n the wake of the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Christians are reminded that despite Christianity's global impact, there exist internal differences. Christianity is divided into three main traditions: Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. There are further sectarian or denominational distinctions, the most occurring within the Protestant tradition. Many prominent figures characterize the Reformation, none more recognizable than Martin Luther (1483–1546), Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), and John Calvin (1509–64). Each are responsible for nuanced denominations growing out of the Protestant schism from the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. The nature of the theological differences often leads to works on these figures that can be categorized as attacks, apologies, or academic scholarship. Gary W. Jenkins's book, Calvin's Tormentors, is a worthwhile exercise in academic scholarship as it accomplishes an historical examination of one particular reformer and the individual relationships that shaped his theology over the course of his pilgrimage away from the Catholic Church. Originally conceived as a sequel to Machiel A. van den Berg's Friends of Calvin (Eerdmans, 2009) it morphed into something more intriguing—a study of controversy.
