The Brightest Mirror of God's Works

John Calvin's perspectives on the nature, calling, and destiny of the human being is scattered all over his extensive corpus of writings. This book attempts to provide an accurate account of the main theological motifs that governed Calvin's doctrine on the human being, while keeping in mind variable factors such as the historical development of Calvin's thought, the pastoral and often unsystematic orientation of his theology, and the formative impact doctrinal controversies had on his thoughts. The contribution focuses specifically on Calvin's understanding of the created structure of the human being, her sinful nature, the human being's union with Christ, the limits of human reason, the anthropological roots of human society and gender. The primary aim is to make the original Calvin speak. But the contribution also addresses some of the most recent debates on Calvin's theology and identifies those impulses in his theological anthropology that bear potential for modern reflections on human existence. Like most of us, Calvin was a child of his time. However, his intellectual legacy endures and readers may well find his thoughts on the human being surprisingly refreshing and stimulating for modern anthropological and social discourses.

""After reading this well argued and meticulously researched publication by Nico Vorster I am more than ever convinced of the incalculable value of Calvin's theological inheritance to the recent modern theological debate. This magisterial, lucid exposition of Calvin's theological Anthropology shows a prodigious intellect, indefatigably processing oceans of text and research literature to present a powerful, provocative stimulus and reliable contribution to the recent debate. Nico Vorster's theological analysis is crisp, logical, and a reliable source of research for academic scholars as well as students. He thoroughly articulates the facts, questions, and perspectives of different scholars to present his suggestions and proposals.""
--Jan du Rand, North-West University

""As one of South Africa's best-known systematic theologians who focuses on Calvinist studies, Nico Vorster in this book investigates several aspects of Calvin's anthropology. He shows its relevance in addressing systemic problems that modern societies face, like human alienation, individualism, collective power abuse, systemic corruption, ecocide, and the fracturing of communities. His discussion of Calvin's anthropology demonstrates that many of the modern theological anthropological challenges are in fact old questions in new disguises.""
--Marius Nel, North-West University



Nico Vorster is Professor in Systematic Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the North West University in South Africa. He has published various books, articles and book chapters within the fields of Theological Anthropology Christian Social Ethics and Public Theology. He is the author of the book Created in the Image of God (2011).