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| == Reformed Geneva == | == Reformed Geneva == | ||
| Toleration was not a "value" highly prized in the Early Modern period, and it was not one practiced in ]. Calvin and his city ejected any remaining ] and strongly prohibited any practices they identified as un-reformed, such as dancing, wedding feasts, and the celebration of Christmas and other religious ]. ], a Spaniard whose writings were identified as ] as opposed to ], was arrested and eventually burned as a heretic in ]. | Toleration was not a "value" highly prized in the Early Modern period, and it was not one practiced in ]. Calvin and his city ejected any remaining ] and strongly prohibited any practices they identified as un-reformed, such as dancing, wedding feasts, and the celebration of Christmas and other religious ]. ], a Spaniard whose writings were identified as ] as opposed to ], was arrested and eventually burned as a heretic in ]. | ||
| == Predestinarianism == | |||
| ] lay-people generally identify Calvinism first and foremost with ]. ], unlike ], is set up in contrast to human free will. The idea is that if people could do anything other than what God foreordained them to do it would violate the sovereignity of God. An unfortunate consequence is that, taken along with the rest of the Bible, this doctrine has God forcing people to sin, and creating some for heaven and others for hell. The contrasting view has people choosing freely for themselves whether or not to turn to God and whether or not to sin. This keeps God from being responsible for evil in the world, and whether or not they go to hell, but also opens the possibility that what God wants may not always be what happens. | |||
| Nevertheless, it is not entirely accurate to identify Calvinism with ], as this was only a minor teaching of John Calvin. Some of his other teachings have become cornerstones of ] theology, and there exist non-Calvinist ] who would call Calvin a better selection for the title "father of Protestantism" than ]. | |||
Revision as of 03:53, 9 January 2003
John Calvin (the anglicized name of Jean Cauvin) was born in Noyon, Picardie, France July 10, 1509; he died in Geneva, Switzerland in 1564. He is best known for founding Calvinism, a form of Protestant Christianity, during the Protestant Reformation.
Life
Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg castle church in 1517 when Calvin was 6. Calvin was, then, securely a member of the second generation of Reformers.
Calvin's father, an attorney, sent him to the University of Paris to study humanities and law. By 1532, he was a Doctor of Law at Orleans. His first published work was a commentary on the Roman philosopher Seneca.
In 1536 he settled in Geneva, halted in the path of an intended journey to Basel by the personal persuasion of the reformer William Farel.
Works
The first edition of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion was published in Latin in 1536. The first French version of 1541 is commonly credited as a masterpiece of French prose. In France, the 16th and 17th century followers of Calvinism were referred to as Huguenots.
Calvin also published many volumes of commentaries on the Bible. As much as his practice in Geneva his publications spread his ideas of a correctly reformed church to many parts of Europe. Calvinism became the religion of the majority in Scotland, the Netherlands, and parts of North Germany and was influential in Hungary and Poland.
Reformed Geneva
Toleration was not a "value" highly prized in the Early Modern period, and it was not one practiced in Geneva. Calvin and his city ejected any remaining Catholics and strongly prohibited any practices they identified as un-reformed, such as dancing, wedding feasts, and the celebration of Christmas and other religious holidays. Michael Servetus, a Spaniard whose writings were identified as Unitarian as opposed to Trinitarian, was arrested and eventually burned as a heretic in Geneva.