John Calvin's Influence In Christianity

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

The Protestant Reformation began during the Renaissance time period, it was the attempt to reform the Roman Catholic church. It led to the creation of Protestant churches. This reformation began after multiple church leaders started demanding individuals to supply them with such large quantities of goods, food, and money that individuals did not have much left to provide to their own family. Several believed if they did not contribute and present the church with what they asked, they would be denied entrance to heaven once they passed away. People saw how the church thrived while those who contributed were ravenous and penniless. Martin Luther, a monk, noticed several inaccuracies between what the Roman Catholic Church practiced and the Bible as he studied the Bible. He decided to speak out by creating the 95 Theses, and nailing it on the entrance of a catholic church. Protestants who had similar view as Luther’s began Luther-ism. John Calvin, had very similar views as Luther and was even inspired by him to reform the Catholic Church as well. I most admire Martin Luther because of how he spoke up and protested against the Roman Catholic church when he knew it could put him in danger, but I am most similar to John Calvin because of how he believes in predestination and how faith is revealed by living a righteous life.

Martin Luther was one of the main people to cause the Protestant Reformation. Luther was a monk, lawyer, and professor who contributed and sparked interest in the reformation by putting his “95 Theses” on the church door. The “95 Theses” was a list of statements and judgements of the church and why Luther had concerns about it. Many people took interest in the theses for they showed valuable points on indulgences and other issues. Although Luther had many other contributions, other people helped along in the process of the reformation such as John Calvin who developed many reforms in the Protestant reformation. Those who followed many of the reforms made by Calvin were known as Calvinists and contributed a lot to the newly established Protestant religion. Therefore, an equally significant aspect of the cause of the Protestant Reformation were the crucial people that helped stand up for the

John Calvin, a Genevan, modified Martin Luther’s ideas of the Reformation to create the faith of Calvinism, and later wrote the Latin tome Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536.

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

John Calvin: Believed a reformation was needed so much he had ideas that affected the New World’s future

John Calvin is a principal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, as well as Henry VIII, detached Protestantism from the Roman Catholic Church. Calvin's doctrines and theology created philosophical changes within the Protestant churches. Calvin led Protestantism to supplement itself into state control. His ideas about salvation and whether it is predetermined by God or open to all, are still debated in current times.

John Calvin, the founder of Calvinism, believed in absolute dominance of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal sentence. He wrote many commentaries on most books in the Bible and created a lot of controversy. Calvin helped reform the church in Geneva. His spent his final years promoting reformation throughout

Abhinav Shobhit John Calvin Theology Dr. Jordon May 10th, 2018 John Calvin was a French theologian who spent and did most of his work in Geneva. When we talk about protestant reformation after Martin Luther he is one of the most significant figures. John Calvin completed his higher education at a French university and some of the theological views he was most influenced by were of Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples, Mathurin Cordier, Guillaume Bude and Erasmus. Calvin was considered a second-generation reformer because by the time he came to Geneva the Protestantism was already widespread there. Disciples of Calvin were obsessed with the glory of God as the purpose of all creation and transformation of social order towards holiness.

John Calvin was a lawyer, but he became dedicated to reforming the church. In the 1520s the people of Geneva revolted against their rulers and Calvin was invited to build a Reformed Church of Geneva. He rearranged the organization of the church governing system and the social organization of the church and the city. He organized based entirely on biblical principles. He imposed a strict moral code derived from the scriptures.

Calvin was forced to take refuge with some other reformers at a castle in Pau with Queen Marguerite of Navarre (King Francis I's sister: she was a noble name in church history). After living this fugitive life style for a while he decided to flee to Switzerland, where at twenty six he published the writings of his catechism, Institutes for the Christian Religion. He published these works with a bold preface addressed to King Francis I to help convince him that protestants were of no threat to his rule, but that did not work (Lord).

Martin Luther and John Calvin were both leaders in the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther was a monk, or priest, in the Augustinian friars’ order and his ideals were that Catholicism were corrupting the New Testament beliefs and people were saved by faith alone not by buying their way into heaven. John Calvin studied law “but in 1533 he experienced a religious crisis, as a result of which he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism. Calvin believed that God had specifically selected him to reform the church” (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 448). “The cornerstone of Calvin’s theology was his belief in the absolute sovereignty and omnipotence of God and the total weakness of humanity” (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 448).

had such a big influence in the time which he lived from 1509 to 1564. John Calvin

Although Martin Luther impacts history greatly, people must remember what role John Calvin has to offer as well. Born in France in 1509, John Calvin is raised as a Roman Catholic by his family. His family is so devoted to the Roman Catholic Church that his dad aspires for his son to become a priest (John Calvin- Calvin College 1). John Calvin later reads Luther’s works and converts to the ‘faith of the Reformation.’ He strongly believes that salvation is achieved through faith and predestination (Cowie 44). In 1537, John Calvin publishes, Institutes of the Christian Religion. In this book, John Calvin states his beliefs on Christianity. He proposes that God has been veiled by the devotion of the people to the Virgin Mary and the saints. He also insists in his book that predestination is how God determines who goes to hell and who goes to heaven. John Calvin writes, “We call predestination, God’s eternal degree, by which He determined that He willed to become of each man.

John Calvin was born on July 10th, 1509 in Noyon, Picardy, France. He studied at the universities of Paris, Bourges, and Orleans. He was a key leader of the Protestant Reformation. He wrote many protestant works like Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin was also a revolutionary theologian and leader, developing the religion of Calvinism and doctrine of predestination. In addition, Calvin reorganized the city of Geneva, Switzerland and made it into an example theocracy. John Calvin died on May 27th, 1564 in Geneva, Switzerland, but his ideas and achievements have lived on. In fact, the average citizen should care about him because of the contributions he has made to the world, however positive or negative they may be. John Calvin’s three main contributions that make him historically significant are his development of the doctrine of predestination, his revolutionary reform of the education system, and his emphasis on the protestant work ethic.