Belfast Calvin conference
Nearly 100 people gathered for a three-day conference and exhibition held in Mount Merrion Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast to mark the 500th anniversary of John Calvin.
The speaker for the conference was Rev. Timothy Nelson, minister of Sixmilecross Free Presbyterian Church and lecturer in New Testament Greek in Northern Ireland’s Whitefield College of the Bible.
He spoke on four areas of Calvin’s life and influence: Calvin and his conversion; Calvin’s calling; his role in reforming the church; and the practical outworking of biblical Calvinism in society. The title for this last talk was ‘Calvin and his community: the Christian world view’.
The conference also featured an exhibition that contained some rare items of significance for the reformer. Among these was a Geneva Bible, a first edition of Calvin’s commentary on Hebrews, and a rare copy of the first English edition of the Institutes of Christian Religion.
Those who attended were reminded that if 1,000 years is only one day with the Lord, then we have only just reached the influential noonday of the life and witness of the French Reformer John Calvin. It is our prayer that the next 500 years may see Calvin’s influence resonating in future generations.
Presentation DVD and CD box-sets of the conference available from: 9 Orby Green, Castlereagh, Belfast BT5 5HL.
