As a candidate for president Barack Obama identified Reinhold Niebuhr as one of the most important influences on his political and social thinking. Obama's referencing of Niebuhr was not casual. Frequently, in diverse contexts, and before a variety of audiences, Obama either subtly or overtly offered Niebuhr as a guide for statesmanship. He obliquely referenced Niebuhr's two-fold test of toleration at the 2011 National Prayer Breakfast; he structured his Nobel Prize speech around Niebuhr's consideration of the problem of Christian realism in foreign policy; and, in unveiling the stimulus package, Obama placed the entire work in a context of Christian realism. Clearly, Obama takes his Niebuhr seriously not only in theory, but also in practice. Obama's first term offered a lesson in Christian realism and governance.

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This article examines one way that Calvin rewrote or edited his works across his various editions, adding patristic material. These patristic expansions represent one of the most significant methods by which the commentaries and the Institutes grew in length. The lengthening was not merely an elongation, but also an addition of authority and gravity. The article analyzes three instances of expansion to demonstrate Calvin's implicit acceptance of the medieval model of authority. While Calvin's use of patristic material was varied and at times nuanced, frequently Calvin's addition of the patristic and sounder medieval source material represented a foundational acceptance and establishment of the tradition's ''handing on'' of the basic form of right religion. Calvin's use of this practice revealed his acceptance of an orthodoxy in particular fathers, his formation of a traditional theology, and his establishment of correct tradition as a source of theological authority.

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