1509-1564AD John Calvin

From: http://thekingdomcome.com/john_calvin

John Calvin

 

John CalvinI have purposely placed John Calvin at the end of this series commemorating the Protestant Reformation not only because I have been presenting the various personalities in somewhat chronological order of influence but also because now-a-days so many people erroneously use the terms "Reformed" & "Calvinism" interchangeably. But it is neither fair to Calvin or to all the other Reformers to simply identify the Reformed perspective by one man’s name.

Before we address that further, let us explore John Calvin the man.

Like Martin Luther before him, Calvin originally studied to be a lawyer but instead turned his attention toward Christ & understanding the Bible. He would soon be running from the Roman Catholic authorities after it was rumored that he was the author behind a Reformist speech given by one of his friends. He fled France disguised as a farmer. He wandered parts of Europe for three years under assumed names until finally arriving in Geneva Switzerland in about 1536. He’d only meant to stay one night in Geneva but the local Reformers convinced him to remain. Here, Calvin would marry the widow of an Anabaptist.

What the other Reformers like John Wycliffe, John Hus, & Martin Luther did to bring forth the ideas of the Reformation, Calvin did to systematize these ideas especially as preserved in his enduring work called “The Institutes of the Christian Religion”. It is his ability to concisely relate the “big picture” of the Bible that has caused Calvin to be respected by Christians who desire to also see the over all “system” of the Bible & is also the main cause of disrespect from Christians who'd rather revel in vagaries, piece-meal proof-texting, & emotional platitudes. It is Calvin’s practice of “exegeting” the text rather than the practice of allegory or excessive reliance upon commentary which was prevalent in Calvin’s day, even among some Reformers. (Exegete means: revealing the true meaning by considering context, audience relevancy, grammatical & historical consideration, & typology)

Calvin is actually greatly credited with saving the Reformation from extinction as the various factions were becoming so doctrinally discombobulated that Calvin’s systematic approach was just the thing that was needed to hold the fledgling Protestants together. Calvin’s “Institutes” were published in several editions & translated into almost all the European languages & utilized in the Protestant universities. Due to this contribution, the term “Calvinism” is often used synonymously with the term “Reformed”, though Calvin himself certainly did not institute the term & would no doubt strongly reject its original use, but now terms are terms & ought not be considered vanity to so use, for it is not the man that is being followed but the systematic example.

Though Calvin never met Luther (being 25 years younger than Luther), he did however have extensive contact & correspondence with Luther’s companion & perhaps closest friend, Phillip Melanchthon.

Though it is not the scope of this brief overview of Calvin to go into detail about his influence on Geneva & the political situation of the city, we will acknowledge that Calvin was more of a theological leader than a municipal leader, though during that time such roles were often intertwined & thus when modern people look back at some of the situations we may wince at those events. However, with specific mention of the so-called “Michael Servetus execution”, which some people now ignorant of history claim was by the command of Calvin, the fact is that Servetus was already condemned by several authorities under numerous grounds & Calvin did all he could to decrease the punishment doled out not by Calvin but by the municipal court of Geneva. Indeed, the Servetus trial lasted two whole months & Calvin never appeared at the trial to condemn Servetus. However, even considering the times in which those events unfolded, I have grappled over the severity of the sentence & can only think that when in a time when men lived such short life spans (average age of natural death at the time was about 60 years), & in societies where entire cities & nations came under sway, an erroneous ideology was more destructive than it would ever be in the present day. How many men & women fell for the Nazi ideology for example? I am reminded then of the verse:

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mt 16:26 & Mk 8:36)

Entertaining destructive doctrines such as those being spread by men like Servetus were soul destroying & could affect a larger group of people than such today, YET I am NOT trying to justify the actions of the Geneva Council, but merely trying to understand it “exegetically” rather than with knee-jerk 21st century ego-centric emotionalism.

Lastly, I would like to touch on the so-called “Five Points of Calvinism” (aka “The Doctrines of Grace” or “T.U.L.I.P.”). This again is a somewhat misapplied term since Calvin was dead for over 50 years before these points were officially articulated. Like many of the foundational Christian teachings, it took an attack on the precept for it to be clearly formulated in response. That is to say, the so-called Five Points of Calvinism were ALREADY forgone conclusions & understood by almost all Protestants – it was not until a man named Jacob Arminius (a former Reformed Protestant) & his followers abandoned their Protestant faith & attacked its biblical foundation that the Reformers had to articulate this aspect. The Five Points of Calvinism (which was not the original name) were actually given in response to the the Arminians’ “Five Articles of Remonstance”. So, neither Calvin nor the Reformers themselves sat around as often-depicted making up “dogma” to impose upon others. Rather, theological debate/contention MUST come when one person or group proposes a belief at odds with the Bible. (See 1 Cor 11:19 & 2 Thes 2:15 wherein you will see the need & purpose of these contentions) We are NOT supposed to just sit around & accept anything & everything being espoused by people calling themselves "Christians" -- beliefs have affect & consequence & should be considered in light of not mere friendly "opinion" or "feeling" but in light of Scripture. Some of the worse ideologies the world has seen have come about due to unchallenged propositions -- especially those propositions that have been put forth either in a dear & "friendly" manner or a populous-unifying manner. Truth is truth regardless how it makes us "feel".

John Calvin’s contribution to our Christian heritage should not be overlooked, yet the man was so humble that he requested no fanfare in his dying days but simply to be buried quietly with a grave marker bearing only his initials.

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. REIGN FOREVER

1484-1531AD Huldrych Zwingli

From: http://thekingdomcome.com/Huldrych_Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli: The Swiss Luther

Huldrych ZwingliHuldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli didn't like to be compared to Martin Luther because unlike many of Luther's contemporaries, Zwingli advocated Reform completely independent of Luther's influence.

Indeed, Zwingli's distaste of the Roman Catholic Church was triggered not initially by theological issues but more political. The issue was that Zwingli was very much a nationalist, proud of his Swiss heritage & opposed the practice of the Pope utilizing Swiss military to protect Rome. Zwingli found it appalling that his countrymen had to resort to becoming foriegn soldiers just to make a living. He felt the Church was using & abusing the Swiss. Even to this day, the Vatican utilizes "Swiss Guards" or mercenaries as sort of the Papal version of secret service.

Zwingli too had spent time as a Swiss mercenary for Rome but by 1520 he started attacking not only that practice but many other practices including the same things as Luther opposed; indulgences, fasting, & celibacy, among other things. Again, all of this independent of Luther's influence.

Zwingli's reforms in Switzerland were as extensive if not more radical than the German & English reforms.

Some distinctions of the Zwinglian reforms were:

  • Abolished priestly chanting & instruments as a form of music in Church
  • No icons/images in Church
  • Dissolved convents (for nuns & priests)
  • Approved of civil war, if necessary to bring about reforms
  • Lord's Supper/Communion is a memorial (not real blood & body)

It was Zwingli's advocacy of a theocratic system & in contrast to Luther's position that the "sword is only granted to the State & not to the Church" (see here) that would eventually be the death of Zwingli.

On Oct 9th 1531, marching in front of his army against the Swiss Roman Catholic states (the Roman Catholics joined together for a suprise attack on Zurich) was felled that very day.

A little known figure to many of today's Christians, Zwingli perhaps is more in line with the Anabaptist tendencies of many modern-day Reformed Christians. From the infamous meeting at Marburg where Luther & Zwingli disputed over the nature of the Lord's supper, to Zwingli's Bible translation (see Froschau Translation), to his theocratic concepts Zwingli contributed greatly to the Reformation in Switzerland & beyond.

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1499-1552AD Katharina Luther and other women of the Reformation

From: http://thekingdomcome.com/katie_von_bora

 

Katie von Bora

Katie von BoraThere is a phrase used that "behind every good man is a good woman" -- this phrase couldn't be any more true than for Katharina von Bora the wife of Martin Luther. But who is this woman? Perhaps this is the first time you have ever heard her name.

When Katie was age 5 her mother died and her father remarried, after which Katie was sent away to live in a convent (with nuns). She later transferred to another convent where at age 16 she took vows to become a nun. At about age 20, the now educated, Latin-reading Katie was being influenced by the writings of the Reformers -- especially Luther. She & a few other nuns desiring to leave the convent secretly contacted Luther, since leaving or assisting anyone leaving their vows was punishable by death.

Tradition has it, Luther arranged for the women to be smuggled out of the convent in fish barrels on a wagon that made routine deliveries to the convent. The runaway nuns were then arranged to be married -- many to former monks. Katie however did not like the various potential husbands with which she was matched & rather held out that perhaps Luther himself would marry her.

Finally, on June 25 1525 Luther married Katie. Katie immediately became a fine example of the Proverbs 31 wife but nor was she merely a housemaid but was active in the many discussions Luther would entertain at the house -- discussions which would later be recorded by some of his students & come to be known as "The Table Talk" as these discussions would happen at the meal table.

Katie lived only 6 years beyond Luther & those years after Luther's death were tragic for Katie as several wars raged, & the Black Plague was upon Europe. She eventually died most likely due to injuries she suffered in a wagon accident.

Luther & Katie's marriage became the model for much of not only marriage life among the Reformed but also in most of Europe. Luther lovingly called Katie, "My Lord Katie", humorously expressing her charge over the house details. Katie, like many women of the theologians quietly contributed to the Reformation.

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Women of the Reformation

Katharina von Bora Kurfuerstin Elisabeth von Brandenburg Elisabeth von Brandenburg Walpurga Bugenhagen Barbara Cranach
Elisabeth Cruciger Katharina Falk Argula von Grumbach Katharina von Mecklenburg Katharina Melanchthon
Ottilie Müntzer Ursula von Münsterberg Anna Rhegius Anna Zwingli

 

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. REIGN FOREVER

1472-1553AD Lucas Cranach

From: http://thekingdomcome.com/lucas_cranach

Lucas Cranach: The Reformation's Artist

Lucas Cranach: The Reformation's ArtistThe Reformation not only took full advantage of the invention of the printing press but the Reformation also had it's own graphic artist to help capture the moments & personalities of that important era in church history -- Lucas Cranach (a.k.a. Lucas Cranach the Elder to distinguish him from his also artistically successful son of the same name) -- Cranach did not merely paint pictures but was closely involved in the Reformation as he was even a "witness" at Martin Luther's wedding & was "godfather" to the Luther's first born child.

Cranach's art was dramatically affected by the Reformation as we can see before 1517 (the year Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the Church door in Wittenberg) he mainly painted depictions of the Virgin Mary & other such traditionally Roman Catholic themes. But after 1517 the object of his art was to capture salvation themes, such as sin & grace, Adam & Eve & Gospel accounts. Cranach also has provided & preserved for us many profiles of the Reformers including portraits of Luther, Luther's parents, & Katie von Bora, Luther's wife.

So between the remarkable providential timing of the Reformation at the invention of the printing press, add to that Lucas Cranach's abilities to capture the important tone & personalities of that time.

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. REIGN FOREVER