Institutes of the Christian Religion

By: John Calvin

Narrated by: Bob Souer

Length: 67 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin's seminal work on Protestant systematic theology. Highly influential in the Western world and still widely read by theological students today, it was published in Latin in 1536 and in his native French in 1541. The book serves as an introductory textbook on the Protestant faith for those with some previous knowledge of theology and covers a broad range of theological topics from the doctrines of church and sacraments to justification by faith alone and Christian liberty. It vigorously attacks teachings which Calvin considered unorthodox, particularly Roman Catholicism to which Calvin says he had been "strongly devoted" before his conversion to Protestantism. The overarching theme of the book - and Calvin's greatest theological legacy - is the idea of God's total sovereignty, particularly in salvation and election. Institutes of the Christian Religion is highly-regarded as a secondary reference for the system of doctrine adopted by the Reformed churches, which is commonly referred to as Calvinism.

Public Domain (P)2013 Blackstone

Quite a Blessing

A couple people who heard it, as well as myself, thought it sounded like a robot speaking. It didn't take long to get used to, though. Very helpful stuff!

Got Time??

Wow—can’t believe I finished this! A fascinating listen, but I wish you had used a more modern translation. There’s probably close to 500 English words in there that I’ve never heard before. Still glad I did it.

A Classic Compendium of Reformed Theology

Jean Calvin's magnum opus, 'The Institutes' fills four volumes with thorough treatises on God, Man, and the Church.

Although Calvin has a very mixed reputation amongst believers, this work is a valuable piece of literature for all, expansive in its scope and carefully reasoned, and offering insight into the surprising depth and breadth of thought within medieval Christianity. Calvin's scholarship is apparent as he covers various topics, quoting copiously not only from the Bible, but also a multitude of church fathers(admittedly favoring Augustine but quoting many others).

Even if you don't share his beliefs, you will no doubt find knowledge to consider in Calvin's work.

John Calvin thank you

This study into the scriptual beliefs of Christians is done with Calvin's teacher's heart. Every bit of it out lined which allora for anyone doing a study quick access to early church teachings and then all summarized at the end.

Calvin puts us in touch with the brillance of Augustine, Ignacious and many heros and contrarary vocies early church.

Calvin visits those practices that were added by the catholic church and does a great job of bringing the scripture to shine onto those practices.

Calvin dicusses the autority and direction of catholic heirarchy and discusses the sacraments

i dont agree with all his conclusions but he does a through job of addressing many sides of the argument

there's only one of its kind

my marathon of a book for this year. I'm thankful to read it later in my walk with the Lord... so I am more familiar with scripture and doctrines to understand the material and the arguements. helps me see what I understand and why and also revealed week areas that i want to understand more . glad to be familiar so that I can reference again when needed.

Excellent rendition of The Institutes!

While this is a very long endeavor for an audiobook, it is well worth the time investment.

Fast reader with no breaks

Great book, but the narrator was very mono-tone, no breaks for periods or moments for a breath, it made the whole reading feel tedious and unnatural.

Mispronunciation

I liked listening to this production despite the archaic language. I was just bothered by the constant wrong pronunciation of certain words. For example absurd being pronounced as "abzurd"

This book is classic Reformed Doctrine.

This book is classic Reformed doctrine but should be read by everyone to receive great theology as well as understanding of what Calvin believed.

Withering Critique of Catholic Teachings

This read like a hit piece over 60 hours long. John Calvin offers biting critiques. The reader did a great job of coming across with a commanding intellectual tone with just the right amount of condescension.

I listened to the whole thing, and I look forward to listening to it again in a few months or years. Calvin is one of the most important thinkers of the last 500 years. So, it was good to hear what he actually wrote versus what others may say about his writings.