Jean-Marc Berthoud (born 1939) is a Swiss

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and author. He has published many books on modern and historical Christianity.

Early life

Jean-Marc Berthoud was born in 1939 in South Africa from

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

missionary parents who originally hailed from

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

Education

Berthoud attended the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

in the Republic of South Africa, where he obtained two Bachelors of Arts in History and English. He researched Colonial History at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

between 1960 and 1964.

Biography

In the spring of 1966, Berthoud converted to Christianity as a result of reading The Treatise on Scandals by

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

, after taking an eager interest in Calvin’s French style. He then abandoned a promising academic career. To support a large family, he worked as a gardener, then railroad porter, and finally as a part-time manual postal employee until retiring professionally in 2004. Berthoud has published more than thirteen books in French and has written one in English, a biography of French reformer

Pierre Viret Pierre Viret (1509/1510 – 4 April 1571) was a Swiss Reformed theologian, evangelist and Protestant reformer. Early life Pierre Viret was born in 1509 or 1510 in Orbe, then in the Barony of Vaud, now in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. He wa ...

. At present, he is working on a detailed explanation of the Book of Revelation in the form of sermons. Among his unpublished works are a multiple-volume study of The Ten Commandments in Their Exposition throughout Scripture and a Commentary on Ezekiel 1 to 24. He is putting the final touches on a four-volume lecture series on The Covenantal History of the Church in the World, tracing the theme of God’s covenant, focusing particularly on God’s covenantal people and their relation to the life of the nations. He served for many years as editor of the reviews Résister et Construire and of Documentation Chrétienne. He presided over the Association Vaudoise de Parents Chrétiens and of the Association Création, Bible et Science, was the director of a collection of books, Messages, for the Éditions L’Age d’Homme, and ran a Christian bookshop, La Proue, for over twenty years. Among other positions, Berthoud opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, advocates for

creationism Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...

, and is a critic of

dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...

. Berthoud lives in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland with his wife Rose-Marie. They have five children and eight grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthoud, Jean-Marc Living people 1939 births Protestant writers People from Lausanne Swiss male writers Swiss theologians Swiss writers in French University of the Witwatersrand alumni People associated with the University of London Institute in Paris