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Henri Dunant (1828-1910)

Founder of the Red Cross

Montpellier Protestant cemetery

The Montpellier cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries that has remained private.

The Old Testament

The expression “Old Testament” was first used by Christians in the middle of the second century to describe the books which they shared with Judaism when they were putting together their...

Calvin and the Bible

Although Calvin considered the Bible to be of fundamental importance in his theses, he cannot be considered a fundamentalist. The authority of the Scriptures, according to him, called for interpretation :...

Humanism and translations of the Bible into the vernacular

The 16th century was a turning point in the history of the Bible ; it was widely distributed due to the invention of printing. Humanism advocated a return to the original...

The Reformers and the Bible : sola scriptura

Like all Christians, the Reformers based their faith on the supreme authority of the Bible. They stressed the importance of “sola scriptura” (by Scripture alone). This meant ridding the Bible...

The New Testament

The New Testament was written during the first century and is the part of the Bible specific to Christians. It consists of eye-witness accounts of the life of Jesus and...

Luther and Bible Reading

Before the Reformation the Bible was mainly read by a priest to a church community during an act of worship, and usually in Latin. This practice changed with the Reformers :...

What is the Bible ?

The Bible is the most widely read and most extensively published book in the world. It is a literary masterpiece : many scholars have written Biblical commentaries and over the centuries...

The beginning of the Bible Societies

Although the Bible had been translated into most European languages by the 19th century, it was only actually read by a small minority of educated people and was inaccessible to...

The Bible in times of persecution for the French Protestants (1685-1760)

From 1685 onwards the Bible was forbidden in France. However, at this time it was still read and preached by Protestants who also managed to have copies in their homes....

Erasmus (1469-1536)

Erasmus was one of the main figures of 16th century Humanism ; he was cultured, tolerant and ahead of his time because he was European in outlook. He prepared the first...

The Bible and Culture

The Bible opens up a whole world which it spreads before us as a neverending source of creative inspiration. The Scriptures have had a major influence on the arts and...

Napoléon Peyrat (1809–1881)

Napoléon Peyrat came from the Protestant part of the Ariège; he wrote a history about this area in both French and Southern French dialect (‘langue d’oc’) in which he described...