The Institution of Christian Religion

Publication Date: October 4, 2010

Chapter: English Literature in the Sixteenth Century

If you couldn't tell, I've slipped into a section of the English Norton entitled "Literature of the Sacred." As I hold none of the literature contained within sacred myself, it's all rather tedious and dull. I mean, the time period itself is both fascinating and frightening, but the works generated by that atmosphere just bore me to tears.

In this particular case, we're reading John "Calvinism" Calvin rambling on about predestination, the most depressing religious belief I've ever heard. Essentially, from the moment you're born, you're either going to Heaven or Hell - God's already decided. Which is to say, nothing you do in life has any meaning because your die has already been cast. Man, John Calvin was a serious buzzkill.

I skipped a little bit before getting to Calvin in the book. Previous to this excerpt was William Tyndale rambling on with a fairly generic sermon from which no comedy could be mined. Previous to that was something fairly interesting that just didn't lend itself to a comic at all: a brief comparison of five or six different Bible translations, all using 1 Corinthians 13. Interesting from an educational standpoint, but not really fantastic comic fodder.

I'm telling you this in the interest of full disclosure, since I swore to you all that I'd read the entire book. But sorry, William Tyndale fans, no comic is forthcoming for him.

Author: John Calvin • Year: 1561 • Info: Wikipedia

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About The Comic

Lit Brick is a comic started by Jodie Troutman in an effort to read the entire Norton Anthology of English Literature. Having eventually succeeded in that goal, it now features comics about all manner of random literature. For more of Jodie's work, visit longtalljodie.com!