Philipp Melanchthon’s own personal homes in Germany. Welcome to the heart and mind of the Reformation! I warmly recommend this engaging study.

—Frederick Dale Bruner, George and Lyda Wasson Professor of Religion Emeritus, Whitworth University

Gregory B. Graybill is senior pastor at the First United Presbyterian Church of Moline, Illinois. He earned a DPhil at the University of Oxford and is author of Evangelical Free Will: Philipp Melanchthon’s Doctrinal Journey on the Origins of Faith. He is collaborator on Philippians, Colossians in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture series.

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Martin Brecht’s Martin Luther (3 vols.)

• Author: Martin Brecht
• Translator: James L. Schaaf
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Volumes: 3
• Pages: 1,661

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Discover the life and influence of Martin Luther in one of the most extensive biographies ever written about him. Martin Brecht walks you through Luther’s life starting with his childhood and education, all the way through to his life after the Reformation. A work of immense and engaging scholarship, gracefully translated by James Schaaf, these volumes offer comprehensive and original interpretations of Luther’s life, both public and private, and his lasting impact on the world.

Titles Included:

• Martin Luther, Volume 1: His Road to Reformation, 1483-1521
• Martin Luther, Volume 2: Shaping and Defining the Reformation, 1521-1532
• Martin Luther, Volume 3: The Preservation of the Church, 1532-1546

Martin Brecht is a leading Luther scholar and professor of Reformation and modern church history at the University of Muenster. Until his retirement in 1997, he served as head of the Department of Medieval and Modern Church History of the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the university.

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John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology

• Editor: Burk Parsons
• Publisher: Reformation Trust
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 246

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In celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of John Calvin’s birth (2009), Burk Parsons, editor of Tabletalk magazine and associate minister at St. Andrew’s in Sanford, Fla., has brought together an impressive group of pastors and scholars to reconsider Calvin’s life and legacy. Contributors include Jay Adams, Eric Alexander Thabiti Anyabwile, Joel Beeke, Jerry Bridges, Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, D. G. Hart, Michael Horton, Phillip R. Johnson, Steven Lawson, John MacArthur, Keith Mathison, Richard Phillips, Harry Reeder, Philip Graham Ryken, Derek Thomas, Thomas Ascol, and others.

In twenty succinct chapters, these men examine Calvin the man; his work (as a Reformer, a churchman, a preacher, a counselor, and a writer); and his teachings (on subjects as diverse as the Holy Spirit and prayer). What emerges is a multifaceted portrait of a man whose contributions to Christian thought and Christian living were significant indeed, a man whose life, work, and teachings are worthy to be remembered and studied even in the twenty-first century.

If you have neglected Calvin’s writings for fear they are too difficult or too dreary, this book will change your mind. It is a compendium of his thought presented, as we might expect from these writers, clearly, engagingly, and with a devotional warmth that encourages us to know the God whom we worship.

—Alistair Begg, Senior pastor, Parkside Church, Chagrin Falls, Ohio

I personally have benefited in the reading of this work, and most heartily commend it. The value of this book is that it brings out something of John Calvin’s own life and struggles, and then summarizes his doctrinal position, not just as an academic exercise, but in the true spirit of genuine Calvinism, which points men to Christ and justification by faith, producing godliness of life and true communion with God.

—Dr. Morton H. Smith, Professor of systematic and biblical theology, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Greenville, South Carolina

On the five-hundredth anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, it is utterly fitting that a book of essays should appear that is designed for ordinary Christians, not scholars. The scholars will have their conferences, of course, and rightly so, but here is a collection of essays that will inform and move ordinary readers to grasp something of the profound gift God gave to the church in the person and ministry—and especially the writings—of Calvin. Read this book, then find yourself drawn toward many profitable and stretching hours reading Calvin’s Institutes and some of his many commentaries.

—D. A. Carson, Research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois

To my knowledge, there never has been a collection of authors of any edited volume under whose ministry I would rather sit than these. What stands out is that they are humble, holy men of God. Most of them are too old—too seasoned—to care about scoring points. Their lives witness to the preciousness of Christ and the importance of purity. Expect no bombast. Expect humble, measured admiration and wise application. This is a good way to meet John Calvin: in the holy hearts of humble servants of Christ. The only better way would be to read the man himself.

—John Piper, Pastor for preaching and vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Burk Parsons serves as editor of Tabletalk and associate pastor of Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, Fla., and he is editor of the books Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace and this book, John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology.

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The Expository Genius of John Calvin

• Author: Steven Lawson
• Publisher: Reformation Trust
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 160

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Looking to the past for outstanding Bible-based, Christ-centered, and life-changing preaching, Dr. Steven J. Lawson focuses on sixteenth-century Geneva, Switzerland. It was there that John Calvin ministered for decades as a faithful shepherd to a flock of believers.

Here is an intimate portrait of Calvin the preacher-the core beliefs that determined his preaching style, the steps he took to prepare to preach, and the techniques he used in handling the Word of God, interpreting it, and applying it to his congregation. In the pulpit ministry of the great Reformer, Dr. Lawson finds inspiration and guidance for today’s church and calls on modern pastors to follow the Reformer’s example of strong expository preaching.

I heartily recommend this book by Steven Lawson as an impetus to the recovery of expository preaching. It is an especially good gift for pastors and seminary students.

—R. C. Sproul

Dr. Steven J. Lawson is senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama.

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John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life

• Author: Herman J. Selderhuis
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 304

There are many biographies of John Calvin, the theologian—some vilifying him and others extolling his virtues—but few that reveal John Calvin, the man.

Professor and renowned Reformation historian Herman Selderhuis has written John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life to bring Calvin near to the reader, showing him as a man who had an impressive impact on the development of the Western world, but who was first of all a believer struggling with God and with the way God governed both the world and his own life.

Selderhuis draws on Calvin’s own commentary on the biblical figures with whom he strongly identified to describe his theology in the context of his personal development. Throughout, we see a person who found himself alone at many of the decisive moments of his life—a fact that echoed through Calvin’s subsequent sermons and commentaries. Selderhuis’s unique and compelling look at John Calvin, with all of his merits and foibles, ultimately discloses a man who could not find himself at home in the world in which he lived.

Five hundred years after the birth of John Calvin, the reformer of Geneva continues to loom large as one of the most formative figures in Christian history, and one of the most difficult to know up close and personal. Based on a careful reading of Calvin’s letters and other sources, Herman Selderhuis presents here a fresh new biography. Calvin emerges as neither hero nor villain, but rather as a flawed and forgiven pilgrim who never lost sight of his final destination and inspired many others along the way. A wonderful introduction to a great teacher of the church!

—Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, and general editor, Reformation Commentary on Scripture

This is simply one of the best biographies of Calvin I have seen. Selderhuis has managed admirably to combine keen academic insight with a clear, engaging writing style and many delicious details. For all who are curious about Calvin, Selderhuis’s John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life is the place to begin.

—Frank A. James III, president, Reformed Theological Seminary

A delightful new biography of Calvin by one of Europe’s leading Reformation scholars. Selderhuis does not simply rehash the events of Calvin’s life; he weaves those events into a story of a man on a geographical, theological and spiritual pilgrimage—or more precisely, a story of a man on a pilgrimage.

—Lyle D. Bierma, Jean and Kenneth Baker Professor of Systematic Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary

One would think that with all the biographies of John Calvin through the centuries there would be nothing new to say. Think again! Veteran Calvin scholar Herman Selderhuis has followed Calvin himself in going ‘back to the sources’ and provides a portrait of Calvin drawn exclusively from Calvin’s own writings. The result is a fresh and invigorating look at the human person behind all the caricatures, the faithful servant of Christ who saw his life as being lived in the providence of God—a God whose ways he often did not understand. Find here a fully human Calvin whose commitment to the ‘pilgrim life’ instructs and inspires us still today.

—Donald K. McKim, editor of Readings in Calvin’s Theology, The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin and Calvin and the Bible

Herman J. Selderhuis is professor for church history and church polity at the Theological University Apeldoorn (Netherlands) and director of the university’s Institute for Reformation Research. He is a leading Reformation historian and author of several books, including Calvin’s Theology of the Psalms.

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‘Christ Our Captain’: An Introduction to Huldrych Zwingli

• Author: Jim West
• Publisher: Quartz Hill Publishing House
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 88

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In ‘Christ Our Captain,’ Jim West presents a succinct biography of the First Reformer of Switzerland before providing original translations of excerpts from some of Zwingli’s most important writings—writings appearing here for the first time in English. Covering topics such as prayer, salvation, heaven, and more, West’s translations emanate the clarity and power of Zwingli’s voice, and his commentary helps contextualize and illuminate the pious nature of a man whom so few have read. ‘Christ Our Captain’ is a primary text for understanding the life and writings of Zwingli, and a must-have for Reformation studies.

Jim West’s book on Zwingli can be highly recommended to everyone who wants to learn more about the faith and thought of the man whose works contain the seed of Reformed theology. It bears all the traits of a good introduction to the subject: short, easy to read, and true to its title pointing out what was most important to Zwingli himself, not leaving the darker sides of Zwingli’s biography unattended, and last but not least, letting the Reformer’s own voice be heard.

Peter Opitz, Professor of Church History, Universität Zürich

Dr. Jim West is Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at the Quartz Hill School of Theology and Pastor of Petros Baptist Church, Petros, Tennessee. He has written a number of books, book reviews, and articles, is a member of several scholarly societies, and serves as Language Editor for the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament and Language Revision Editor for the Copenhagen International Seminar.

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John Knox

• Author: John J. Murray
• Publisher: Evangelical Press
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 112

As well as modeling the Church in Scotland, John Knox laid the foundation of an extraordinary forward-looking new state—way ahead of the time in such matters as education, social welfare, and democracy. The Reformation had its effect in all spheres of national life. Knox roused the common man to a sense of his true dignity. He said, “Before God all men are equal. In matters of religion God requires no less of the subject, be he ever so poor, than of the prince and the rich man.”

Educationally, the Reformation gave a great impetus to literacy as the common people learned to read the Bible for themselves. Knox brought forward the first comprehensive scheme of national education, where every parish would have a schoolmaster and every notable town a college, and where the children of the poor would have their education free. The importance of education became a basic characteristic of the Scots both at home and abroad.

This short biography is the ‘essential’ John Knox with all his passion, power, and devotion to Christ. It is Knox at his pithy best without the frills and distractions. We are all indebted to John J. Murray for distilling the Scots Reformer into an intoxicating elixir. This appetizer that will no doubt tantalize readers to further feast on the whole of the life and works of John Knox.

—Dale Walden Johnson, professor of church history, Erskine Theological Seminary

John J. Murray served as a pastor at Oban Free Church (1978–1989) and Edinburgh Free Church (1989–2002). He was also assistant editor of Banner of Truth Magazine.

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The Life of John Wickliff

• Author: P. F. Tytler
• Publisher: William Whyte and Co.
• Publication Date: 1826
• Pages: 207

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Noted historian and biographer Patrick Fraser Tytler presents a highly readable biography of John Wycliffe, covering his early life to his death, and the impact he had on the world. Contains a detailed Appendix and a list of Wycliffe’s works.

Patrick Fraser Tytler (1791–1849) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was one of the founders of the Bannatyne Club and the English Historical Society. His numerous works include Lives of Scottish Worthies, Life of Sir Walter Raleigh, Life of Henry VIII, Portraits of Mary Queen of Scots, and the seven-volume History of Scotland.

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Beza’s Icones: Contemporary Portraits of Reformers of Religion and Letters

• Author: Theodore Beza
• Editor: C.G. McCrie
• Publisher: The Religious Tract Society
• Publication Date: 1906
• Pages: 249

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Read the record of the Reformers’ lives written by one of their own. This compilation of vibrant biographies gives the reader a concise view of the people associated with the Reformation, their ministry, their writings, and doctrines they drew from the biblical text. Notable biographies include Thomas Cranmer, John Knox, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and John Huss.

This is a rare glimpse of classical research made easily accessible for a modern audience, and is useful in sermon illustrations or for small group settings. It contains the 38 portraits in the original 1580 publication and the additional 11 included in Goulard’s translation.

. . . the volume should appeal to all readers of taste, as well as those especially interested in the Reformation movement.

—The Athenaeum, Volume 2

Theodore Beza (1519–1605) was a French Protestant theologian and scholar who played an important role in the early Reformation. A disciple of John Calvin, he lived most of his life in Switzerland.

Beza earned his law degree from the University of Orleans in 1539. He served at the academy in Geneva as a Greek instructor and, later, as the pastor of a city church. Beza produced numerous secular and historical studies, including A Little Book of Christian Questions and Responses and Memoirs of the Life and Writings of John Calvin.

Charles Greig McCrie (1836–1910) is the author of The Public Worship of Presbyterian Scotland Historically Treated and The Free Church of Scotland.

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Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation

• Author: Albert F. Pollard
• Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
• Publication Date: 1906
• Pages: 410

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Published in 1906, Albert Frederick Pollard’s biography of Thomas Cranmer introduces Cranmer’s childhood, family, and developmental years. Covering both of Cranmer’s marriages as well as his character and private life, this text presents a more personal look at the life of this English Reformer.

Albert F. Pollard was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period. He was educated at Jesus College in Oxford.

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Luther for Armchair Theologians

• Author: Steven Paulson
• Series: W.J.K. Armchair
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 232

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Martin Luther started a reformation movement that revolutionized Europe in the sixteenth century. His far-reaching reforms of theological understanding and church practices radically modified both church and society in Europe and beyond. Steven Paulson’s discussion of Luther’s thought, coupled with Ron Hill’s illustrations, provides an engaging introduction to Luther’s multifaceted self and the ideas that catapulted him to fame.

Steven Paulson is professor of systematic theology at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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