INTRODUCTION

Abstract

Calvinism is much misunderstood. The confusion stems primarily from the tendancy, as Richard Muller has described it, to accommodate Calvin to current concerns and theological debates.¹ The accommodated Calvin is protean, shifting shape to fit widely varying perspectives. Those outside the Reformed tradition often mischaracterize his theology as a foil to their own or present him as the avatar of repressive moralism, while those who consider themselves the heirs of that tradition tend to impose their own theological views on him. The result has been a Calvinism that can be cited in support of theocracy or democracy, of a symbolic view of the Eucharist or the real presence, of revolution or strict political obedience.