Bruce Gordon
On his book Calvin
Cover Interview of April 21, 2010
biography /
religion /
europe /
christianity /
france /
protestantism /
reformation /
16th century /
switzerland /
weber max /
Editor’s note
Originally, this interview ran on the Rorotoko cover page under the headline
“ Calvin was always in the process of becoming Calvin.”
We highlighted two quotes.
On the first page:
“ It was a life lived in many phases. Calvin thought he was going to be a priest, then a lawyer, then a humanist writer. He ended up a Protestant reformer in a backwater city he disliked intensely, and the feeling was mutual.”
On the second:
“ Did Calvin think Servetus should be executed? Yes. Did he want the execution? Probably. Did he have the authority to condemn Servetus to death? No.”