The young John Calvin

Professor of law Cordell Schulten recently finished an interesting series on the emergence of John Calvin as one of the principal leaders of the Reformation. Schulten writes:

In conducting this brief survey, we will first take a passing glance at the historical background for the use of public disputation as a forum for civic and ecclesial dialogue. We will then turn to what I will advance as the principal factors that substantially prepared and prompted Calvin to rise to the question at Lausanne: his legal education and the influence of Guillaume Farel. Finally, we will analyze the rhetoric of Calvin’s two disputation discourses to discover the characteristics of his argumentation that not only won the day at Lausanne but also well advanced, at least in the appraisal of some, the purpose of God in Calvin’s own generation.

Here are the links:

The Forming of Calvin's Analytical Mind -- The Impact of a 16th Century Law School Education

The Forming of Calvin's Theological Mind

If You Survive...You'll Leave Thinking Like a Lawyer - The Influence of Calvin’s Legal Education

Mentors Make the Man - The Influence of Guillaume Farel

The Emergence of a Legally-Trained Mind - Calvin at the Lausanne Disputation

The Emergent Calvin--Concluding Words