Martin Luther And John Calvin Views On Sinful People

In Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God, Gordon Fee outlines a theology of the Spirit in the Divine Trinity, the basis within Scripture for the experience of the Spirit, and the interaction of the two. Fee, a Pentecostal scholar, “redefines the terms of discussion about the Holy Spirit in a way that transcends today’s

did not stand with the church were not looked at as ethical people. In the sense that they could not

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

1.John Calvin- Martin Luther’s follower as a Protestant theologian, and the biggest figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation.

whoever had this spirit in them were sinful, and whoever were accused it affected their lives

When the German friar Martin Luther nailed his protests against Catholic doctrines to the door of WIttenberg’s cathedral, he ignited a fire of religious reform, known as the Protestant Reformation, that divided peoples, brought down rulers, and ignited the spiritual passion of millions of men and women. A somber and severe religious leader, John Calvin of Geneva, elaborated Martin Luther’s ideas, and in turn created Calvinism. Calvinism became the dominant religious philosophy not only of the New England Puritans but of other American settlers as well. Calvin wrote out his basic doctrine in a Latin tome, named Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines spirit as, “the force within a person that is believed to give the body life, energy, and power”. For millennia, people have wondered what it means to be human. Of the 9 million species on earth, we, the human race, are unique. We love to learn, to laugh, to worship, to run, to think. These activities, among others, are what make humanity and the human spirit. These activities are what give the human race spiritual and intellectual power. Despite the vague nature of this topic and difficulty of articulating concise ideas, authors have written about the strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit. In George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984, a totalitarian government rules over the county of Oceania. The government,

This fundamental difference from the Catholic dogma that one could buy salvation to Luther’s new ideas as way to Heaven began to transform many people’s beliefs. Supporters of Luther adopted the concept of faith and knowledge of God as a way to repent their sins, and eventually, it reshaped the Christian culture. As Luther personally struggled to be a “perfect” monk, he discovered that faith in the gospel was the only way to be “made righteous by God”(roper 78). In response to his distress for his laity’s desire to buy indulgences, Luther wrote the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences.” He knew he was attacking the pope and the values of the church, but records show that he felt “...not fully in control of his actions, but handed over responsibility to a higher power”(84 roper). Cleary, Luther felt a spiritual connection with God and indulgences were in direct opposition to faith. His revolutionary claims in the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences” caused a conflict that would eventually be known as the Protestant Reformation.

spirit defines us of who we are. It is different in each one of us as human beings as we

The Holy Spirit of God is the active force or power in one’s life, which most certainly includes spiritual formation (Pettit, 2008, p. 46). When Jesus was speaking with his disciples he made it clear – by using the analogy of a vine and branches – that apart from him they could do nothing (John 15:5). Only if one is connected to Christ will they have the ability to bear fruit and the way Jesus empowers those connected to him is through the Holy Spirt that that father will send in his name (John 14:26). The fact is that the triune God dwells in the Christian in and through the Holy Spirit. One sees this when they place multiple passages together to gain a full understanding of this concept. For example, Jesus made it clear that he and the father would come and make their home with the disciple (John 14:23). In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul reminds the Corinthians that their bodies are the very temple of God because the Holy Spirit dwells in them which is similar to what Jesus said would happen when he sent the Holy Spirit after his resurrection and ascension (John 14:17, 16:7).

The intent of this paper is to evaluate the distinct character and quality of the expressions of the Protestant Reformation. This paper will discuss Lutheran Reformation, The Anabaptist, and The English Puritans as well as the Catholic Reformation also known as the Counter Reformation. It is the hope that after the reader has had the opportunity to view each of the characteristics and the expressions of each of the reformation the reader will have a better understanding of each and will be able to articulate the differences of each.

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).

To start our research, we need to ask a critical question at the very beginning : Who is the Holy Spirit? The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus never referred to “it” when He was talking about the Holy Spirit. In John 14,15 and 16, for example, He spoke of the Holy Spirit as “He” because He is not a force or thing but a person. The point is especially important at a time when pantheistic tendencies are

• The Holy Spirit is the spirit of love that dwells in each and every last one of us, it is not a part of the body so if the body dies, the spirit will continue to live. Because love never dies.