John Calvin
There are many people in history who have made a very big impact on
their
culture, times, and or religion. John Calvin was by far one of these
few great
people. He had such a big influence in the time which he lived from
1509 to
1564. John Calvin devoted almost his whole life to the promoting
of
Protestantism and made such a difference that his impact is still seen
today in
Christianity.
Calvin was born in France and was the
second son in his family of five
brothers. He grew and then decided to go to
the famous University of Paris to
study to be a priest. His father then had a
conflict with the bishop who
employed him so he then turned to the study of
law. While he was studying in
Paris he came across the writings of Martin
Luther. His cousin then introduced
him to the ideas of reformation.
Protestantism began gathering momentum all over
Europe. Then by 1533
Calvin began getting involved with the movement. That year
Calvin had his
salvation experience. He wrote about it later and stated, "God
subdued and
brought my heart to surrender. It was more hardened against such
matters than
was to be expected in such a young man." Calvin then knew to full
fill his
place with God he would have to turn away from the Roman Catholic
church, so
that is exactly what he did.
His first attempt was November first that
year. He gave a speech just like
Martin Luther’s, attacking the church
and demanding a reform. He figured that
if he spoke to the people and
educated them on Protestantism then they would be
ready to make changes in
the Roman Catholic church. It did not turn out his way
at all. This resulted
in anti-Protestant protests all over Paris, forcing him to
flee for his own
safety. He roamed from place to place and then ended up in
Basle,
Switzerland. This is where he started his writing. You see John Calvin
was
considered a quiet, timid natured man. The kind of man who would never
fight
in disputes. In his time there he really got to do the things he wanted
to
accomplish out of life. These were to study and learn about God and his
holy
word.
After this he went to Geneva after getting kicked out for
his teachings he
got invited back to help turn the city around spiritually.
He never held a
political office in Geneva but he ruled with strictness and
sin was punished. He
had laws passed to promote Christian behaviour.
Persecuted Protestants fled from
all over Europe to reside here.
One
last thing Calvin is known for is his theology. This is put together in
a
Calvinism. The ideas of the Calvin doctrine are men are completely
unable to
save themselves with their own works. Salvation is a matter of
God’s choosing
those who will be saved, and that God chooses without any
consideration of a
man’s good works. If someone is chosen of God, there was
no way they could
ever reject Christ or fail to endure to the end of their
Christian life.
Finally, he taught that Jesus died only for the people
who God chose. This is
called limited atonement and is one of Calvin’s most
controversial doctrines
in Calvinism.
As you can see John Calvin was
truly a great man. Through his writings,
speeches, and Calvinism he really
reached his goal in life to learn about God
and his holy word. John Calvin
devoted almost his whole life to the promoting of
Protestantism and made
such a difference that his impact is still seen today
in
Christianity.