As the Christian Church views the panorama of her history, two figures stand out in bold relief. They are Augustine and Calvin. Their influence has shaped the religious life and theological thought for centuries. For a thousand years since the fourth century the religious genius of Augustine determined the development of the Christian Church. And from the days of the Reformation to this present day it is the religious genius of Calvin, along with that of Luther, that has played such an important part in the Christian Church. To this day the "Institutes" of Calvin remains the "masterpiece of Protestant Theology." These two extraordinarily gifted men tower like pyramids over the scene of history.
To properly evaluate the work of Calvin and Augustine, requires unusual gifts. These are found in Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. In the minds of not a few, Warfield is one of the outstanding theologians since Calvin. Because of his lucid and stately style of writing, his penetrating gift of analysis, his knowledge of the works of Calvin and Augustine, and his firm grasp of Reformed theology, there was no one better qualified to estimate and express the unique place of Calvin and Augustine in the history of the Christian Church. Christian literature has been enriched by the studies found in this book.