Facebook page created for anyone
committed to reading Calvin’s Institutes in 2013
The Layman, Posted Wednesday, January 2, 2013
An open Facebook group — Calvin 365 — has been created for those who plan to “venture through” John Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion in 2013.
Allison Bauer, pastor of the Frankfort Presbyterian Church in Hookstown, Pa., and member of the ministerial study seminar program of the Foundation for Reformed Theology set up the Facebook group, which to date as 169 members.
Bauer said that in her mind, the group was created for three things:
1. “To provide accountability for reading through the Institutes,
2. “To provide a place for discussion on the daily readings, and
3. “To be a safe place to say, ‘What the heck did I just read?’ (You know, for us non Calvin-scholars.)”
“So, use this group according to your needs! If you’re looking for accountability, feel free to make a quick ‘I did today’s reading!’ post. If you’re looking for discussion, go ahead and post a quote you liked and/or questioned and ask for feedback. And if you’re looking for help with Calvin, just say, ‘Help!’ and I’m sure someone will be glad to offer you their expertise. Happy reading,” she continued.
The Foundation for Reformed Theology has offered a schedule for reading the Institutes in a year for those who are interested. “At five or six pages a day, five days a week, for fifty weeks, it is a steady program, but not overwhelming,” said Dr. James C. Goodloe IV, executive director of the Foundation.
The prepared schedule states that Calvin completed the Institutes in 1559, “during the height of the Reformation, giving one of the greatest articulations of the faith in the history of the church. We invite you to read this work entirely in a year.”
The schedule may be used with either the Battles (1960) or Beveridge (1845) English translations. A CD of the Institutes, which can be used on computers and is searchable, is also available.
The mission of the Foundation for Reformed Theology is to receive, study, learn and appropriate the faith and teachings of those who have gone before us in order best to apply that historical and ongoing theology to reforming the faith and life of the church today. Moreover, the Foundation affirms that a lifetime of diligent study and understanding of Reformed theology will help build up the Reformed and Presbyterian congregations of the church in particular and therefore the entire church of Jesus Christ in general.