Podcast Episode 22
John Calvin
with Dr. Karin Maag & host Nick Walters
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This episode of This Week in Christian History features three distinct segments designed to help viewers explore the people, places, and events that have shaped the global Christian movement across the centuries. Each episode includes an interview with Nick Walters, founder of the Center for Christian History at Mississippi College, a focused Deep Dive with a subject-matter expert, and two historical highlights from the same week in Christian history. These descriptions do not summarize the podcast content itself. Instead, they provide background context on the figures and themes mentioned, helping viewers connect the episode to the wider story of Christianity.
The Deep Dive for Episode 22 features Dr. Karin Maag of Calvin University. Dr. Maag is a leading scholar of the Protestant Reformation, with particular expertise in John Calvin, Reformed theology, and the social and institutional world of early modern Christianity. Her research often explores how Reformation ideas took shape in real communities through churches, education, worship, and published writings. She has written and edited widely on Calvin and the Reformed tradition, and her work is valued for connecting careful historical scholarship to the lived faith and practice of the sixteenth century. In this episode, she joins the program for a Deep Dive on the birth of John Calvin and the early context that formed one of the most influential theologians of the Reformation era.
This week’s historical highlights begin with the life and ministry of Lottie Moon.
Highlight 1: July 7, 1873
Lottie Moon is one of the pillars of the Southern Baptist denomination and a landmark figure in the history of modern missions. Originally a schoolteacher, she gave up a life of comfort and security to follow the call of the Great Commission. She was appointed a missionary to China on July 7, 1873, and left the United States shortly afterward. Moon made a lasting impact on the Chinese people she served, especially children, by cultivating friendship and trust before attempting to evangelize. Her habit of offering tea cakes to neighborhood children led locals to call her “The Cookie Lady.” She served in China for thirty-nine years, advocating for evangelism, education, and compassion for the poor. Her influence was so enduring that the major Christmastime missions offering in Southern Baptist churches is named the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, continuing her legacy of global Christian outreach.
Highlight 2: July 9, 1228
Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, left an enduring imprint on the modern study of Scripture through his development of chapter divisions in the Bible. Before Langton’s system, biblical manuscripts were written as continuous text, making reference and coordinated study difficult. His chapter divisions greatly aided preaching, teaching, and theological discussion by allowing Christians to cite and locate specific passages with ease. At the same time, some of his divisions remain controversial among scholars, including the break between Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53, which many believe should be continuous. Langton also played a significant role in English political history as one of the signers of the Magna Carta, a document intended to limit royal authority and protect longstanding rights of the church and nobility. He died on July 9, 1228, remembered both for shaping the way Christians navigate Scripture and for his influence on medieval church-state relations.
As always, this episode continues the mission of the Center for Christian History: encouraging believers and all interested learners to explore the people whose faith, scholarship, and sacrifice helped shape Christianity across continents and centuries. The stories connected to any given week span eras, cultures, and traditions, reminding us that Christian history is both ancient and living, local and global.
