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

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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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The Protestant Reformation was important in European History because with it came a Counter-Reformation. The Reformation revealed corruption in the Church, such as buying and selling salvation—indulgences—for profit, simony, and the overall battles for power and wealth (within the Church). Martin Luther and John Calvin were crusaders for the reformation and were able to share their ideas and beliefs effectively; they were then accepted/recognized by the people—the educated and uneducated, the middle class and nobility. Luther and Calvin’s beliefs allowed for other people to find a sense of freedom and individualism in religion.

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As Calvin continued to preach on salvation by grace through faith he also was working on implementing this into the government system and reforming the church even further. Calvin was invited to Geneva to work with the government and reform the city. He strived to create a city that was a reflection of Christian principles hoping it to be a “model Christian city”. He didn’t want just the government to be built upon these principles he wanted to get into the everyday lives of the people and make sure social aspects were built upon God’s authority. This was implemented by having elders of the church also be magistrates in the city.

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Plan of Investigation This investigation seeks to identify the qualities and characteristics of Martin Luther, which are truly indicative of The Protestant Reformation in Europe. The body of the investigation describes the significant events in the life of Martin Luther, that impacted the era. The specific characteristics that he exhibited will be identified, examined and analyzed. During the Protestant Reformation society started to question the ideas of the church. Reformers started to expose the church for their acts such as the selling of indulgences, insisting that the Pope had no authority over purgatory and much more.

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Luther believed that salvation was achieved by the grace of god and not by doing the work that the church demanded. The Reformation was so much more than a religious revolution even though it started out with a religious nature, it exceeded pass religion.

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John Calvin was a French Theologian who and was the leader of the Protestant Reformation (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras). He first had studied to become a priest then became fascinated with theology and started to study it (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras). The church taught that if you are not a part of God than you will not go into heaven. John Calvin believed that all people are flawed and corrupt so because of this they can not understand or take part in his salvation (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras). John Calvin’s moral was everyone should live a moral life and hope that God will save them (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras).

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al., 412). Calvin decreed that stricter rules and defied temporal authorities. Calvin also rejected the hierarchy structure within the church. He believed that “each congregation should elect its own ministers, and assemblies of ministers and “elders: were to govern the reformed church as a whole” (Coffin, et. al., 412).

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He was a huge follower of Luther’s teaching and agreed with Luther’s views on sin and salvation thus believing that if you are to sin you mean it and that you are to only be forgiven if you are truly apologetic. John Calvin also believed in the concept of

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The impact of the Protestant Reformation influenced America's world view of freedom,government, and rights. In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation began when Martin Luther, a professor of Theology wrote "95 Theses" against the Catholic church The doctrine of his theses was founded on the belief that the Bible is the religious authority and that Salvation is obtainable by faith, not by works. Rawls states that:

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Martin Luther, a German professor and monk, made a large impact on society in the fifteen hundreds. His new ideas of Christianity changed the concept of how religion was viewed and practiced in the 16th century. Within his Ninety-five Theses, he questioned the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and brought to light the corruption surrounding the church while stating how Christianity should be practiced in different ways rather than what is being taught. It is important to understand his stances on religion to explain how different groups reacted to his ideas. While some parts of Europe accepted his ideologies into practice, others reject Luther for many different reasons.

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Among the religions and beliefs during the 16th century, there were different opinions on how to run society and the government. Martin Luther and John Calvin were two leaders in the Protestant Reformation who wanted change in the Catholic Church. Although Luther and Calvin were similar in the political authority and ecclesiastical, they differed on religion and society. Luther and Calvin were both Protestants who believed the Catholic Church was corrupt due to the selling of indulgences and the preaching of salvation.

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When examining three of these differences in doctrine, and how Calvin’s prayers from the Commentary on Hosea touch on the subject, one can clearly see how the prayers illustrate the conflict between Roman Catholicism and the Protestant Reformation that was beginning. The first one of these conflicts was the issue of sanctification. In his first prayer, John Calvin is heard pleading with God that grace will remain extended to him and other believers. He admits that there is sin and wrongdoings in each and every person’s lives and prays that the Lord will restore his heart to a holy and righteous state. This process of being continually renewed to a state of righteousness and pure heart is often referred to as sanctification.

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When making decisions regarding who to choose as our next elected officials, one of the first qualities we scrutinize is their judgment, using our own judgment to do so. However, in a nonsecular society in which judgment of a religious authority is essentially the judgment of a divine power, there is significantly less room for scrutiny. The authority of any figure with political power stems from the judgment of the community over which it rules. For instance, if the community believes in the absolute authority of God, then the judgment of God is what gives the judgment of the church or any religious leader authority. A large aspect of the authority that made the Catholic Church such a prominent religious and political force during the early 16th century was called into question by Martin Luther.

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Calvin was extremely vocal about his contempt for the sale of indulgences, the sacrament of penance and most of all, the overwhelming pressure to perform enough “good deeds” to be accepted into Heaven, induced by the Roman Catholic Church. King Henry VIII was also against the authority of the papacy, as seen through the fact he decided to reform the Church of England in an attempt to overpower the influence of the pope. Though he had originally done so so he would be able to divorce his wife, it is clear that his decision to reform the Church was also a power move as after the Reformation, control of England laid solely with the king. While Calvin and King Henry VIII’s willingness to speak out against the pope qualifies as a similarity between the two Reformations, it is important to realize again, the motivations behind the two. While Calvin’s willingness to speak out specifically about the corruption of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church illustrates his religious motivations, King Henry VIII’s decision to break from the Roman Catholic Church was more so a power play then a crusade for a reformed and righteous

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Since 2005, the year Birmingham was claimed to be the ‘murder capital’ of the United States, over 889 homicides have occurred (DeSilver). Birmingham this year alone, is estimated for 47.5 homicides per 100,000 residents, more homicides than what granted them the ‘murder capital’ of the United States in 2005 (BHAM Wiki). Most, if not all, of these homicides are whitewashed as rapes, drugs, guns, robberies, and domestic violence, as the cause, but the question is what lead up for these homicides to happen? What happened that caused Birmingham to go from a record with low amount of homicides in 2014 to a 26% increase, placing it in the FBI’s most homicidal cities in 2015 & 2016? Birmingham is embedded with strain and tension built up over years of history, which derives from economic inequality and fractured race

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Martin Luther and John Calvin considered the church to be corrupt due to the fact that one could purchase indulgences. They believe that you have to earn God’s forgiveness. This was only one of the many reason that The Protestant Reformation took place. Martin Luther

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