the Bondage and Liberation of Will A Defence Orthodox Doctrine Human Choice against Pighius

This important work contains material not found elsewhere in Calvin's writings and will be required reading for students of Calvin and the Protestant Reformation. The Dutch Roman Catholic theologian Albert Pighius believed that the 1539 edition of Calvin's Institutes--particularly its chapters on free choice and predestination--constituted a greater danger than did the other "Lutheran" writings. He wrote a response entitled Ten Books on Human Free Choice and Divine Grace in 1542. Calvin, when he saw Pighius's work on free choice, felt a pressing need to respond. The result was The Bondage and Liberation of the Will, published in 1543. The Bondage and Liberation of the Will is undoubtedly the most significant of Calvin's works hitherto not translated into English. This is in striking contrast to Luther's study on the same topic, which is one of his best-known publications. While Calvin's work may not be of such crucial significance as Luther's, it is still his fullest treatment of the relation between grace and free will. It also offers insight into Calvin's interpretations of the church fathers, especially Augustine, on the topics of grace and free will and contains Calvin's answer to Pighius's objection that preaching is unnecessary if salvation is by grace alone. This important work, edited by renowned scholar A. N. S. Lane, contains material not found elsewhere in Calvin's writings and is invaluable reading for students of Calvin and the Protestant Reformation. The Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought series recognizes the need for careful, scholarly treatment of the Reformation and of the era of Protestant orthodoxy, seeking to present the varied and current approaches to Protestantism's rich heritage and to stimulate interest in the roots of the Protestant tradition. "This first English translation of an important work of John Calvin is a welcome supplement to his teachings in his Institutes."--E. Earle Ellis, Southwestern Journal of Theology This volume provides Calvin's fullest treatment of the relationship between the grace of God and the free will of humans. It offers insight into Calvin's interpretations of the church fathers, especially Augustine, on the topics of grace and free will and contains Calvin's answer to Pighius's objection that preaching is unnecessary if salvation is by grace alone. This important work, edited by renowned scholar A. N. S. Lane, contains material not found elsewhere in Calvin's writings and will be required reading for students of Calvin and the Protestant Reformation.