John+Calvin

John Calvin

by George Gallagher, Tyra Brownell, Mackenzie Thomas, Chris Wheeles.



Early Life

(1509-1564) John Calvin was born in Noyon, Picardy France.The catholic church held most of the power if not all the power in Christian Europe. John grew up in the catholic church where his father was a clergy man. Johns father procured for John a church benefice which is a church office in which the holder pays a small portion of their money to someone who actually does the work and keeps the rest for their own financial support. In this case Johns benefice went to his education. John loved scholarship and literature but his father (who was a lawyer) pushed him to follow in his footsteps. College and Conversion He studied Theology for a short time in 1523 at the University of Paris and secured chaplaincy attached to the Noyon cathedral. In 1528 he finally gave into his father's wishes and moved to Orleans to study law. He moved to Bourges a year later to study law. When his father died in 1531 it acted as a release and gave him the freedom to resume his religious studies. He learned Greek and sometime between 1528 and 1533 he converted from Catholicism to Protestant which was a big way of saying goodbye to his old life because of the high power his family held in the catholic church.

His Book and Beleifs In 1536 his book the "__Institutes of the Christian Religion"__ was published. It mainly talks about his religious beliefs and focuses on the divine rule of god and how without Jesus nobody would be able to go to heaven. There are five main points to Calvinism. The first major point is that all men are inclined to sin and without God man is nothing. His second point is that man must make a inner effort to release from sin. His third point is that when you die you go to Heavens gates and God decides if you have lived a good enough life to be accepted into Heaven if you have not lived a good enough live you are subject to eternity in Hell. His fourth point is that Jesus Crist died for everyone and not for a certain group of people and to live a bad life without God is making Jesus die in vain. His fifth point is that just because you are apart of the church doesnot mean that you are going to Heaven you have to live a good life and not just go to church on Sunday.

Trip to Geneva After being exiled from France by King Francis the 1 in his earlier years for being Protestant John Calvin decided to move around Europe and help small up and coming Protestant towns. He was called by a pastor in Geneva Switzerland to come help their small town that had a few years earlier won religious freedom from France. He tried to propose new forms of moral behavior and to preach Protestantism but the very liberal government would not allow it and he was asked to leave Geneva. A few years later he was invited back because most of his supporters had now gained high political office, John Calvin enforced new rules punishments for adulterers (men were beheaded, while women were sewn into a sack and drowned in the river). Fines or imprisonment for gambling or drunkenness. No eating rich foods. No one was allowed to be caught wearing bright colors or jewelry. everyone was required to go to church on Sunday. No one was allowed to be caught playing cards. Everyone should be home by 9 pm each evening.

End of Life In autumn of 1558 John fell ill with the flu but feeling that he still had more to accomplish he tried to work through it. Shortly after recovering from that illness he was stricken with a terrible cough during one of his sermons and burst a blood-vessel in his lungs. His health declined from there and he preached for his last time on Feburary sixth 1564 in St. Pierre. April 25 he made his will which left a small sum of money to his family and to his college. John Calvin died May 27 1564 at the age of 54. "John Calvin." //- Theopedia, an Encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity//. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. . "John Calvin." //History Learning Site//. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. . Davis, Thomas J. //John Calvin//. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. Print 1Original Sin." //The Five Points of Calvinism//. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. [].