JesusIsLord
Puritan Board Freshman
Good day guys, I see tons of versions of Calvin's institutes but I'm not sure which one to choose. Any suggestions?
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What version of Calvin's institutes
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reaganmarsh
Puritan Board Senior
There are 3 major editions of the Institutes:
The McNeill edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0664220282/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= This is a standard academic edition. It is a little wooden in its translation when compared to Beveridge.
The Beveridge edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1598...=WG84Q9Q8G16Q06FHWH5S&dpPl=1&dpID=51qfyACR1iL I think this one reads much more easily than McNeill, though I wouldn't suggest using it in an academic context.
And the new Banner of Truth edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1848...=N3Z6Z3G1HDFRCX91Q65T&dpPl=1&dpID=81IpNC5FiTL I don't have a copy of this one, so I can't speak to its usefulness; but it has received very good reviews online.
The McNeill edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0664220282/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= This is a standard academic edition. It is a little wooden in its translation when compared to Beveridge.
The Beveridge edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1598...=WG84Q9Q8G16Q06FHWH5S&dpPl=1&dpID=51qfyACR1iL I think this one reads much more easily than McNeill, though I wouldn't suggest using it in an academic context.
And the new Banner of Truth edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1848...=N3Z6Z3G1HDFRCX91Q65T&dpPl=1&dpID=81IpNC5FiTL I don't have a copy of this one, so I can't speak to its usefulness; but it has received very good reviews online.
Guido's Brother
Puritan Board Junior
Richard Muller recommends the older Allen translation. Not in print, but you can find it online as a pdf.
johnny
Puritan Board Sophomore
I like "reading" McNeill-Battles version and "listening" to Beveridge version.
https://librivox.org/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-book-1-by-john-calvin/
https://librivox.org/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-book-1-by-john-calvin/
reaganmarsh
Puritan Board Senior
I stand corrected! If Muller recommends the Allen, listen to Muller!
Now that is pretty cool. I'd never heard of that site before! Thank you for sharing!
Mcneill is the 2 volume set in Logos, correct?
reaganmarsh
Puritan Board Senior
I don't have Logos, brother. Sorry I can't be of more help. Anyone else able to answer this one?
Backwoods Presbyterian
Puritanboard Amanuensis
I'm reading the Allen one right now on pdf (I picked it up from archive.org) and I have enjoyed it.
reaganmarsh
Puritan Board Senior
Would you mind sharing the link?
That is all right... Think that the 2 volume set is the one most found being sold then, correct?
Backwoods Presbyterian
Puritanboard Amanuensis
reaganmarsh
Puritan Board Senior
Thank you, sir!
I don't know if it's the most common one around, but it's the most common one I've seen...
johnny
Puritan Board Sophomore
That's correct, but both versions are on logos.
Battles McNeil
https://www.logos.com/product/16036/institutes-of-the-christian-religion
Beveridge
https://www.logos.com/product/9472/institutes-of-the-christian-religion
And this one which I didn't know existed, Battles version of Calvins "little book" or the early institutes
https://www.logos.com/product/54172/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-1536-and-1541
Berean by Grace
Puritan Board Freshman
I personally have the Beveridge Edition, but an easier one to read is entitled "An Abridgment of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion" by Timothy Tow. Tow's abridged edition is not as cut up as most of the abridged editions. You can get a free pdf edition from Far Eastern Bible College..... http://www.febc.edu.sg/v15/assets/pdfs/febc_press/An Abridgment Of Calvin's Institutes.pdf
bookslover
Puritan Board Doctor
Here's J. I. Packer, who has, apparently, read all four of the major English translations:
"No English translation fully matches Calvin's Latin. That of the Elizabethan, Thomas Norton [the first English translation - RZ], perhaps gets closest. [Henry] Beveridge gives us Calvin's feistiness, but not always his precision. [Ford Lewis] Battles gives us the precision, but not always the punchiness and fleetness of foot. Allen is smooth and clear, but low key."
From: A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes: Essays and Analysis, edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback; The Calvin 500 Series (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008), p. x. From Packer's "Forward."
For what it's worth, Richard Muller is suspicious of the Battles translation, there being an (alleged) liberal bias in the notes (and maybe in the translation itself?). Battles taught at Hartford Theological Seminary. The editor of that edition, John T. McNeill, taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York. As someone noted earlier, Muller himself prefers the Allen translation (which, by the way, as a bonus, has a lengthy introduction by B. B. Warfield, no less).
"No English translation fully matches Calvin's Latin. That of the Elizabethan, Thomas Norton [the first English translation - RZ], perhaps gets closest. [Henry] Beveridge gives us Calvin's feistiness, but not always his precision. [Ford Lewis] Battles gives us the precision, but not always the punchiness and fleetness of foot. Allen is smooth and clear, but low key."
From: A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes: Essays and Analysis, edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback; The Calvin 500 Series (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008), p. x. From Packer's "Forward."
For what it's worth, Richard Muller is suspicious of the Battles translation, there being an (alleged) liberal bias in the notes (and maybe in the translation itself?). Battles taught at Hartford Theological Seminary. The editor of that edition, John T. McNeill, taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York. As someone noted earlier, Muller himself prefers the Allen translation (which, by the way, as a bonus, has a lengthy introduction by B. B. Warfield, no less).
JesusIsLord
Puritan Board Freshman
Thank you for all your help guys. I have heard some of the audio version and it's quite helpful.
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I use the McNeill-Battles edition and find it helpful. Either way there are 2 excellent study resources.
1. Theological guide to Calvin's institutes edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback.
2. Knowing God and Ourselves: Reading Calvin's Institutes Devotionally by David Calhoun
1. Theological guide to Calvin's institutes edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback.
2. Knowing God and Ourselves: Reading Calvin's Institutes Devotionally by David Calhoun
Logan
Puritan Board Graduate
I spent way too much time trying to decide what was the "best" version of the Institutes to read. I was so undecided that I delayed actually reading it, which I regret. I don't think you'll really suffer a loss no matter which version you pick, but don't delay reading it.
I went with Beveridge because it was convenient, but have read portions of Battles and Norton.
I went with Beveridge because it was convenient, but have read portions of Battles and Norton.
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