Compare and Contrast Martin Luther and John Calvin

A detailed Summary of Compare and Contrast Martin Luther and John Calvin

Martin Luther and John Calvin were both very important leaders of the Protestant

Reformation. Although they were both against the Roman Catholic Church, they brought about

Martin Luther founded the group that are today known as Lutherans. He was ordained

a priest in 1507. He dealt with questions dealing with the structure of the church and with its

moral values. These questions were important in Luther's eyes, but the most important was how

to find favor with God. Luther tried to pray, fast, and repent, but he never felt self-satisfaction.

He eventually concluded that God's love was not a prize or a reward to be earned or won, but a

gift to be accepted. Luther further concluded that until man stops trying to achieve God's favor

through his own achievements he cannot truly understand God's grace. Luther also had the idea

that one did not need a priest to talk to God, he believed that one could pray and repent without

the help of anyone else. This was the idea for which Luther became famous.

universal priesthood was that all believers were considered priests. This was unlike the Roman

priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the basis of all Christian teachings. The concept of

Luther was more concerned with his own spirituality, and therefore set an example by changing

In 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. Luther was then ordered to

developed political theories that supported constitutional government, representative

but democracy eventually arose in England and America.

Calvin's basic religious beliefs were the superiority of faith over good works, universal

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Category: Religion

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