Calvin was born in France in July of 1509 and belonged in a set of five brothers. He was baptized to the parish of Sainte-Godeberte, where his parents were parishioners (Walker 26). Calvin, as a boy, was very liberally educated since his parents were as well. When he was eleven, his father arranged for John to be in charge of a chaplaincy attached to the altar in the cathedral in Noyons, the city of his birth. In his twelfth year, Calvin was aided by a succession of small ecclesiastical benefices without duties attached. These were the only things that Calvin did in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church, and it was very short, because John's father sent him to the University of Paris at the age of fourteen (29-30).

His father's intention to send him to Paris was for John to specialize in the study of Theology, because he was remarkably religious, and was also a strict

The second point of Calvinism is Unconditional Election, which teaches that people have nothing to say as to whether or not they are among the "elect." This is the teaching of predestination, where only certain people are "saved" and others are "lost." It is not biased by what one does; only being chosen is they way to be saved. This is seen in Philippians 2:13, which says, "...for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose." Therefore, Calvin believed that God chooses us, and we don't choose Him.

McDonnell, Kilian. John Calvin, the Church and the Eucharist. Princeton, Princeton

Dyer, T.H. The Life of John Calvin. London, J. Murray, 1850.

Another view of Calvin concerned the Lord's Supper. He described it as "a spiritual banquet, in which Christ testifies himself to be the bread of life, to feed our souls for a true and blessed immortality" (641). He contended that Communion "affords us a testimony that we are incorporated into one body with Christ" (642) and into eternal life and deliverance from our sins (Battles2 375). Calvin and a guy named Zwingli argued against a real presence in the Lord's Supper (Battles1 109). According to Calvin, "the signs are bread and wine, which represent to us the invisible nourishment which we receive from the body and blood of Christ" (Calvin 641). To Calvin, the bread and wine feed us physically so the flesh and blood of Christ can feed our souls (Battles2 378). While writing why he doubted a physical presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, Calvin stated, "Christ's body is finite" and "the Lord by his Spirit gives us the privilege of being united with himself in body, soul, and spirit" (Calvin 653). As with baptism, Calvin believed there was an inseparable connection between the sacrament of the blood of Christ and the preaching of the Word (Wallace 206).

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Calvin, Catholic Church, Lord's Supper, Heredity Depravity, Limited Atonement, Jesus Christ, France July, God Calvin, Paris John, Martin Bucer, john calvin, lord's supper, roman catholic, roman catholic church, catholic church, institutes christian, institutes christian religion, christian religion, calvin believed, john calvin grand, calvin grand, holy spirit, grand rapids, calvin grand rapids, baker book house,
Approximate Word count = 2520
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)