During the height of the Protestant Reformation, in which Martin Luther and a number of other religious scholars and theologists took radical steps away from the Catholic Church, many different interpretations of the Gospel came along to offer alternatives. However, while this was happening, a somewhat independent development was occurring in John Calvin’s own efforts; he worked to formulate a particular religious ideology that would soon come to be known as Calvinism. Due to this unique perspective on the Scriptures, and the radical changes that he would bring about in the way the Church worked, John Calvin would become vital to the efforts of the Protestant Reformation, and have an influence that would continue hundreds of hears afterwards. Calvin’s dedication to the Calvinist principles of upholding the Augustinian traditions, maintaining the sovereignty of God, and more would define Calvinism and initiate an entirely new sect of Christianity.
The primary person involved in the formation and development of Calvinism was, of course, John Calvin. Born to a poor family in 1509 in the city of Noyon, he was privileged enough to receive a private education thanks to local nobility and their patronage. It was during his youth that he found religion; however, he soon had reservations about how the church of Rome was handling its own dogma, and so changed his mind and began offering ideas for reform. In 1536, he wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion, in addition to a number of commentaries on many books of the Bible, so that he could show his readers how he interpreted the word of God. After that, he found himself in Geneva, making a mark as a controversial figure for his articles regarding the best ways to change the church’s organization and dogma. His beliefs earned him the wrath of the civil magistrates of Geneva, as his decree that communion would not be served often led to riots. Eventually, John Calvin was brought up on heresy charges by Michael Servetus, who was highly critical of his works, and tried to discredit him along with the other libertines of that era – Calvin eventually won that trial. Calvin eventually died in 1564 of a fever, after spending a lifetime working on the Reformation and providing opposition to the libertines of France.
One of the most important writings in Calvinist literature is the aforementioned Institutes of the Christian Religion, in which Calvin allies himself with his fellow reformers in the Protestant Reformation by stating his defense of their views against the French King Francis I, who had slandered and damaged their reputation. In this work, Calvin says that “The hinges on which our controversy turns are that the Church may exist without any apparent form,” and that one must focus on “pure preaching of the word of God and rightful administration of the sacraments”. In the multiple editions of the Institutes that were released, many different Calvinist teachings were elucidated upon, including the ultimate knowledge of God as the Creator of us all: “it is in the creation of man that the divine perfections are best displayed”. Despite God’s primacy of knowledge, Calvin also writes that man’s knowledge of God and the demands He places on them is also an important issue to discuss. God is explicitly stated to be the Father and creator of life, as well as the being who sustains and provides for mankind. The presence of the Son is said to reveal the Father, as God can only be revealed through Himself. The church itself is given special mention in the fourth section of the Institutes, showing that the Christian Church is meant to live out the truth found in the physical and literal word of the Bible and the sacraments. The papacy at the time was seen as deficient, especially when it came to communion, which Calvin saw as more literal than they: “The more detestableis the fiction of those who.have dared to take it upon themselves to sacrifice him, a thing daily attempted in the papacy, where the mass is represented as an immolation of Christ”. Calvin also notes that the government should have no say in religious matters, leaving church matters to be solved in-house These attributes and more being established in the Institutes makes it one of the defining works that cemented the rules of Calvinism.
The Calvinist reform movement carried with it a great many different kinds of changes to worship and theology. First and foremost, the Calvinist idea of the covenant between God and man is a central tenet of their theology; through the covenants of works and grace, people both take on the original sin of the first man and woman and have the ability to achieve grace through faith in God (who is meant to be infinite and eternal, as well as immutable). Calvinists believe that Original Sin is absolute – in the eyes of Calvin, men are beholden to the sin of man, starting with Adam and Eve and the expulsion of paradise. All people are born sinners, and can only save themselves by looking to Christ for redemption: “We should remember that we are not guilty of one offense only but are buried in innumerable impurities all human works, if judged according to their own worth, are nothing but filth and defilement”. Calvin described the essence of original sin as Total Depravity, in which mankind does not always become totally evil, but original sin will taint any and every thing that a man or woman does in their life, no matter how good their intentions may be.
Another notion that is central to Calvinism is a literalist take on the Bible – Calvin thought that we must assume that all words of the Bible were the literal word of God, and so we have to take it all seriously. There is no room for interpretation or changing of rules in light of cultural changes; we must adhere to every single passage as Gospel. Calvinists steadfastly believe in predestination – they believe that God has a plan for everyone, and that we are always just following our preset destiny. Furthermore, Calvinists believe that God should be praised by all manner of men; he shared Martin Luther’s perspective that only faith could bring about justification.
The work of the Calvinist movement has endured long past the initial Reformation, and played an integral part in the theology of worship of Christians everywhere. Starting with a humble criticism of the Bible and the Catholic Church, Calvinism turned into a whole religious denomination, as it spread to Western Europe, especially the Netherlands. The work Calvin did was absolutely vital to the Protestant Reformation, including his notions of God’s sovereign rule and the essence of predestination, which have become ineffable parts of the spirituality of many since the advent of Calvinism. The most significant impact Calvin’s words has had with religious followers was his emphasis on truth over scholastics and academic interpretations of the Bible; by treating the Word as Gospel, and eschewing any creative interpretations in favor of a more straightforward literal take, many Calvinists sought out a lasting and deeper relationship with God. Furthermore, this perspective allows the church to deal with faith-based internal affairs on their own. The impact of the Calvinists would soon spread beyond Europe in the 17th century, as Puritans would spread more Calvinist beliefs to the New World in their settlements.
In conclusion, the Calvinist reform movement brought a highly specific and very influential set of changes to the Christian faith during the Protestant Reformation. Headed by Calvin, who ruled over the Genevan Church with an iron fist, imposed the tenets of original sin and the sovereign relationship between God and man to the extent that they still survive in today’s sense of worship. Calvinism asserts that the real word of God can be found in the Scriptures, and so it must be followed to the letter, something that can be found in various modern interpretations of the Gospel. He also helped to cement the separation of church and state, insofar as church affairs became separate from governmental control in Geneva – church problems were solved by church personnel. Because of these factors and many more, the Calvinist movement remains an important movement in the modern church today.
Works Cited
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