Celebrating Five Hundred Years of the Faith of Our Fathers

“Let us give honour to persons who excel in the fear of God, but on condition that God remains above all, and that Christ triumphs.” —D’Aubigne, quoting Calvin in 1864 at a three-hundred anniversary speech of Calvin’s death.

A Once in a Lifetime Event! from Vision Forum on Vimeo.

July 10, 2009, marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. Though he was born five hundred years ago, his labors — along with the efforts of Protestant Reformers like Luther, Knox, and others — shook the West and blazed a trail of liberty around the globe still visible today. Together, the Reformers championed the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, opening the door for broad-sweeping cultural reform in the arts, business, and community life. With God’s Word translated into the vernacular, fathers during the Reformation opened their Bibles and taught their children doctrinal truths that, to a great extent, had hitherto been shrouded in darkness — and the world was reborn.

The Reformers’ commitment to mass disseminate the Scriptures led to the unshackling of the family, church, and state from long-held error. Through the Reformers efforts to apply the Scripture to every arena, God was exalted, tyranny was quashed, and civilization was transformed. Calvin’s biblical worldview in particular took strong root in the New World—one true “founder of America.”

“Without Calvin, Protestantism might well not have survived beyond the middle of the seventeenth century; for it is a matter of simple fact that the only Protestants who were prepared to stand and fight, to the last ditch if necessary, against Roman and Erastian tyranny, were the Calvinists.” Dr. J. I. Packer

On July 1-4, 2009, people from across America journeyed to the spiritual epicenter of America’s godly heritage—New England, a land where Pilgrims and Puritans took the Holy Scriptures and the doctrines of the Reformers and applied them to the family, the church, the state, and the culture, thus birthing a freedom-rich, holy heritage of religious and civil liberty. Calvin has correctly been called America’s true founding father, and he was the undisputed theological giant of the Reformation. As we gather to remember the influence of Calvin and his fellow Reformers, we also celebrate the mighty providence of God in the life of His Church through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do so because our sons and daughters must not only stand firm in a day of tremendous compromise and spiritual confusion, they must follow the example of their Reformation fathers by advancing the crown rights of Jesus Christ in every sphere of life and thought.

As we remember and celebrate this great heritage of freedom, it’s up to us to recover what we’ve lost — to champion God’s Word once again as the only sure blueprint for lasting reformation.

Recorded live at the Reformation 500 Celebration, this two-part audio album highlights the powerful influence of the Word of God, the true historical events and impact of the Reformation, and men and women of history who are heroes of the faith. Event speakers include Doug Phillips, Dr. Joseph Morecraft, III, Geoffrey Botkin, Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr., Wesley Strackbein, Dan Ford, Dr. Marshall Foster, Marcus Serven, Scott Brown, Col. John Eidsmoe, Dr. Paul Jehle, William Potter, Kevin Swanson, and entertainers Charlie Zahm and Tad Marks.

Titles Include:

Volume I:

• Opening Ceremonies - Reformers & Revolutionaries
  Doug Phillips & Charlie Zahm
• John Calvin: Man of the Millennium
  Dr. Joseph Morecraft, III
• John Calvin on the Biblical Doctrine of the Family
  Scott Brown
• A Heart Offered to God: The Life and Ministry of John Calvin
  Marcus Serven
• The Doctrine of Semper Reformanda
  Geoffrey Botkin
• The Family Reformation That Began in Geneva and Continues Today
  Scott Brown
• Calvin’s Doctrine of the Church
  Dr. Joseph Morecraft, III
• The Bible Unleashed: Calvin’s Role in Producing the Geneva Bible
  Dr. Marshall Foster
• The Reformation Influence on Arts and Culture
  Doug Phillips
• Competing Views of Dominion — Roman Catholic vs. Reformed
  Dan Ford
• Martin Luther
  Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr.
• In Defense of the ‘Solas’ of the Reformation
  Dr. Joseph Morecraft, III
• Spare No Arrows: The Life and Legacy of John Knox
  Wesley Strackbein
• Lessons from the Waldenses
  Geoffrey Botkin
• John Calvin’s View of Law
  Dr. Joseph Morecraft, III
• Calvin’s Grandparents: The Men Who Paved the Way for the Reformation
  Marcus Serven
• What We Can Learn from the Reformers on Courtship and Marriage
  Scott Brown

Volume II:

• Calvin vs. Darwin: The True Story
  Doug Phillips
• Calvin vs. Darwin Debate: The Battle of the Millennium
• From Terror to Triumph
  Dr. Marshall Foster
• John Robinson: The Shepherd of America
  Dr. Paul Jehle
• The Influence of the Reformation on Global Exploration and Warfare
  William Potter
• Great Calvinistic Lessons for Homeschoolers of the 21st Century
  Kevin Swanson
• The Reformers and the Paper Trail of Freedom
  Dr. Marshall Foster
• Calvin’s Doctrine of Worship
  Dr. Joseph Morecraft, III
• How Calvinism Built New England: How New England Built America
  Dr. Paul Jehle
• Calvin’s Doctrine of Interposition and the War of Independence
  Col. John Eidsmoe
• The First Founding Father of Our Calvinistic Constitution
  Col. John Eidsmoe
• The Use of Biblical Law in the American Colonies
  Col. John Eidsmoe
• Calvinism and Free Market Economics
  Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr.
• A Reformation Perspective on the Salem Witch Trials
  Dr. Paul Jehle
• The Second American Mayflower
  Kevin Swanson
• Closing Ceremonies - The Next 500 Years: The Continuing Influence of the Reformation — Doug Phillips & Joseph Morecraft, III