StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

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

Summary
This paper tells that 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. John Calvin was a popular figure as French theologian and pastor who lived during the Protestant Reformation…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.8% of users find it useful
John Calvins Letter to the King (on the Clergy)
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "John Calvin's Letter to the King (on the Clergy)"

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

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF John Calvin's Letter to the King (on the Clergy)

Reformation A Vital Catalyst for Modernity

the text of the bible was preached in the vernacular), and the need of the princes and merchants to preserve their wealth from the clutches of the Catholic Church, although Brinton argued that the ‘incoming' protestants were simply another money-hungry class that replaced the clergy (234pp).... But there was trouble also in other parts of Europe, particularly Bohemia, one of the kingdoms that had become part of the Holy Roman Empire when its king was elected emperor....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

The Limits of Secular Authority

Paul's words: “Submit yourselves to the king as supreme, and to the princes as his ambassadors, and to all the ordinances of the worldly power” (Romans xiii).... Such an act by a member of the clergy in times of ecclesiastical reforms was considered traditional and was done by church reformists before him (Estes 355).... Nonetheless, Luther believes that there are situations in which secular authorities may have ascendancy over members of the clergy, such as when a clergyman commits a crime....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

The Providence Debate Issues

The paper "The Providence Debate Issues" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues on the providence debate.... Based on biblical texts and other scholarly discourse on the subject, the Arminian and the Calvinist views are evaluated to determine the merits of each doctrinal position.... ...
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Calvin Geneva and His Influence on European Reformation

It appears that calvin's reforming project in Geneva coincided almost exactly with the Council of Trent and reassertion of Catholicism after the blow dealt it by the popularity of Luther's ideas.... 65-68) discusses that through the areas of Lutheran missionaries and trade, the evangelical movement broke away to France where he won many converts, among whom was john Calvin.... Its institutes of the Christian religion (1536) had great influence in France, Scotland (where john Knox led the reform of Calvinist), and among the Puritans in England....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Calvinism and Ephesians

The founder of Calvinism also known as the great Genevan Reformer, john Calvin (1509-1564), said: "God preordained.... ... ... part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation.... ...
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Main Factors in the Origins of Reformation

“The system was permitted by the Church (since 1215) but had been abused by the clergy and their agents such as Tetzel” (Kreis, 2006).... By making salvation dependent on the individual's faith, Luther abolished the need for sacraments as well as a clergy to administer them.... By creating metal blocks that contained a single letter each, Johannes Gutenberg was able to create movable type and print multiple copies of complete pages of text in a fraction of the time it used to take to hand-copy or block print with less waste and expense....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Various Protestant Reform Movements in the 16th Century

Getting infuriated, the king started charging the clergy with praemunire.... In order to pardon them, the king made the clergy agree to the articles that they recognize the king as the sole protector and Supreme Head of the Church and clergy of England and that the king has spiritual jurisdiction.... 5 Soon, there was Submission of the clergy, Act in Restraint of Appeals, Act in Absolute Restraint of Annates, Acts of Supremacy, Act Concerning Peter's Penance and Dispensations, Treasons Act, and Act against the Pope's Authority....
7 Pages (1750 words) Report

British Evangelical Layman

??All three perceived that the clergy required wise and influential friends to obtain preferment and to protect them from the potential misadventures of patronage.... ??In a letter to Mr.... It has been seen that the Evangelical clergy were almost to a man debarred from the emoluments of their profession, and lived in very straitened circumstances.... Some churches were parishioner built and chose their own clergy.... letter of Newton after the death of Thornton on November 7, 1790 establishes his high esteem for the evangelist layman: ...
16 Pages (4000 words) Article
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us