Geneva's Use of Lies, Deceit, and Subterfuge, 1536-1563

This provocative study challenges existing views of John Calvin's ethics and raises important questions about dissimulation in Reformation Geneva. Jon Balserak shows just how carefully Calvin shaped his public image, and he draws attention to the contradictions between the reformer's condemnation of Nicodemism and his use of subterfuge to spread the evangelical gospel. Geneva's Use of Lies, Deceit, and Subterfuge, 1536-1563 demonstrates the importance of looking at actions as well as words when looking at Calvin's dealings with France. * Amy Nelson Burnett, Paula and D.B. Varner Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln * Meticulously examining the correspondence of Calvin and others from the period leading up to the first war of religion in France, Balserak replaces the common view of Calvin as a morally rigorous and lifelong opponent of active resistance to tyranny with a persuasive account of Calvin's sustained subterfuge and deliberate deception in service of the evangelization of France. Balserak's book is truly a judicious exercise in revisionist history at its best. * John L. Thompson, author of Reading the Bible with the Dead: What You Can Learn from the History of Exegesis That You Can't Learn from Exegesis Alone * Through a careful reading of John Calvin's correspondence and other writings, Jon Balserak reveals an almost Machiavellian Calvin, for whom the end of advancing Christ's kingdom on earth justified a variety of morally questionable means. Thanks to Balserak's painstaking research and daring willingness to challenge the dominant image of Calvin, we will never be able to look at the reformer or Reformation Geneva the same way again. * Michael Bruening, Professor of History, Missouri S&T *