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The European Protestant Reformation, Led By Martin Luther And John Calvin

1002 Words5 Pages

The European Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther and John Calvin in the 16th century, guided a seismic shift in the relationship between religion, God, and politics. Their theological writings as well as their social and political activism was able to lay the groundwork for great transformations across Europe. They systemically challenged the existing power structures and reshaped the conversation on temporal authority. By exploring the main ideas of Luther and Calvin, we can compare their theories and understand their views on their core assumptions, core arguments, protests, and the ideas of relations between religion/God and the politics of their times. At the center of Martin Luther’s theology, there is the principle of justification …show more content…

If all the world were composed of real Christians, that is, true believers, there would be no need for or benefit from a prince, king, lord, sword, or law. They would serve no purpose, since Christians have in their heart the Holy Spirit, who both teaches and makes them to do injustice to no one, to love everyone, and to suffer injustice and even death willingly and cheerfully at the hands of anyone.”(p.195) Luther exhibits his ideologies and his belief in God’s love/word triumphing over temporal law or sword. On the other hand, in John Calvin's theological framework, as explained in his piece "God and Political Duty" also depicted in Cohen, Mitchell, and Nicole Fermon’s “Princeton Readings in Political Thought”, man is under two kinds of government–one is spiritual and the other is political. Calvin writes “To prevent anyone from falling into this error, let us therefore consider, in the first place, that man is under two kinds of government—one spiritual, by which the conscience is formed to piety and the service of God; the other political, by which a man is instructed in the duties of humanity and civility.” (p. 200) He also believed in predestination, the idea that God has already predetermined the fate of the people, and emphasized the court of conscience, which testifies for or against someones actions in life after

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480 Words | 2 Pages

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