Pref Address 7-8

I did have that second cup of Emeril's coffee this morning and completed the prefatory address.

Calvin sees that Satan has shifted his tactics in attacking the church since the reformers have begun to shift the church back into the right direction. He has enlisted the "catabaptists" (better known to us as the "anabaptists" for their belief in another way of baptism and no relation to the Baptist churches of today) to help attack the church and the reformed teachings.

He goes on to compare the reformed leaders to different biblical characters like Elijah, Christ, the twelve apostles, and Paul. They were all attacked for going against the grain, when in fact they were teaching the truth. Anytime the church falls into error and someone points out the error and tries to change the church, he is always attacked by the established leadership in the church.

Calvin concludes the prefatory address with a plea to the King of France. He begs the king to read the Institutes. The Catholic church is wanting the king to deal with Calvin, but Calvin asks the king to hold off on making any decisions until after he has read the Institutes which will serve as Calvin's defense. Even if the king did not read or change his attitude toward Calvin, Calvin vows that he will continue to put his trust in the King of Kings.