Author Bio: John Calvin (1509-1564) was a convert to Lutheranism and because of his religion, was exiled from France. In the 1530s, he settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where about a decade later he established a theocratic society. He adhered strictly to biblical authority and defined the church as "a society of all the saints, a society spread over the whole world, and existing in all ages, yet bound together by the one doctrine and the one Spirit of Christ." He strongly believed that in order to have God as one's father, one must have the Church as one's mother. Figuratively, this means that he strongly valued the power of the church and disliked its move away from the so-called society of saints it sought to serve. John Calvin no doubt expressed bias in his predisposition for Calvinism over Lutheranism.
Speaker: See above.
Date/Context: Predestination was written in 1536 when Calvin was in his twenties. He took much inspiration from Lutheranism, but went a step beyond and stressed predestination, or the belief that one's salvation is unchangeable and based solely on the will of God. Calvinism, the ultimate name for Calvin's ideals, became very popular in the Netherlands and Scotland as well as in colonial America, where it formed the basic tenets of Puritanism. This movement was probably influenced by the authority of the Roman Catholic Church's reach in Switzerland, but Calvin rejected this.
Summary: Calvin starts the document by stating that men are not equal but that all are subject to God's purpose. He says that it is God's will entirely to deny life in heaven to some and to grant it to others. No matter how hard man tries to escape this, and no matter how unfair it may be, God's will is final. He attests to the scripture proving his beliefs and states that salvation comes to only a select few. At the end, he concludes by saying that all those who oppose him are wrong in their reasoning.
Key Quotations: "The covenant of life is not preached equally to all, and among those to whom it is preached, does not always meet with the same reception."
"All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or to death..."
Good post! Some identifying characteristics of this primary document by Calvin and others by him are his religious beliefs that are present in the text. In this primary document Calvin states his belief in God and God's purpose for men. Other important information about John Calvin is that he was a prominent and important figure in the Reformation movement.
ReplyDeleteGood job! Another identifying quote: "The unsearchable depth of divine judgment, and is without doubt subordinate to God's purpose of eternal election. But it is plainly owing to the mere pleasure of God that salvation is spontaneously offered to some while others have no access to it."
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