Calvin, Lock, and Lanyer Assignment
Jean Calvin
Life
Born in France in 1509.
Was dedicated to the church at an early age, intending to join the priesthood.
In 1526, after already having attended college, he switched his path to law, likely at the behest of his father.
At the University of Bourges, Calvin was exposed to humanism through classical studies.
In 1533, Calvin experienced a religious revelation or conversion which turned him away from the Catholic church and toward reformist teachings.
In 1534, Calvin’s close affiliation with other French reformers forced him into hiding and eventually into Switzerland.
French reactions to reformers tended to be more severe than elsewhere, and eventually resulted in the religious wars later in the sixteenth century, which were ultimately lost by the reformers.
In 1536 Calvin published the first edition of his monumental theological work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. This text laid out his reformed theology and was intended as a guide for Christians to follow.
That same year he took up residency in Geneva, persuaded to stay and participate in reforming activities by William Farel.
During the following two years, Calvin and Farel attempted to shape the character of Geneva, conforming it to their ideas of a Christian state. The people were not extremely receptive to their ideas, and they both moved on to different cities after being ejected from Geneva.
Calvin took a ministering role in Strasbourg, where he stayed and worked for three years (1538-41).
During this time he married Idelette de Bure.
Geneva’s religious culture suffered after the ejection of Calvin and Farel, and in 1541 Calvin was invited back to the city to once again lead reforming activities. He accepted.
Calvin’s reforms gave sweeping powers to the religious authorities in Geneva, despite his own insistence on a separation between church and state. He was met with a great deal of opposition between 1541 and 1553, specifically from the libertines who argued they were exempt from the law given the emphasis on God’s grace alone for salvation.
By 1555, Calvin’s power and reforms were secure.
Calvin’s Geneva is important to the English Reformation because many exiles during Queen Mary’s brutal persecution of Protestants took refuge in Geneva.
Those exiles brought back Calvin’s works and teachings when Elizabeth took power, and their influence helped shape English protestantism from then on.
Among Calvin’s many legacies is his creation of a school, and his emphasis on education.
In the last years of his life, Calvin produced the final version of the Institutes, expanding his 21 chapters to 80.
In 1564 a long enduring illness ended his life, and he was buried in an unmarked grave so as to discourage the worship of a new saint.
The memorial to Jean Calvin in Geneva. His actual gravesite is unknown, but this 19th century monument serves as his memorial.
Calvin’s Theology and Calvinism
Long after Calvin’s death, in 1618-9, the Synod of Dort affirmed five principles of Calvinism:
Total Depravity: the idea that original sin extends to all of man’s actions, including his thoughts and speech.
Unconditional Election: also known as predestination, this principle asserts that before birth all people are either destined for Heaven or Hell and no intervening action can alter that determination.
Limited Atonement: this idea limits the scope of Christ’s sacrifice, that through his death, Christ only atoned for the sins of those predestined for salvation.
Irresistible Grace: those who are among the Elect, that is, predestined for salvation, will necessarily have a conversion to God’s religion and will find God.
Perseverance of the Saints: “saints” refers to the Elect, and this idea is that those who are Elect cannot irredeemably fall from God’s grace, but will inevitably find a way back to God and will still be saved.
Conclusions
Jean (John) Calvin’s theology had an enormous impact on reformed Christianity in England. It became the basis for much of Anglican doctrine.
The doctrine of predetermination, though not an entirely new idea, had an impact on the way Christians began to conceive of themselves and others. It put a huge amount of pressure on individuals to try and figure out whether or not they were saved. For many, this became a crisis of faith.
Calvin’s ideas, while taking power out of the hands of the Catholic church, also took the power from individuals to affect their own status, and that caused a lot of psychological difficulty.