Martin Luther and John Calvin essays

Martin Luther and John Calvin essays Martin Luther and John Calvin were both very important men to the Reformation in Europe during the Renaissance and beyond. Although both Martin Luther and John Calvin were against the ideas of the Catholic Church, they had different views on social order and political authority in most cases. Martin Luther originated the ideas of the Reformation with his theory of justification by faith alone, which stated that one only needed faith in God in order to get into Heaven. Luther criticized the Catholic Church for creating their own practices or even superstitions, instead of following solely the teachings and practices of the Bible. He claimed that only two of the seven sacraments were valid, the Eucharist and baptism. Luthers views on social order went with the trend of other humanists of the time period. He believed in a more important role of the individual, an idea that differed radically with those of John Calvin. John Calvin was an extreme conservative, following the teachings of Martin Luther while also founding his own philosophies on social order. Calvin believed in predestination, the idea that it is predetermined who will be sent to heaven and who will be sent to hell. Calvin lived in Geneva for a period of time, setting its laws and guidelines for moral behavior. He was very intent on keeping Geneva as pure as possible. No drinking of alcohol, games, dancing or other immoral behavior would be permitted. Women also gained respect not found in other places in Europe. Men who beat their wives were severely punished. In most towns and cities what a man did with his wife was his own business; she was seen as a piece of property. These were the rules all Calvinists were to follow, with strict obedience. Martin Luther and John Calvin held more similar views on political authority than that of social order. Luther recognized secular power as valid and called for Christians to follow and obey the ...