Giants of the Faith - A Christian History Podcast

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We're returning to our look at John Calvin in this final episode of Giants of the Faith, season two. When we left off last time Calvin had stopped over in Geneva in August of 1536 on his way to Strasbourg and had been convinced by the local pastor, William Farel, to stay on and help organize the church there.



RESOURCES

Ligonier.org: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/theologian-ages-john-calvin/

Ligonier.org: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/institutes-christian-religion/

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-john-calvin/

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/john-calvin-reformer-pastor-theologian

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/john-calvin-timeline

Calvin University: https://calvin.edu/about/history/john-calvin.html

Christianity.com: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/odd-romance-of-john-and-idelette-calvin-11629964.html

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With the next two episodes we're finishing up our focus on the Reformers by looking at John Calvin. Calvin remains one of the most influential people in Christian history. He got his start as a pastor almost by accident. In this episode we will look at Calvin's early life and the continue in Part 2 with his ministry and impact.

RESOURCES

 Ligonier.org: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/theologian-ages-john-calvin/

 Ligonier.org: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/institutes-christian-religion/

 The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-john-calvin/

 Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/john-calvin-reformer-pastor-theologian

 Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/john-calvin-timeline

Calvin University: https://calvin.edu/about/history/john-calvin.html

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Today we're examining the life of Heinrich Bullinger, the successor to Zwingli in Zurich who is sometimes referred to as the forgotten reformer. With this episode we're nearing the end of our emphasis on the Reformers. After Bullinger will come Calvin and then we'll return to looking at a broader spectrum of folks. Of course, there are tons of influential and important Reformers still on my list so we may return to a narrow focus on the Reformation at some point in the future. I'm planning out future seasons now and I'm pretty excited about, with God's grace, the direction of this podcast. 


RESOURCES

Christian Study Library: https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/heinrich-bullinger-christian-confessor

Ligonier.org: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/covenant-theologian-heinrich-bullinger/

Musee Protestant: https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/heinrich-bullinger-1504-1575/

Got Questions?: https://www.gotquestions.org/Heinrich-Bullinger.html

Reformation Society of America: https://www.reformationsa.org/index.php/history/454-heinrich-bullinger-consolidating-the-reformation

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In this episode we are going back to Scotland to discuss John Knox. Knox made a brief appearance in the George Wishart episode and now we will look at him in more detail. Knox is a polarizing figure but there is no doubt that in his role as one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church movement he is one of the leading lights of the Protestant Reformation.

RESOURCES

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/john-knox-and-the-scottish-reformation

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/knox

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-knox.html

Reformation History: https://reformationhistory.org/johnknox.html

Banner of Truth: https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/john-knox/

1582 Geneva Bible Leaf https://www.ebay.com/itm/263992062154

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In this bonus episode we're going to look at one of the men most responsible for the 16th century Reformation - Erasmus. Erasmus is known as the man that laid the egg that Luther hatched. Though he was not a reformer in the common usage of the word he did want Christendom to return to a reliance on the writing of the church fathers and, even more, on the scriptures themselves.

RESOURCES

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/scholarsandscientists/erasmus.html

Erasmus.org: https://www.erasmus.org/index.cfm?itm_name=life-EN

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/battle-will-part-2-luther-erasmus/

Ligonier Ministries: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/handout-church-history/forerunners-of-luther-lyra-valla-erasmus/

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/erasmus-to-calvin

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/the-man-who-yielded-to-no-one

Insight of the King: https://www.insightoftheking.com/erasmus-greek-new-testament.html

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In this episode we're looking at the life of George Wishart, the early Scottish Reformer and predecessor to John Knox. Wishart is less well known than Knox but his tale is an important one. He was a figurehead of the early Reformation in Scotland.

RESOURCES

Christian Study Library: https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/george-wishart-his-life-and-influence-reformation

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/it-happened-today/3/1

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/murder-comes-to-the-archbishop

Electric Scotland: https://electricscotland.com/bible/reformation/chap2section1.htm

UK Wells: https://ukwells.org/revivalists/george-wishart

Christianity.com: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/cardinal-beaton-murdered-11629972.html

Wishart.org: https://wishart.org/index.php/notablewisharts/george-wishart/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

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Welcome to this bonus episode of Giants of the Faith. We're well into season 2 now with a narrow focus on the Reformation. In this bonus episode we'll take a look at what the Catholic Church did in response to the movement spearheaded by Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and others. That response is called the Counter Reformation or sometimes the Catholic Reformation and it is encapsulated in the decisions and decrees made during the Council of Trent. Trent served to reject the Protestant distinctives and also to clarify and support Catholic ones. There is a lot of information that came out of Trent and we're not going to be able to cover all 28 years effectively here but I've picked out some of the major points of interest. If you want to know more there are volumes and volumes of documentation that you can read.


RESOURCES

Catholic Answers: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/anathema

Traditional Catholic: http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Council/Trent/

Musee Protestant: https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/the-catholic-reformation-or-counter-reformation/

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-council-of-trent/

Simply Cahtolic: https://www.simplycatholic.com/myths-and-facts-about-the-council-of-trent/

Ask Ligonier Podcast: https://ask.ligonier.org/podcast-episodes/why-do-roman-catholic-bibles-have-more-books-in-them-than-protestant-bibles

Bible Baptist Church Ballincollig: https://www.biblebc.com/Roman%20Catholicism/summary_of_trent.htm

The Soul Anchor Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soul-anchor-podcast/id1480173781

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In this eipsode we are going to look at one of the often overlooked reformers, George Spalatin, also known as George Burkhardt. Spalatin was confidant to Luther and was instrumental in providing the Reformation the security it needed to grow and thrive. He was not a great theologian but he did have an important part to play in allowing the Gospel to take root and spread. When I set out to begin this podcast one of my goals was to highlight some of the men and women with a lower profile who nonetheless are important to remember. Spalatin sort of fits that category. He's a well known figure but is often given only a passing mention in  histories of the Reformation. While this episode will be short I will do my best to do justice to Spalatin's impact and legacy.


RESOURCES

Reformation 500: https://reformation500.csl.edu/bio/georg-spalatin/

Reformation 2017: https://lutheranreformation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ref500-Spalatin_Handout.pdf

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/luthers-political-allies

Altenburg: https://www.altenburg.eu/sixcms/detail.php?id=82209&_nav_id1=82189&_lang=en

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slater

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In episode 32 we're going to survey the life and impact of English Reformer William Tyndale. Tyndale is another one of those guys that has had an outsized impact on the course of English, and therefore Western, history. I'd always known Tyndale as the man that first translated the Bible into English. But it's much more than that. Tyndale's story is one full of intrigue, secrecy, bounty hunters, daring escapes, and above all a ferocious devotion to the Kingdom of God. I hope that this recounting of his commitment encourages you as it did me.




RESOURCES

Ligonier Ministries: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/prince-translators-william-tyndale/

Challies: https://www.challies.com/book-reviews/william-tyndale-a-biography/

Banner of Truth: https://banneroftruth.org/us/about/banner-authors/william-tyndale/

5 Minutes in Church History: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/tyndales-only-surviving-letter/

White Horse Inn Podcast: https://whitehorseinn.org/resource-library/articles/why-we-call-our-radio-program-white-horse-inn/

The Tudor Society: https://www.tudorsociety.com/william-tyndale/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slater