Читать книгу Calvin's Interpretation of 'The Lord's Prayer'. A Rhetorical Approach - Professor J.H. Mazaheri - Страница 5

‘The Sermon on the Mount’ is the longest speech delivered by Jesus in the Gospels, taking up three entire chapters (5–7) in the Gospel of Matthew. The “essence” of Christianity is most eloquently expounded in these chapters. Now the subject of prayer is situated in the middle of it (6: 5–14), and ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ a model of prayer offered by Christ, exactly at the center of the sermon. This prayer, being the most significant one for Christians of all groups and denominations, has evidently brought about countless publications and interpretations, from the greatest theologians to the most common preachers in the world throughout the history of Christianity. John Calvin’s exegesis of it, in his Institutes of Christian Religion and in his Commentaries of the Bible, is no doubt among the most profound and influential ones. Fascinated by its depth and powerful presentation, I would like to share here with others my own reading of Calvin, based on his French works. Although the language of the 16^th century can still be considered Middle French, Calvin’s style announces the classical period by its precision, clarity, and methodical presentation. No wonder then, as Francis Higman rightly points out, that “Ever since the first appearance of Calvin’s writings in French, admiration has been expressed for his handling of that language (…). His friends admired his language. His ennemies did too, calling it seductive poison and so on …,” and that “J. Plattard described the 1541 Institutes as the ‘first monument of French eloquence’.”1