Name
John Calvin
By Sharon Fabian
exiles living in Germany. However, he did not stay in Strasbourg
long.
During the few years that he had been gone, Geneva had changed.
It now had new leaders, and, in 1540, these new leaders invited
Calvin back. Calvin returned to Geneva. Once again, he began to
make changes.
John Calvin was a philosopher and
reformer who didn't just preach his ideas - he
lived them. He expected his many followers
to live by his principles too.
Under Calvin's arrangement, the church leaders were involved in
city government. They made decisions about the behavior of the
people in the city. They made rules about what people could and
could not do. A person guilty of breaking one of the rules, by singing
too wildly for example, might be punished by being forced to attend
a public sermon.
Like other leaders of the Protestant
Reformation, John Calvin began his life as a
Catholic. He was brought up in the Catholic
Church, but as he grew up and began to gain
a wider education, he became interested in
the ideas of reformers.
This time, Calvin and Geneva got along well. In fact, Geneva
became a Calvinist city. It began to attract people from all over
Europe who wanted to become part of Calvin's religion. Soon,
Geneva was the most important Protestant city in Europe.
In 1533, Calvin experienced what he
called a "sudden conversion." He left the Catholic Church and
became a Protestant. By 1536, he was already well on his way to
becoming one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation.
In 1536, Calvin published a six-chapter catechism, or book of
religious beliefs. This book, called the Institute of the Christian
Religion, went on to become one of the most influential books about
religion ever published. Calvin revised it many times, adding more
and more details. The final edition contained 80 chapters. It
explained many of his beliefs, including his belief in predestination.
Predestination is the idea that, since God already knows everything
that will happen in the future, he has already decided who will be
among the people chosen to get into heaven. It is one of the most
controversial topics among his beliefs.
Also in 1536, Calvin moved to Geneva, Switzerland, to start a
Reformed Church there. He set up the leadership of the church and
set strict rules for everyone to follow. The people of Geneva didn't
want someone laying down strict rules for them to follow. Some
people said that he was trying to be just like the Pope. In 1538, they
chased Calvin out of Geneva.
Calvin moved to Strasbourg, Germany. While there, he worked
on his catechism. He also became the pastor for a church of French
Calvinism was widely accepted in Switzerland, England,
Scotland, and other European countries, but it did not stop at the
borders of the continent of Europe. The Puritans brought Calvinism
to America, where many of Calvin's ideas have become a part of the
American culture.
So, what was he like - John Calvin, the person behind all of these
changes? Some people would describe Calvin as a grim, spoilsport
kind of guy. Others would describe him as brilliant, serious, and
scholarly. He was a great preacher, organizer, and administrator.
Calvin was also the namesake of the little kid in the comic strip
Calvin and Hobbes. Comic strip Calvin is fun-loving six-year old
who isn't afraid to say whatever is on his mind. Some people say
that he is a bit of a philosopher himself.
Name
John Calvin
Questions
1. John Calvin was a leader of the ______.
A. Puritans
B. Catholic Church
C. Protestant Reformation
D. European Government
2. Calvin became a Protestant in the year ______.
A. 1536
B. 1540
C. 1533
D. 1546
3. Institute of the Christian Religion is a ______.
A. book of religious beliefs
B. copy of the Ten Commandments
C. book about European churches
D. book of facts
4. Calvin lived in ______.
A. Switzerland
B. Germany
C. both
D. neither
5. Calvin believed in predestination.
A. false
B. true
6. Predestination means that people can earn their way into
heaven.
A. true
B. false
7. Since John Calvin was a controversial figure, we can infer that
______.
A. Everyone liked what Calvin had to say.
B. Many people were interested in what Calvin had to say.
C. Calvin never got in trouble.
D. Calvin was almost unknown.
8. Calvin, the character in Calvin and Hobbes, was named after
John Calvin, the philosopher.
A. false
B. true
John Calvin's beliefs were controversial. Some people thought his
ideas were great; other people thought they were awful. Name
someone today who has controversial beliefs. Tell who would agree
with this person's beliefs and who would disagree with them.
Name
The Protestant Reformation occurred in Europe during the time
period that was also known as the Renaissance. Write about other
people or events in Renaissance Europe that you have heard about.