Jean Decorvet, Ph.D. 2012

Recipient of the Thor W. Burtness Fellowship

Associate Professor of Historical Theology
Faculte Jean Calvin; Aix-en-Provence, France

Dr. Henri Blocher supervised my dissertation, “Every Scripture theopneustos: An Assessment of Louis Gaussen's Case for theopneustia within the Context of Geneva's Reveil.” At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Geneva witnessed a period of religious renewal that would come to be known as Réveil. The name of Louis Gaussen is closely connected to this revival and supplied the movement with intellectual muscle. His battle-horse—the divine inspiration of the Bible or theopneustia—became the hallmark of the core beliefs of the Second Réveil. Gaussen’s work and thought, the concept of theopneustia, and the phenomenon of Geneva’s Réveil are so interwoven that one cannot scrutinize Gaussen’s case for theopneustia before providing a coherent interpretation of the Réveil within the broader context of the intellectual climate of his time. My dissertation sets out to do this. 

I am profoundly grateful both for Dr. Blocher, whose theological depth and humble faith sustained and inspired me throughout my academic studies and for Wheaton College, which exposed me to academic excellence and allowed me to experience firsthand the beautiful marriage between the life of the mind and Christian community.  The opportunity to study under such a mentor and in such an environment has shaped the way I think about my role as a servant of God.