On Reading Calvin's Institutes

Have you ever considered reading John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion but don't know where to start? Today's episode is a guide to help you begin that journey.

In Relatione (relevant links) Eowyn’s Recommendation: The Magician's Nephew (consider also the BBC Radio Dramas)

Battle's translation | the current standard English translation

Knowing God and Ourselves: Reading Calvin's Institutes Devotionally | a devotional guide by David Calhoun

1541 Banner of Truth Edition | smaller than the final 1559 edition and can also be read with Calhoun's guide.

Beveridge's translation | an older translation and a more cost-effective version

Truth for All Time | a booklet by Calvin that is often a distillation of his original 1536 edition of the Institutes.

Guide to Christian Living | a translation from the French of five chapters from the full Institutes

A Little Book on the Christian Life | a translation of the same five chapters above from the Latin version (You can also find my teachings on this book here)

Ex Interrete (a hodgepodge of Internet items that I enjoyed)⁠⁠The Mundanity of Excellence⁠⁠Shedding A worthwhile podcast episode to listen to.

Tears Over Sorrows That May Never Come This post (from 2021 but was re-shared by Challies as a flashback this week) was instrumental in encouraging my wife to fight her anxiety of our eldest daughter's seizures.

"How, then, can I let go of such anxiety? If I have learned any antidote it is this: deliberately submitting myself to the will of God, for comfort is closely related to acquiescence. As long as I fight the will of God, as long as I battle God’s right to rule his world in his way, peace remains distant and furtive. But when I surrender, when I bow the knee, then peace flows like a river and “attendeth my way.” For when I do so, I remind myself that the will of God is inseparable from the character of God."