Introduction Both John Calvin and Martin Luther played important parts in the reformation of Christ. These two men are just a few of the key players that help with the reformation of Christ. There are many similarities and differences in the ideology and life of these two men. I will compare and contrast the two men using what I have learned during this course as well as through study on my own. I will begin by covering John Calvin’s theology then Martin Luther.
John Calvin’s Beliefs Some thought of Calvin as Luther’s disciple during their historical time period. This may have been because although younger than Luther, Calvin knew of him and his work. Calvin often sang Luther’s praises during the restoration of the gospel. George argues that where Calvin surpassed Luther was in his ability to communicate the great insights of the reformation (God’s grace alone, faith alone, and the
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“At the age of seventeen in 1501 he entered the University of Erfurt. The young student received his Bachelor's degree after just one year in 1502! Three years later, in 1505, he received a Master's degree. (unk, web)” Because of his father’s wishes, he enrolled in law school. One day as he was returning to school, a lightning bolt struck near him. It was at this moment, because of the terror experienced, he vowed to become a monk if his life would be spared. Luther fully devoted himself to the monkish life. He continued his efforts, doing good works and praying for other’s souls. He felt these things would please God. “The Roman Catholic Church taught that an individual could gain favour with God by what were called "good works". Luther believed that he, as a sinner, was condemned in the eyes of God and that nothing could help him. Despite doing many good works, Luther found no peace of mind.”(History learning) To Luther, it seemed, the more he tried doing for God, the more aware of his sins he
In these Thesis’ Luther basically criticized the church’s wrongful practices and exposed the church’s corruption in order to bring about change in the church. Luther is quoted in Document 3 from his 95 thesis’ “Christian’s should be taught that he who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy man, does better if he bought pardons.” Luther believed that actions, such as helping others did way more toward saving a person’s soul than buying a pardon did. He saw through the idea that one could by their way into heaven. He brought about new ideas such as God’s grace is the only way into heaven, not buying indulgences, or simply participating in church activities. His ideas eventually spread out all over Europe and his followers formed a group calling themselves Lutherans. This eventually became a protestant denomination, where Luther preached ideas, and his version of christianity. Also other reformist such as John Calvin had their own ideas, like predestination, and that everyone was full of sin until they were saved by christ. “We must resist the lust of the flesh, which, unless kept in order, overflows without measure.” (Document 6) Calvin believed that everyone was filled with this sinful “lust” that could not be kept in order without the power of christ. Calvin also started a sect of christianity nicknamed Calvinist after their leader. Both Luther and Calvin inspired others such as George Fox, who created quakerism, and Ulrich Zwingli who started anabaptism. Overall a huge force that drove the Protestant Reformation was reformers such as Martin Luther and John
As a result, Luther burned the letter and other papal documents. Then in 1521, Luther was asked to attend the Diet of Worms, where he would recant what he had written. Once again, he refused. He was strong to his beliefs. Unlike Henry VIII, Luther was not selfish in reforming the Church. For instance, the peasants were one of Luther’s major supporters. They had a list of demands that Luther would try to resolve. He initially backed them up but in 1525 when they turned to violence in a revolt, he exhorted the nobles to slaughter them. Luther could have had all of those supporters who admired him, but instead, he had them slaughtered. Although he could have had the support, he believed violence was not the answer. No matter how many supporters he could have has, his beliefs were always put first. Overall, Martin Luther wanted to reform the Church to create a more simple Christian life as it was in the
Kittelson effectively composed the book and created the biography to be an interesting look into the life of Martin Luther. His successful usage of primary source documents and information compounded with his personal literary explanation of Luther’s journey toward reformation and peace with God. Kittelson’s book is not without humor either, he includes direct quotes and dialogue between Luther and Zwingli debating the Lord’s Supper. The insults and demonstrative behavior show Luther as he was, a reformer, who wished to convince others of the power of the gospel. This engaging study is both informative and engaging. Luther the Reformer is a good biography for anyone interested in Martin Luther’s life and interested in learning more about why his journey impacted not only the Roman church then, but the entirety of the Christian Church to this
Martin Luther, was “temperamental, peevish, egomaniacal, and argumentative” (Hooker, www.wsu.edu), but played a pivotal role in history. During Luther's time as a monk, the Catholic Church was selling indulgences. Luther took notice to the corruption and began to reason that men can only get their salvation through Jesus Christ, not the Pope or indulgences, let alone the Church itself. Luther began ...
Luther had a change in his philosophy of how God deals with sinners. Luther believe red that God just sat in Heaven and just passed judgment on sinners. In (Psalm 22: 1-8 AMP) the scriptures talk about God delivering the saints versus just being a God who only judges the people that he condemns for their sins. Luther revolved against the Pope once he realized that the Pope did not have the power to control the final resting place in Purgatory or in Hell. Bainton makes a great point, for the saints by pointing out that the forgiveness of Christ outweighs the indulgences of the Pope. In the end Luther’s theology change featured embracing God’s word from scripture, versus relying on his relationships with religious leader such as the
No one can deny, after his Ninety-Five Theses, Martin Luther was on the road to serious reform, but he wasn't always on that track. He was born in 1483, the son of a coal miner and had a strong will from the beginning of his life (Mullett, 26). In his childhood, Luther was sometimes beaten up to 15 times in a morning while attending school. Martin Luther's father had first arranged for him to be a lawyer and began training him for this even at an early age, insisting that he learn Latin (Mullett, 29). In 1505, he received his master's degree and upon his fathers wishes he enrolled in law school at the University of Erfurt. That same year though, he would become derailed after a traumatic experience on his way home from school to his parent's house. As Martin Luther was walking home, he suddenly became trapped in a terrible lightning s...
Back then, and sometimes today, people would pay the priest or pastor money to absolve them of their sins. The Catholics believed that you have to do good deeds or kind acts to go to Heaven, but Martin Luther studied the Bible and proved them wrong. Actually, Luther had once said “Faith cannot be inherited or gained by being baptized into a Church. Faith is a matter between the individual and God” (whatchristianswanttoknow.com). Martin Luther wanted all christians to know that it is a personal relationship with God that one should not have to do good deeds to earn a connection with
Martin Luther was a former Priest/Monk and that saw some corruption in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther tried to bring his concerns to the Church in his writing of the “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences.” When these question that Luther proposed to the Archbishop of Mainz went unsatisfactorily unanswered in 1517, Luther started defaming the Roman Church and pushed for the utter destruction of the Roman Church. What started out as an internal reform of Church’s discipline, turned into a war against the Roman Church for their total destruction. This was the intent of Luther’s sermon of 1521.
Martin Luther inspired another thinker of the time that questioned the Church’s beliefs. That man was John Calvin. The Catholic belief during the Renaissance and Reformation was that one’s good deeds hel...
When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01).
The Catholic Church’s corruption during the late Middle Ages further enabled church reforms due to the ever-increasing view of the loss of credibility within the church by both the laity and clergy. Thus implementing the ideas of reform. Martin Luther is considered the father of the reformation where he instigated the challenging for the church, papal authority, and changed how the people were allowed to worship. Carlstadt and Zwingli, much like Luther, practiced Evangelical traditions, however, they expanded further than Luther in regards to doctrine and practice. John Calvin on the other hand challenged some of the Evangelical and Reformed Traditions by various religious changes politically and socially. Lindberg examines the Evangelical
... without the need for good works and definitely not by paying money to the Catholic Church. In Luther’s view one only needs to believe in Christ and his works to be justified. Christ is just and his works are perfect and Christ is the object of our faith. As long as Christ is present in our lives and we put our faith in him and simple believe the promises that come with the gospel, God imputes righteousness to sinners, righteousness that we sinners do not deserve (Peters 2005).
Martin Luther, also known as the “Reformator,” was a superior asset in the Protestant Reformation. He was born on November 10, 1483 in the town of Eisleben, which was located in East Germany. Luther’s parents were Hans Luder and Margaretha nee Lindemann. His father was a farmer and later became a copper miner in Mansfeld. Martin Luther’s parents brought him up in the strict environment of the Roman Catholic Church. With his new job in Mansfeld, Hans made the decision to move his family there in 1484. Hans expected Martin to become a lawyer, so Luther went to Erfurt in 1501 to study law. Luther received his master’s degree in 1505. Shortly after this, he felt like law was not the right place for him. This act upset his father, not only because he dropped out of the university, but he decided that he wanted to become an Augustinian monk in Erfurt. Luther believed that if he was serious about his religion, he could please and do good works for God. However, once again, he was still unhappy. Luther decided to make another life-changing decision by studying theology. He went to Wittenberg to study this subject. Martin...
He also believed that the civil and church authorities were separate and should not interfere with each other. Calvin’s contribution to the Reformation cause did not end with the Institutes alone. He is also known for his another mammoth-lifetime work, namely, his bible expositional commentaries on the whole Bible.
Despite Calvin’s social and personal efforts that lead him to success, his theology remains influential into modern times. The 95 Theses, composed by Luther was written when Calvin was at the age 8. This acted as a base for his beliefs because it acted as influence for his studies and teachings wh...