July 10, 2009, is the 500th celebration of the birth of John Calvin (also the second annual Hug a Calvinist Day). Calvin gave the people of God an understand of Scripture they could not get from their church leaders and tore down the idea that life was divided between sacred and secular living. Many of his day held the belief that vulgar living, by which I mean common living like milking cows, raising children, trading in the market, and building your home, is not interesting to God. The Lord of creation is only concerned with his worship, prayer, giving to his church, and service in his name. But this distinction is not a true one, and understanding Scripture in one’s first language helps clarify that.

Of course, Martin Luther helped clarify this too.

But in honor of Calvin’s birthday, you can listen to interviews and browse the blogs for tributes. If you have a post on Calvin on your blog today, give us link in the thread.

Here’s an interesting article from the BBC: “Hard work and frugality, the values espoused by Calvinism, are back in fashion as people reassess their lives because of the economic crisis.” And here’s a video on how Calvin’s teaching has influenced World magazine.