500th ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN CALVIN'S BIRTH

That this House notes the 500th anniversary on 10 July 2009 of the birth of the Protestant reformer John Calvin; acknowledges the historical significance of much of the restoration of historical biblical Christianity carried out by Calvin and his contemporaries at a time when there was widespread ignorance, indifference and intolerance in the religious world; and further notes the international nature of the Protestant Reformation and the widespread benefits it brought to hundreds of millions of citizens across much of northern Europe, the British Isles and North America in the generations since, spreading as it did freedom of speech, liberty of conscience and the individual work ethic for which many present day prosperous nations are noted.