The Theater of His Glory: Nature and the Natural Order in the Thought of John Calvin

by Susan E. Schreiner

Though much has been written on nearly every aspect of Calvin's thought, The Theater of His Glory offers the first extensive study of Calvin's theology of the natural order to appear in English. Now back in print, this brief monograph provides a thorough summary of Calvin's theology of creation and its relationship to the theological tradition of the ancient and medieval church, to sixteenth-century heresies, and to the theology of his fellow Reformers.

This volume has obvious relevance for students of Calvin, but it can also inform contemporary discussions of the Christian's relationship to creation.

Genres: Theology

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Ian Clary]

This is what serious scholarship looks like. Susan Schreiner's classic is one I've seen in footnotes for many years but never actually got around to reading. I wish I'd read it before, because she does a really good job at delving deep into Calvin's understanding of nature and the natural order. While lots has been written on his natural theology and theory (if it can be called that) of natural law, nothing much has been for nature itself. Schreiner is definitely of the school that Richard Muller comes from, not just because she did her PhD at Duke under David Steinmetz as well, but she has the same depth of scholarly analysis. She engages the sources well and does a great job with intellectual history. It's not surprising that he wrote the foreword. Schreiner knows well the patristic and medieval understanding of nature and helpfully orients those traditions to Calvin.
She uses appropriate, but also interesting lenses (should I say spectacles?) with which to look at Calvin. Providence is really the angle into nature that the whole book takes, which makes sense not only given Calvin's predestinarianism, but because of the Stoic influences on his views of providence. Chapter 2, however, was really enjoyable to read, as she looked at Calvin and the topic of angels. I was fascinated by Calvin's view, at some points you'd think he was a medieval mystic, though he doesn't really go that deep. For what it's worth, while his views are not what I'm sure many would expect, I think his angelology is ultimately inadequate and needed developing. The rest of the book does a great job with Calvin's view of the imago Dei in relation to the soul, showing that Calvin doesn't have a seriously worked out faculty theology. Her chapter on Calvin and natural law was worth the price of the book, especially as she relates is to his political theology and to the two kingdoms. The final chapter, on 'creation set free,' was spiritually encouraging to read, as she expounded Calvin's thoughts on heaven and the afterlife.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of Calvin on nature, very well done. It's a model of scholarship, many should take note.

[Jason Farley]

pretty interesting so far.

This was enjoyable, informative and thoughtfully provoking.

[Steve]

Really excellent book on Calvin's view of creation, nature and man.

[Simon]

Really fine work.