This essay will argue that Calvinism within the City-State of Geneva should not be simply characterised as a French take over. It will explore the possibility that the situation in Geneva was a combination of factors not limited to Calvin’s reforms and policies.
Would contemporary witnesses have predominantly classed the refugees as French, or as fellow evangelists? Did the Genevans even view the influx of people from their neighbouring state as having a different identity? It is conceivable that these immigrants had more in common with the populace of the City-State and their collective identity than the representatives of the previous Roman Catholic institution. National identity had not been fully established in many European countries with boundaries repeatedly shifting and limited communication between regions rendering some disjointed. However the recent adoption of the printing press began to effectively disperse information, evidence suggests that this greatly benefitted the reformists; Luther quotes ‘the business of Gospel is driven forward’, access to the same woodcuts and broadsheets provided a shared knowledge. (Grell, O’Day et al, 2011, p42).
By the time of John Calvin’s posting to organise a civic church in Geneva, the City-State treasured its new independence and the church had been widely reformed in comparison to its previous existence as a Catholic State. Mass had been abolished and the old papal authority had been renounced in favour of associated councils consisting of men holding full citizenship (Grell, O’Day et al, 2011, p53).
Geneva experienced a massive influx of evangelical refugees from France in the early to mid sixteenth century. They were fleeing from a country at war with Italy and whose ki...
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...dles, Wallace focuses more on the spiritual aspects of Calvin’s reform. For example the Block book details the organisation of the Company of Pastors, elders and the consistory using phrases more common in a political campaign, such as ..’obtain powerful positions’ and ‘..achieved considerable success’ (Grell, O’Day et al, 2011, p58). Whilst Wallace does detail the political upheaval in Geneva, not content with the traditional boundaries religious leaders expected through governance. His view of the evangelical church was to be all encompassing with a strict moral code. Perhaps based on his belief that to be saved from a damnation you had to be continuously faithful, (quote from anthology)
Calvins campaign was not unique, throughout Europe reformists were achieving political and social gains, utilising scripture as a criterion for change. (Wallace, 2004, p90)
The Reformation debate letters from John Calvin and Jacopo Sadoleto illustrate the religious controversy of the sixteenth century. Sadoleto’s letter was addressed to the magistrates and citizens of Geneva, pleading them to come back to the Catholic church, as they had fallen to the ways of the Reformers. In his letter, Sadoleto painted the Reformers as ‘crafty’ and ‘enemies of Christian peace’ (30), never directly addressing them. Calvin does, however, address Sadoleto’s insinuations directly in his response. The two letters disagree when it comes to justification, Sadoleto believing that it comes by faith and works and Calvin, more so along the lines that faith is what really matters. Calvin successfully argues against Sadoleto’s premise and presents influential points, making his argument more convincing than his opponent’s.
During the period between 1500 and 1700 different Protestant ideals and religions such as the views of Luther, Henry VIII, and Calvinism reflected varying degrees of closeness between church and state. Luther's views of the state being above the church represented a distance between the church and state that many other Protestant religions at the time did not have. Henry VI and Calvinism on the other hand, intertwined the church and state so that their relationship was much closer. Calvinism went much further than just intertwining church and state though; it became a complete combination: the church working as state.
The Second Great Awaking consisted of new applications of religion that deviated from rationalism, which sparked promotion of democracy and freedom. The message of salvation rather than condemnation was evident in this movement as spoken by Charles G. Finney. He sought to remove sin from reformed churches and organize sinners to unity and freedom (Doc B). This practice showed the crucial democrati...
The periods during the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and the World at War all experienced religious and church conflicts. During the Renaissance and Reformation (1330 – 1650), the fundamental practices of the church came under fire. The church at this time was the largest and most political body. The pope, himself, was the most recognizable political figure. It was due to this authority that the church and its pope were more interested in political issues and less with the spiritual needs of the people (McGraw-Hill, p. 76). Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s high priests had bought their way into position and had very little religious experience. Often the only members of the community that were literate were the clergy thus adding to their control of the common people.
In 1541, John Calvin was invited to Geneva to put his reformed doctrine into practice. Calvin’s Geneva became a centrum for Protestant exiles, and his doctrines rapidly spread to Scotland, France, Transylvania and the low Countries. Dutch Calvinism became a religious and economic force for the next 400 years. In 1559 Elizabeth I took the
Roper, H. R.. The crisis of the seventeenth century; religion, the Reformation, and social change. [1st U.S. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 19681967. Print.
John Calvin produced the first defined the presentation on Protestantism, which was titled 'Institutes of the Christian Religion'. Sometime in 1522-1534, John had what he called a 'sudden conversion' and accepted Protestantism. The Town Council also accepted Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances, which set up a theocracy in Geneva; a government based on Church rule. Calvin mainly believed in the absolute sovereignty of God, and the person's complete inability to contribute anything towards their own salvation. That second point is known as pre-destination.
In The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village, renowned scholar Eamonn Duffy investigates the English Reformation. Duffy pears through the eyes of the priest of a small, remote village in Southwestern England. Using Sir Christopher Trichay’s records of the parish, Duffy illustrates an image of Reformation opposite of what is predominantly assumed. Duffy argues the transformation that took place between 1530 and 1570, through the transition of four monarchs, was much more gradual that many interpret. Even though state mandate religious change affected the community of Morebath, the change did not ensue the violence that is often construed with the Reformation. Sir Christopher Trichay’s leadership and his portrayal of community life, the development and removal of St. Sidwell, and the participation in the church through stores develop Duffy’s argument of appeasement rather than violence during the English Reformation.
Calvin’s devout interest in theology was practical. He regarded theology as a practical science. The original purpose of his Institutes was to provide a handbook which would be an aid to piety. The true task of theology was not to give answers to speculative questions, but to contribute to the edification of Christians. So, in his book John Calvin’s Doctrine of the Christian Life, author John H. Leith writes, “The conduct of the Christian, not verbal assent to doctrine and ceremony, is the decisive test of religious convictions” (26). Heith continues, “The Geneva Catechism opened with the question, What is the chief end of human life? The answer to this question was the burning mission of Calvin’s whole theology.
Proving to be the paramount of the conflict between faith and reason, the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century challenged each of the traditional values of that age. Europeans were changing, but Europe’s institutions were not keeping pace with that change.1 Throughout that time period, the most influential and conservative institution of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church, was forced into direct confrontation with these changing ideals. The Church continued to insist that it was the only source of truth and that all who lived beyond its bounds were damned; it was painfully apparent to any reasonably educated person, however, that the majority of the world’s population were not Christians.2 In the wake of witch hunts, imperial conquest, and an intellectual revolution, the Roman Catholic Church found itself threatened by change on all fronts.3 The significant role that the Church played during the Enlightenment was ultimately challenged by the populace’s refusal to abide by religious intolerance, the power of the aristocracy and Absolutism, and the rising popularity of champions of reform and print culture, the philosophes, who shared a general opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.
What happens when people start to break away from the entity that bound an entire civilization together for over a thousand years? How does one go from unparalleled devotion to God to the exploration of what man could do? From absolute acceptance to intense scrutiny? Sheeple to independent thinkers? Like all revolutions preceding it, the Protestant Reformation did not happen overnight. Catholics had begun to lose faith in the once infallible Church ever since the Great Schism, when there were two popes, each declaring that the other was the antichrist. Two things in particular can be identified as the final catalyst: a new philosophy and simple disgust. The expanding influence of humanism and the corruption of the Catholic Church led to the Protestant Reformation, which in turn launched the Catholic Reformation and religious warfare.
With the writings of Martin Luther in the sixteen century, a large portion of Europe and the eventually the rest of the west converted from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism. Max Weber conjectures that under Protestantism citizens were encouraged to show their faith in God through hard work. (Weber, 377) . Over the
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
The central assertion of Calvinism canons is that God is able to save from the tyranny of sin, from guilt and the fear of death, every one of those upon whom he is willing to have mercy. God is not frustrated by the unrighteousness or the inability of men because it is the unrighteous and the helpless that he intends to save. In Calvinism man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that, which is good and well pleasing to God; but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it. This concept of free choice makes Calvinism to stand supreme among all the religious systems of the world. The great men of our country often were members of Calvinist Church. We had the number of Presbyterian presidents, legislators, jurists, authors, editors, teachers and businessmen. The revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in ...
Martin Luther demonstrated the visionary leadership characteristics of change management, diversity, FRLD, and team building to begin a reformation. He started his reform in 1517 when he learned that the Roman Catholic Church was selling indulgences ,a ticket to heaven, in order to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica. With the individual consideration of others in mind, he recognized this as immoral and saw the need for change and took on the role as change agent. Using the conceptual approach by focusing on principles, ideas and alternatives, he established a sense of urgency when he wrote his Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, better known as his 95 Theses. In these theses, he reiterates some of the founding beliefs of the church in an effort to initiate change. He then distributes the information to the public in order to include them and stimulate their intellect and then set up a place of meeting to seek different perspectives. He then delivers the same theses to church directors to involve the respected leaders in order to develop his guiding coalition. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education LM06-2SG Change Management (1 Mar 13) step 2 Creating the Guiding Coalition asserts that “assembling ...