Luther And John Calvin Similarities

Among the many religious changes that occurred throughout Europe in the sixteenth century, few were as widely influential as the Reformation. There were three streams of the Reformation: the common class, the educated middle class, and the monarchs and princes. All three streams wanted the church to be fixed and hoped it could combine old ideas and new ones. The Reformation was influenced by many different people, yet the most important was John Wyclif, who stated that the church did not need possession in order to be powerful. Different ideologies came from the influences of Wyclif, and many others. Lutheranism began in the mid 1500’s by Martin Luther, and he developed a doctrine of Justification by Faith where he wrote of how people stay in the church and get to heaven from faith

After the defeat of the Roman Empire in 476, western Europe had grown and changed the world. However, the Catholic church was the defining characteristic that had remained very central and important to European culture. The Protestant reformation during the sixteenth century was sparked by Martin Luther, who was a writer from Germany. He believed that churches were abusing power, because at the time, churches would say things like "sins can be forgiven and people can go to heaven after they die if they contributed money or a donation". Luther stated that no one was in a place to give someone a place in heaven besides god and that churches were being greedy, immoral and hypocritical. He took an advantage of the printing press and its fast growing industry to spread these ideas and information from his book 95 Theses to the public of European countries including Italy, Germany, France and Holland. Lutheran philosophy and teachings helped educate the public, and some of the resulting reforming measures included the closure of monasteries, divisions of church and translation of the holy bible from Latin to different European languages (Drame, lecture notes). John Calvin was another important figure who developed Calvinism in 1530 to spread Lutheran philosophy throughout various European countries. In order to control the "damage" Luther had

Both the reformation and the “Age of Discovery” had large effects on society, culture, and politics throughout the 1500s. The reformation started in the early 1500s as the church was looking for a new identity. This new identity was thought as the people at the time wondering what exactly God wants from us to be able to be saved and go to heaven. There were two main religious ideas born in this time frame. Those were Lutherism and Calvinism.

Martin Luther and Jean Calvin were the two of the most influential reformers during the Protestant Reformation. Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Chapel in 1517 in response to the corruption and abuses of the Catholic Church. In Switzerland, Calvin also had new ideas about religion, the main being predestination (the belief that people's fates (whether they go to Heaven or Hell) are predetermined when they are born). Their reforms and ideas definitely laid the foundation for capitalism, free government/democracy, religious tolerance, and individualism, but I do not believe that the reformers (people like Luther and Calvin) had the direct intention of doing these things.

Martin Luther and King Henry were both devout catholics and didn't necessarily want Christianity to undergo another great schism like what occured between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox. But both men wanted the church to undergo some kind of reform, however it was Henry who instituted the most direct religious reform in the form of the Church of England. Luther wanted the catholic church to reform to ease his mind. He hated the strange rituals that bishops and priests practised in order to absolve someone of their sins. He saw right through the priests and their money-grabbing schemes because he believed in salvation through faith and faith alone.

In addition, Luther exclaimed that everyone had the right to be able to interpret “God's Word and sacraments”. Moreover, Luther observes the decline in the power and influence of the Pope, as well as, how his followers had turned against him. This suggests a major turning point in the Protestant Reformation because the idea of Lutheranism began to make sense to the world and was spreading across nations. Furthermore, in the document, Luther then claimed the Pope was “ head of the false Church”, expressing that he could not be the head of the true Christian Church. This led many to believe Luther was “too fierce” since he started such rebellion, but he took pride in such comments.

12. ’98 Compare and contrast the Lutheran Reformation and the Catholic Reformation of the sixteenth century regarding the reform of both religious doctrines and religious practices.

Moreover, Calvinism was highly ascetic. Whereas, Catholicism and Lutheranism maintained that believers could essentially “work” for God’s forgiveness through faith, good works, etc., Calvinism stressed “systematic self-control necessary, in every moment” (Weber [1905] 2011: p. 127) and the “intensification of good works into a system” (Weber [1905] 2011: p. 129). These qualities suggested to Weber that Calvinism was the epitome of rationalism (Weber [1905] 2011: p. 130). In the context of religion, rationalization refers to the process of systematically organizing one’s life according to a methodical approach, with an intense orientation towards discipline, and the absence of “magic” or mystical elements (i.e., sacraments that can save the “damned”) (Kalberg 2011a: p. 422). This characteristic is what distinguishes Lutheranism from Calvinism. As opposed to Lutheranism, Weber ([1905] 2011) argues that “Calvinism forced [a] methodical organization of life upon the believer” (p. 135). This is due to the fact that salvation could always be won back in Lutheranism through penance. In contrast, Calvinism offered no means to acquire salvation, only hints or signs which were based on “uninterrupted self-control” and the “planned regulation of one’s own life” (Weber [1905] 2011: p. 136). Lutheranism was also characterized by less asceticism due to its teaching that salvation could be acquired. Therefore, Weber ([1905] 2011) also maintains that “Lutheranism lacks the psychological

In the wake of religious disunity and doctrinal questioning caused by Luther's criticism of the Church, many reformers struck out, hoping to continue the reformation called for by Luther and his writings. One of the most influential of these reformers, John Calvin, left behind a lasting impact on Europe and Protestantism. Calvin, like Luther scoured the Bible for “God's truth”. Instead of arriving at the same conclusion Luther, Calvin happened upon a unique dogma. His findings were contrary to those of Luther, primarily in the achievement of salvation.

Luther was a believer in the Protestant way of life, the work ethic, and the beginnings of Capitalism which all led to his belief of humans having a higher status. Luther also promoted individual thinking, self-educating, and one-on-one relationships with God. All of these things imply that Luther believed that humans have a higher status over nature.

Both Calvin and Luther were struggling against the ideals the Catholic Church possessed striving to bring about changes in order to make it a supportive religious place of worship. Their mission and ultimate goal of reformation of uniform regarding the Church’s rules and regulations; although, both men had different concepts which caused them to question the Church’s authority. Luther believed that the Bible was the central religious authority and that we reach salvation only by faith alone, not by the works of the pastors and priests. Calvin, on the other hand, believed in predestination. Predestination was Calvin’s doctrine stating that God preordains salvation or damnation for each person before creation; those chosen for salvation were

Religion is the most important aspect of many people’s lives, serving as a roadmap to live a virtuous life while promising eternal life and salvation. In his work On Christian Liberty, Martin Luther writes on what it means to truly be Christian and how to achieve salvation. Luther discusses many aspects of Christian faith, including the difference between the inner man and outer man, the effect of works on salvation, the marriage with Jesus as a result of faith, how individuals should act towards others, and the important notion of Christian liberty that arises because of one’s faith. Luther’s ideas were highly controversial at the time as many of them opposed the thinking of the Catholic Church, one of the most powerful institutions in the world. The Catholic Church adamantly disagrees with many of the ideas expressed by Luther, including the value that works, the church, and humility has in salvation.

Martin Luther had written a series of pamphlets explaining his position and in these, he articulated three "Protestant Principles". The first, as I mentioned earlier, was that salvation is by faith alone. The second was that the Bible is the primary authority a Christian must obey. Not the pope or the tradition of the church. and the third was that every Christian has a direct relationship with God and that they don 't need the church or priests to act as mediators (Frankforter, pg. 384). These words, written by Martin Luther will later reverberate in

The main ideology of Lutheranism is that salvation can be gained by three fundamental precepts: by faith, by grace and by scripture alone. Luther felt that Salvation could not be achieved through good works such as prayer or holy living: "Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works." (Luther, On Christian Liberty, p.9). Faith in God is created through the belief and love for Him; salvation would rise from it nonetheless. Luther felt that it was up to every individual to interpret the Scriptures and decide for himself what was good. This was a revolutionary concept, as previously it had been only the Pope who could interpret the Scriptures. Another concept of Lutheranism was that every believer could achieve priesthood. All men who had true faith had the opportunity to serve God and were equal in His eyes. "Among Christians there shall and can be no authority; rather all are alike subject to one another." (Luther, Part Two. How Far Temporal Authority Extends, p.31). Bishops and priests in the Lutheran church were not authoritative figures but simply serving an office.

John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination is arguably one of the most important results of the Protestant reformation. Predestination is the belief that “salvation[entrance into heaven] is given to only those whom god has chosen”. The chosen people were called the elect. John Calvin wrote this important belief during the era of the Protestant Reformation. People often formed negative opinions on predestination or let it rule their lives. Some people who did not think like Calvin loathed predestination because they believed that