Luther vs. Calvin

It is interesting to note that Luther was not the first to attack the doctrines of the Roman Catholic church.  My reference books are in storage, but (if memory serves me correctly) he was about the 12th monk to make an attempt to correct the doctrinal errors in the Roman church.  What I find interesting is the progression of Luther’s thought and how different the doctrines are of the Lutheran churches today (in practice at least).

Luther attacked the doctrine of salvation.  The complicated rules to obtain forgiveness based on the authority of the pope were removed.  You see, the central theological arguments of the Roman church for salvation include and ascribe that parishioners maintain a lifelong participation in church and the sacraments.  Perhaps that is why veneration is so important in the Roman church, yet so foreign to us in the churches of the Reformation.

If one looks at the churches of Christianity today, we see a lot of influence of Ulrich Zwingli and Arminianism.  We may not see clearly the doctrinal roots of Luther and Calvin.  Along with Zwingli, they had huge influences in the branches we call mainline Christianity today.

It is important to remember that as Luther was participating in the reformation in Germany, the Swiss also were experiencing reformation at the hands of Ulrich Zwingli.  Unlike Luther, Zwingli looked to simplify worship and to remove that which had no biblical justification.  This explains why many Lutheran churches often are very liturgical and symbolic and the other churches of the reformation lack the symbology.  Like Luther’s later days, Zwingli sought to limit the sacraments to just two – Baptism and Holy Communion.  However, he went on beyond Luther’s definitions and denied the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s supper – viewing it merely as an act of celebration and remembrance of Christ’s death.  This view often can be illustrated with the level of reverence a church has with the sacraments.

But what does this have to do with Calvin?  By all accounts, one might think that Calvin was a late-comer to the Reformation party, yet Calvin was poised to be the mediator of the Reformation movement.  You see, during the 1520’s, Zwingli’s influence became part of the Swiss canons finding great support both in Berne and Basel.  However, Luther was quick to criticize Zwingli sharply for his low view of the Lord’s supper.  Remember that Luther had no intention of fracturing the church, living to his last day hoping for reconciliation with Rome.  So, in 1529, Luther and Zwingli met in Marburg, Germany to make an attempt to reconcile their differences for the sake of the unity of the church.  Clearly, reconciliation did not occur and the Reformation continued with a divided church of the Reformation.  Unfortunately, war broke out in Switzerland, causing the small Protestant force to be defeated, and ultimately in the death of Zwingli on October 11, 1531.  This paved the way for Calvin.

During the 1530’s, John Calvin, a French speaking Genevian caught the attention of the Reformation movement.  It should be noted that acting parallel to Calvin, Georg Blaurock, Congrad Grebel, and Felix Manz were laying the foundations to the Anabaptist movement, which led to many of the Arminianistic views held today.

You may recall that Calvin was close theologically to Luther which the primary disagreement related to the nature of Christ’s presence in the sacrament.  Calvin’s view of the sacrament is often seen as the mediation between Luther and Zwingli.  However, this may be an oversimplification of the process.  You see, Luther and Zwingli had two clearly different views of how the Reformation should occur.  Luther (and Lutherans to this day) tend to keep as much of the traditions of the Western Christians as possible, evidenced by their highly liturgical services.  The Reformed churches would tend to discard anything that was not actually biblical.  So it is no surprise that Calvin came to his unique biblical view of the presence of Christ at the supper.  Both Calvin and Luther affirmed the real presence, yet in two different ways.  Is Christ physically present in heaven or does He come down for supper in, with, and under the elements?  Calvin suggested that the real presence was purely spiritual and was received through the faith of the individuals.  Unfortunately, Calvin arrived after the Augsburg Confession was penned and his attempt to unite the church was never really considered by Luther and his closest associates.  But then again, unity may not have been accomplished even if it had been considered.

It is no surprise there is much similarity between Calvin’s theological statements and Luther’s, as the former was in a way influenced by the latter.  The Reformation movement was a small camp against the unbiblical doctrines of Rome.  So, you see, to be Calvinist or to be Lutheran is not a great divide. Yet, Calvin’s doctrines were further refined to become the basis of the Reformed churches we know today.