John Calvin: Protestant Reformation

In Chapter 17 of Book I of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin expounds upon how when it comes to Calvin’s view of providence, “nothing is more profitable than the knowledge of this

When Calvin arrived in Geneva, William Farel saw in Calvin the leader that Geneva needed “and he urged the young scholar to go no farther but to stay in the city and help establish the work there” (Shelley, 2008, 256) . Calvin's patronage from Geneva helped with the growth and development of the French Protestant movement in the 1550s. Calvin trained French Protestant pastors at the Geneva Academy, and helped to smuggle them back into France to establish and develop local congregations. It was also during this time he wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion, in 1536, that put into words the

John Calvin of Geneva: religious leader that elaborated Luther’s ideas and founded Calvinism (dominant ideo. of New England Puritans)

John Calvin introduces The Authority and Credibility of Scripture by arguing the fact that the authority of Scripture comes from God, and not the church. He remarks that it takes a presumptuous man who lacks commons sense and feelings to dare discredit God as the author of the Bible. There is an error in our society today where people think the Scriptures only carry the weight that the Church allows, and they question whether God is truly the author, and whether or not the Bible is still relevant today.

John Calvin just like Martin Luther believed in predestination that a person’s fate is determined before his or her birth. He was also a huge figure in the development of Christian theology and Calvinism. Calvin believed in the idea of protestionism and went to convince other people to support his reformation. As Calvin moved on with his idea of Calvinism it affected many countries such as Bohemia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, England and the thirteen American colonies in America. As he increased his political power he became head of his national church rather than following papacy of the church.

John Calvin lived in France during the time of the Protestant Reformation. During this time he signed the manufacture of a Christian hypothesis turned into Calvinism around 1500's. Calvinism is a Protestant theological organization has

John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509 at Noyon, in Picardy, which is the northern providence of France, located 60 miles northeast of Paris. If you do the math, next July of 2009 the Christendom would celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Calvin, which many Bible conferences around the world are already preparing for next year. Calvin entered the University

During the Protestant Reformation, there was one man who was in control of it all. Born in Noyon, Picardy, France on July 10, 1509, Jon Calvin was known as the most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin played a huge part in the spread of Protestantism and Christianity throughout Scotland, England and the Netherlands. Although this might have been good for his reputation throughout the Christian community, he did a few questionable things that lead those of other religions to hate him and what he stood for.

A year later, Calvin ran away from Paris. Reason being, his “friends” wrote papers and gave lectures opposing the Roman Catholic Church, which frightened Calvin.

John Calvin began impacting the Reformation through writing a treatise that would later lead to the publishing of the Institutes of the Christian Religion. These writings discussed Christian faith from the Protestant view point. Being able to elaborate on the Protestant faith was crucial to some, because most of the literature was met with strong attacks. Calvin’s father was part of the middle class, and served as a secretary to the bishop and was a procurator or a representative of others in the courts of the Roman civil law. Calvin’s father was able to obtain an income for him through ecclesiastical posts that would help pay for his expenses as a student.

Intending to remain there for just one night he was persuaded by "William Farel, who had been laboring in Geneva in the interest of the Reformation for some years, insisted that Calvin stay and help him...assert[ing] that it was the will of God that Calvin do so. And Calvin, not daring to resist that will...agreed to stay" The major part of Calvin's important life was spent there in Geneva. Three publications in the first year there gave evidence that even though he was not teaching in Geneva just yet, his time there was not dormant. In 1538, Calvin and Farel were banished from Geneva because they had a dispute with the government officials. Soon there after, the government and people of Geneva realized that this banishment was more of their lost than his and in 1541 sent an urgent plea for Calvin to return to lead the church and state. At this point he established what is known as the Consistory.

John Calvin was a timid man who indeed left an influence on church history during the Age of Reformation. He took on the task of reforming Geneva. Geneva was a city in disorder because of “its recent rejection of the Duke of Savoy and the pope in Rome had left public affairs in shambles, torn by dangerous factions” (Shelley p256). “William Farel had been preaching in Geneva for four years, but Geneva’s Protestantism rested chiefly on political hostility to the bishop, not doctrinal convictions” (Shelley p256). The city of Geneva needed someone to step forward and reshape the city’s religious institutions in reference to biblical law. Farel believed that Calvin was the best figure to take on such a task.

Not everyone in Geneva was quick to adapt to Protestantism and “the condition of the church in Geneva was very unstable and disorganized when Calvin arrived.” Under Calvin’s leadership, “Geneva became a Christian republic on the model set out in his Institutes of the Christian Religion.” He took Luther’s doctrine of salvation to its logical end, he believed that salvation could not be obtained through good works and that salvation was not certain for anybody. He developed the doctrine of predestination, arguing “that God had ordained every man, woman, and child to salvation or damnation – even before the creation of the world.” He believed that God only saved a small group of people, called the “elect.” Some were completely terrified by the idea of predestination, but others were inspired. An exemplary life could be a sign that a person had been chosen for salvation, whether they participated in good works or

One last thing Calvin is known for is his theology. This is put together in a

John Calvin began impacting the Reformation through writing a treatise that would later lead to the publishing of the Institutes of the Christian Religion. These writings discussed Christian faith from the Protestant view point. Being able to elaborate on the Protestant faith was crucial to some, because most of the literature was met with strong attacks. Calvin’s was beginning to establish himself as a legitimate reformer as his work was being noticed among very important people in the church.