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Martin Luther Influence On John Calvinism

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The reformation was a religious renewal in Europe in the sixteenth century that was led by Martin Luther. Luther saw problems within the Catholic Church and wanted to fix those specific problems, not necessarily change the entire religion (Beeke). John Calvin grew up during this era and continued the reformation, but he went about it in a different way than that of Martin Luther. In his eyes it was necessary to start from scratch, which is exactly what he did, and that’s how Calvinism came about.
Calvinism is a belief that was created based off of one man’s conviction by the spirit of God. John Calvin grew up in the catholic faith, but at the age of 21 he heard the voice of God and was converted to a Christian (Piper 1997). Calvinism is often …show more content…

A lot of this legal background is show in the way that Calvinism is structured. A lot of the practices and beliefs are based on logic. So for people who are very analytical, Calvinism was easy to grasp (Richey). But in the same manner, it is very easy for others to find loop holes in their theories and arguments, as many historians have done. Calvinism is based on the foundation that God id sovereign over all things (Richey). This includes the decisions of who is elected to go to heaven and who will go to hell. Some researchers have noticed that if you question a Calvinist about their beliefs they will use circular logic in order to answer your question. Paton used the following example: “If one challenges one of the five points of Calvinism, and they are unable to convince someone of the validity of that point by using Scripture, then they appeal to the theological point above or below the one they are arguing for as a "proof" of the logic of their conclusions. ‘If you are predestined, you cannot lose your salvation.’” It takes a deeper thinker to realize that this circular knowledge is being used and no real concrete proof is being given. Also if they cannot answer a question there are a few scriptures that they can revert too; Romans chapter 11, verse 34 reads, “For who can know the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor?" This is basically their way of saying they do not have to prove anything to anyone, because the Lord said it, and we may never know what he actually meant. It’s almost any easy way out. A lot of the beliefs of Calvinism are very valid and can beat the test of time, as we still see many people practicing today, but at the same time, there are still questions and explanations to be addressed about the

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