John Calvin's Letter to the King (on the Clergy) - Essay Example

Calvin: Letter to the King [on the Clergy]   Narrative Essay: John Calvin's "Letter to the King (on the Clergy)” John Calvin’s, Calvin: Letter to the King [on the Clergy] is a decree which has appeared in the form of a letter addressing the King of France. The passage includes in Calvin’s popular book Institutes of the Christian Religion which deals with the doctrines of Protestantism and his bitter experiences after he broke from Roman Catholic Church. John Calvin was a popular figure as French theologian and pastor who lived during the Protestant Reformation. Historical studies show that his life span extended from 1509 to 1564. From the very young age itself Calvin had inculcated an aptitude for literature and scholarship. After the death of his father he joined for theology, contrary to the expectation of his father. His “sudden conversion” to Protestantism caused for many serious issues in his life and the same forced him to flee from France to Switzerland. As a writer, most of the writings of Calvin were controversial and they subjected for the displeasure of the Roman Catholics. One of the notable publications of Calvin that stirred the minds of Catholics was his book, Institutes of the Christian Religion that published in 1536, when he was in Basle as a deportee. After the first publication f the book, Calvin revised and published it again in 1559. Calvin’s deep knowledge in Christianity and its beliefs have been well explained in this book and it also covers sections that teach how the religion should properly be organized. Calvin: Letter to the King [on the Clergy] belongs to Institutes of the Christian Religion, where he tries to justify Protestantism by refuting the arguments of the Catholic priests. When analyzing the historical background of writing The Institutes of the Christian Church, one can see a lot of preliminary issues which later paved the way for constituting the religious doctrines of Protestantism. The things that lead to the publication of The Institutes of the Christian Church were actually started with Calvin as the student of law. As a student of law Calvin was much attracted with the Northern Renaissance humanism. He was looking for a chance to reform the church and he gained it when the people of Geneva revolted against their1 rulers in 1520’s (Hooker, 1996). It was the time when the people of Geneva were much familiar with the teachings of Protestantism, and there were not much German speakers but only the French speakers. As a result of this, there was not a good cultural tie that existed between the reformed churches in Germany and Switzerland. In order to change Geneva into Protestantism, nearest places like Bern sent protestant reformers to convert the people of Geneva into Protestantism in the year 1533. It caused Geneva for changing officially to protestant on 1535 (Hooker, 1996). As a successful lawyer, Calvin was invited to Geneva in order to take charge of its reformation process. Calvin’s depth knowledge in the Old and the New Testaments completely changed the present concept of Protestantism and he could interpret the many issues which remained mystic to other reformers of his time. He tried to make an overall change in the organizational pattern of the church governance and exerted his influence in the social organization of the church. It is because of this reason majority of the historians and the thinkers regard him as the first political thinker who built up a model social organization entirely on biblical principles. Though not a success at the beginning Calvin won in creating leaders within the new church by strictly following the religious doctrines. He acquired the ability and knowledge in guiding the Protestant believers from the literal readings of the Christian Scriptures. Regarding the people of Geneva, they were in confusion about the present state of affairs and the advent of the new religion seemed to them as an identical twin or a religion having only different names and different people. An analysis of the historical records reveals that it is this indigestion respecting the religious belief, caused for driving Calvin and other reformers of Protestantism out of Geneva. This results in the exile of Calvin to Strasbourg where he began writing the doctrines of Protestantism, The Institutes of the Christian Church by thoroughly learning the commentaries from the Bible. Calvin: Letter to the King [on the Clergy] constitutes one of the passages of Calvin’s doctrines of Protestantism; The Institutes of the Christian Church. When going through Calvin, one gets glimpses of the perturbed mind of Calvin, rejected and severely criticized by Roman Catholics. When he wrote the passage by addressing the King of France he remarks that the real intention of him to write the passage was making aware of the persons who deny the words of God and religion. He makes it clear when says, “My intention was only to furnish a kind of rudiments, by which those who feel some interest in religion might be trained to true godliness”(Medieval Source book). According to Calvin, he undertook the task of writing, chiefly for the sake of multitudes of French men whom he thinks as suffering like Jesus without being the proper knowledge of Him. Calvin warns the King about the threat from the usurpers who waits with sword and fire intended to trouble the country. There is possibility for the King to suspect the doctrines of Calvin as they are against the prominent Roman Catholics, and in order to make it clear, Calvin entreats the King not to believe the atrocious insinuations that are against Calvinism. Calvin uses the present writing as a means to justify his doctrines by inviting the attention of the King and find a proper solution for the problem. His staunch belief in God and his religion have also been expressed in the passage when he remarked that there is not much anything which is higher than God and exhorted that Christ and His Gospel is new. Through this work, Calvin tries to accomplish equal or a higher rank to Protestantism with the Roman Catholics, but proves to be failure and flee to Switzerland.1 The content of the work is the assurance of the freedom of the Protestants provided with equal status with the Roman Catholics. Most of the historians and the thinkers regard Calvin’s book as fine piece of literature that introduces a lot of phrases and terms. The usage of the phrases and words like, “hungering and thirsting after Christ”, “atrocious insinuations”, and “fraudulently and insidiously” are self explanatory of Calvin’s knowledge and talent as a writer and theologian. As it was an age that marked with many controversies in religious as well as in the social life with Calvin as the direct partaker of reformation, his works help the historians to get a clear picture of the age, especially of the religious uprisings and Protestant Reformation of that time. To conclude, one can infer that Calvin has exerted his predominant influence in the growth of Protestantism by dedicating his life for religious cause and proved himself as one of the great personalities who could even change history. Bibliography: Hooker, Richard. "History and Reformation, John Calvin". World Civilizations. 21 June 2009 Medieval Sourcebook: Calvin: Letter to the King [on the Clergy], "From John Calvin, Institutions Of The Christian Religion". Fordham University. 21 June 2009 Read More