Consciences and the Reformation: Scruples over Oaths and Confessions in the Era of Calvin and His Contemporaries
Author(s): Timothy R. Scheuers (Author)
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication Date: August 15, 2023
- Language: English
- Print length: 276 pages
- ISBN-10: 0197692141
- ISBN-13: 9780197692141
Book Description
In light of these conflicts, author Timothy R. Scheuers offers a close reading of the texts and controversies surrounding Calvin’s struggle for reform. In particular, he shows how they reveal the unique challenges Calvin and his colleagues encountered as they attempted to employ oath-swearing and formal confession of faith in order to consolidate the reformation of church and society. This book demonstrates how oaths and vows were used to shape confessional identity, secure social order, forge community, and promote faithfulness in public and private contracts. It also illustrates the complex and difficult task of protecting the individual conscience as Calvin sought to bring his new take on Christian freedom into Reformed communities.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This rich investigation explores tensions between freedom of conscience and appreciation for church constitutions, subscription to confessions, and oath swearing. Focusing on Calvin and situating Geneva’s theoretical and practical negotiations among wider protestant movements, Scheuers paints a nuanced portrait of the relationships among biblical authority, conscience, and human traditions in the Reformation era.” — Barbara Pitkin, author of Calvin, the Bible, and History: Exegesis and Historical Reflection in the Era of Reform
“Pitkin’s study provides a window into the historical consciousness of Calvin the exegete and reveals a sophisticated method of biblical interpretation that effectively rendered ancient texts relevant to the lives and faith of early modern believers.” — Raymond A. Blacketer, Theology and History
“A thorough investigation into the Early Modern meaning of objectivity.” — W.H.Th. Moehn, Theologia Reformata
About the Author
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