Lutheranism and Calvinism essays

Lutheranism and Calvinism essays The just shall live by faith- St. Paul (1:11) St. Pauls letter to the Romans which is found in the bible inspired both Lutheranism and Calvinism. Both religions had two different interpretations of Pauls writings, but the theories came to both Martin Luther and John Calvin after reading it. Lutheranism was the dominant movement of the first half of the Reformation. (West. Civ., 16) Martin Luther started his revolt with the 95 Theses which were written in response to the sale of indulgences. Also Luthers theory of Justification by Faith changed many peoples views about salvation. In 1555 Luther died which later on caused the number of his followers to die down as well. However, in France, a man by the name of John Calvin followed in Luthers footsteps elaborating on Martin Luthers idea of Justification by Faith. He was the most important reformer to follow Luther. His religion, Calvinism, took over major parts of Europe during the second half of the Reformation. Both religions stressed the importance of salvation being gained by faith alone and also that the bible held the only source of the religious truth. Calvinism and Lutheranism shared some similarities but also had major differences. The beliefs about salvation differed greatly from those of John Calvin and Martin Luther. Calvin thought that God possessed power and that many humans were sinful. Calvin also thought that God planned the whole universe until the end of time. (Reformation, 386) He said that God decided whether an individual would go to heaven or not. That was John Calvins idea of Predestination; God chose who would live a life devoted to god and those who would not be able to go to heaven. To Calvinists two types of people existed; sinners and saints. His theory of Predestination was derived from Luthers theory of justification by faith. Luther believed that the justice of God is that righteousne...