What Is Calvinism?

John Calvin was born on July 10, 1509. He joined the Protestant Reform while studying as a law student. He published Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536. The book shared Calvin’s Protestant views. He believed that God only allowed some people to go to heaven without taking into account their good deeds or beliefs. Ultimately, he would become Martin Luther’s successor.

Its effect was amazing, instantaneous, and universal.’ Also, Woodrow Wilson wrote that Uncle Tom’s Cabin ‘played no small part in creating the anti-slavery party.’ (Robbins, n.d.). Writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe’s goal was to make the whole nation feel the curse of slavery, “by telling the stories of people being treated as property. Her characters seized the public imagination and fueled consciences stirred by the growing controversy about slavery” (Kane, 2015). Stowe, also, uses love in her novel to motivate her readers to abolish slavery; such as a mother’s love for her child and God’s love for his creations. In regards to a mother’s love, in Chapter VII, The Mother’s Struggle, George’s wife, Eliza, finds out that their young son, Harry, has been sold to a slave trader. Her first and only thought is to take her son and run away with him. It is written, “she wondered within herself at the strength that seemed to become upon her; for she felt the weight of her boy as if it had been a feather, and every flutter of fear seemed to increase the supernatural power that bore her on, while from her pale lips burst forth, in frequent ejaculations, the prayer to a Friend above – “Lord, help! Lord, save me!” God’s love for his creations is referred to all through

The Reformation of the Catholic Church was a trying time for most of Europe. Many people were involved in the spreading of the Protestant influence and translating the Bible so everyone could read it. Reforming the Church was not a small accomplishment. The Reformation was a pilgrimage from the Catholic Church that would allow people to decide for themselves what they believed. Some could even call it a religious civil war.

This semester we have peeled away the layers of what evangelicalism and fundamentalism means throughout history, especially in our Western culture. I am intrigued with them both and their very presence in many of our modern-day congregations. After visiting Grace Covenant Church of Austin, Texas, much of the contributions that have been emphasized in books such as The American Evangelical Story by Douglas Sweeney and American Apocalypse by Matthew Sutton, I experienced while at Grace.

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

Why was the term Puritan an appropriate or suitable characterization of the Calvinists within the English Church seeking further reformation?

Stowe in her bestseller Uncle Tom’s Cabin creates a story that revolves around three major themes she is trying to display to her audience. The main theme is faith in the Christian religion and how slavery is not able to exist if a true Christian faith is followed. The second theme that Stowe addresses often is feminism, women being the voice of morality and reason, and how women as a whole, not solely white, need to be more respected. The third theme displayed is the system of slavery and how it is evil, unjust, and inhumane. The references depicting a messiah type character in Tom is what really nails the

Calvinism represents the second wave of the Protestant Reformation by John Calvin. Calvinism is one of the Reformed movements influenced by John Calvin that developed arresting new teachings on authority and liberty, duties and rights, and church and state that have an enduring influence on Protestant lands. Calvin’s original teachings were periodically challenged by major crises in the West- the French Wars of Religion, The Dutch Revolt, The English Revolution, and the American Revolution. The most popular idea was Predestination Doctrine which means everything that happens is fated by God and the idea that all of mankind is already assigned to either Heaven or Hell at birth. There is nothing man can do that would change or destiny since it was at the hands of all-powerful God. The Presbyterian Church was the biggest group

Harriet Beecher Stowe was a profoundly dedicated Christian who trusted that religious confidence would be a central point in the abrogation of servitude- which, of course, it was. Stowe had incorporated her feelings of religion into her novel with the utilization of her characters. In one conversation between Eliza and George, Stowe gave an insight as to how she believed that religion had affected the slaves and their work.

Christianity was what influenced her, and powered her abolitionist views. It led her to take abolitionism into her own hands, and “educate” the country (and in hopes, the world) of how negative slavery was. Being raised in a very strict Presbyterian home, she was taught all about the value of life through the gospel. Stowe’s religious views were imprinted into her mind and soul, and they set a path for her. Her path was to enlighten the southerners that agreed with slavery and were cruel to the people they held captive to do their bidding. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written in response to the acts passed against slavery (e.g. Fugitive Slave Act). Each page of the story contains journey, experience, growth, development, and so much more with each and every character.

The main ideas of Calvinism include total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance to the saints (Barlow, n.d.). Total depravity says that sinful nature is all throughout a person. It doesn’t mean that it is an intentional thing but that is an effect of human nature and original sin. It means no one is can be completely clean without God. Another aspect of Calvinism is unconditional election which is based on that God chooses people to save instead of based on good deeds, or he predetermines

John Calvin was born in 1509 in Picardy France and lived for 55 years, dying in 1564. Growing up, his education was based on humanist principles, he learned Greek and Hebrew while studying Theology. He also received a legal degree from the University of Orlèans. He converted to Lutheranism at the age of 20 describing the experience as “unexpected”. John Calvin was one of the most important figures in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation.

One of Stowe’s biggest themes in her novel was to show how cruel slavery was. She illustrates this by showing how much suffering Tom and Harry and all the other slaves went through. During this time period slavery was a huge issue because it was so controversial. It was a major political issue within the government and among the fellow people. Stowe illustrates how all slave owners are inhuman and are all cruel human beings. She states how all of them say they are Christians even though every

Stowe pictured the women as free like Eliza. When Eliza heard about the thing which Mr.Shelby is planning to sell Harry

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.