4/29/2013

The Nattes in the grape vine

            The age was an age of ancient authors and academic pursuits and they thought about  things that have come before and will come again. Martin Luther and John Calvin had their spotlight not just in the renaissance times but have been famous onward up to this day. However, there was a time that came before, The Greco-Roman times. The beauty of the Greco-Roman times, with all its wealth of reason and logic, were married to the Christian scriptures. However, the reformers used logic and Reason to support scripture and did not use doctrine and tradition, the result was something that was not to be mistaken for Scholasticism.

            Luther, a German, was 25 years older than John Calvin and so he came before Calvin in wanting to fix the corruptions in the Church. Luther’s own ideas are not all his, he was inspired by many other writers and philosophers but his own doctrine was still mostly in line with catholic teaching. Though the differences between Martin and the church lay much in the political aspects and in the way they understood salvation.

            Luther despised scholasticism and Aristotle’s role in Christianity. The medieval Christianity had politics under authority to the divine teachings of spirituality. Aquinas thought that politics as not a pure evil and has some good, that all have some good. While Luther taught politics could only serve good for the non- believers, he wished to change little of the current structure. He might have wished the German princes on his side too. Luther pushed equality in God’s eyes and he desired hat there be no more hierarchy like the pope had, but instead wanted to have no pope.

            Luther, in rebelling against indulgences, claimed people are saved by not faith alone. Luther’s beliefs also had these ideas of the community being in charge of the church. He also pinpoints where in the bible it explaining how the Holy Spirit guides individual reading to interpret the text themselves. With his new correct interpretation of scripture he laeds the country side into individualism. These are the upcoming of individualism, re-burst in reason and Democracy. Luther was excommunicated from the church.

Frenchmen John Calvin, however, went a separate way. He believed that God had just about complete control of everything. From reasoning form scripture, that no man has the intelligence to interpret meaning of scripture. In addition, had predestination belief, in which you are predetermined for your place in eternity before, as opposed to after, death. John Calvin also claimed the physical world has no spiritual value (this being written against the Eucharist) and the external practices are far from necessary.

Mr. Calvin’s idea of society was controlled by his code. The government was like an extreme monarchy with some democratic elements that uses fear factors to keep the population’s fear for God. He might have experimented with this in Geneva, which was a complete shambles when he found it.

Both Men respected one another and both men denied current church structure and the pope’s authority. Both had an attitude like, ‘don’t trust me, and see for yourself in scripture.’ Both had mastered Latin but would never exclusively use it over their native language to other people. Both led to pre-parliament and individualism ideas. Through studies, it may be evident that Martin Luther and John Calvin were humans, and perhaps not sinless or perfect representers of the “Reform”.