Their efforts led to the publishing of rare Reformed theologians’ manuscripts once thought lost.
The 16th-18th century theologians and philosophers were brutally honest about their doctrinal positions and emotions, including the well-known Reformer John Calvin, who pushed the boundaries of good taste in a sermon about rowdy adolescents.
“We’ve got things coming out of the woodwork that (were) lost for centuries,” said Todd Rester, a doctoral student who served on the project’s six-member editorial board.
The site is not simply an archive of Reformers’ works but also those of their influencers, including Reformed, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Anabaptist, Arminian-Remonstrant and Socinian-Unitarian thinkers, as well as secondary sources.
Documents once thought to have vanished include a profession of faith from John Calvin’s successor, Theodore Beza. And there’s a sermon by John Calvin, who compares unruly teens to “little turds,” Rester said.
