This conference explored Calvin's legacy for the church and society. Calvin was and remains a controversial figure--both admired and despised. He has been praised as one of the sources of American democracy and modern capitalism, and he has been criticized as an agent of repression. While some have found his vision of God to be that of a horrifying tyrant, others, such as Pulitzer Prize winner, Marilynne Robinson, have drawn upon Calvin to imagine a world shot through with grace and beauty.  

And so it is, that 500 years after his birth, Calvin continues to be the subject of intense debate, reflection, and insight.

 

Martha Moore-Keish

Martha Moore-Keish grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, where her family was active at First Presbyterian Church.  She attended Harvard College and Union Theological Seminary in Virginia (now Union-PSCE), where she met and married her husband Chris.  She earned the Ph.D. in theology from Emory University in 2000, and then worked for three years in the church’s Office of Theology and Worship in Louisville, Kentucky.  During 2003-04 she taught liturgical studies at Yale Divinity School, before returning to Atlanta in summer 2004 to take the position as Assistant Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary.  She continues to pursue research interests in theology and sacraments.  Martha and Chris have two daughters, Miriam (11) and Fiona (6), two cats, Sara and Grendel, and a flock of chickens.