Jon Balserak's volume on Calvinism in the Very Short Introduction series offers a profoundly accessible and well-written introduction to the 'living body of doctrines' (p. xvi) that is the Reformed faith. This 'family resemblance' approach to Calvinism is extremely salutary insofar as it gives Balserak the ability not to overemphasize any particular architectonic feature of Reformed culture as the sine ... Read morequa non of the movement.
Jonathan Warren, Bunyan studies 21 (Jan, 2017)
Jon Balserak's study appears in a series which has the aim of providing readers with an accessible way into a new subject. He certainly achieves this objective, through a thematic analysis of Calvinist ideas that will also be of interest to those already familiar with Calvinist thought.
Graeme Murdock, Journal of Ecclesiastical History 68 (2018)
The task of writing a very short introduction to such a disputed phenomenon, then, is a tall order, if not next to impossible. Jon Balserak, however, has forged a concise and admirable overview of a phenomenon that resists simple description, and with an impressive breadth and depth, given the limitations of the series format. ... Balserak's concise, learned, and insightful treatment of other themes in this diminutive introduction is impressive. ... Especially given that writing a very short introduction to this faith tradition is an impossible task, Balserak's success in doing just that has resulted in one that is also very helpful.
Raymond Blacketer, Church History and Religious Culture 98/1 (April, 2018)
[T]his book achieves its goal to introduce readers to the topics of Calvinism in a stimulating and accessible way.
Eundeuk Kim, Reading Religion
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