IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
The Testimonies of Martin Luther, John Calvin,
John Knox, and John Bunyan
Editor David B. Calhoun
Banner of Truth. 232 pages. £6.25
ISBN 978 1 848 718 371
2017 saw the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and many books were published about key figures such as Luther and Calvin.
This book would probably have had a wider readership had it been published then. However, that does not detract from its worth. It seeks to detail the lives of the European Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin, the Scottish Reformer John Knox, and the English Pastor John Bunyan who lived nearly 100 years later (making his inclusion slightly strange).
There is a chapter devoted to each of the four men, beginning with details of their births and proceeding through their conversions and the struggles and issues they faced.
Insight into their lives
But it is not a simple biography, for Professor Calhoun weaves together his summary of their lives with extensive quotations from their own writings, so the reader can understand how the four men felt, thought and acted as they made their contributions to the work of God at such crucial times.
Some Christians might consider church history rather boring. However, a reading of this book may well change that attitude. You do not need to be a Professor of History to enjoy the book and to see how God worked through their lives to accomplish his purposes.
