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Differences
between Luther and Calvin:
| Area |
Luther |
Calvin |
| Emphasis |
finding forgiveness |
finding laws for Christian
living |
| Bible function |
Shows Jesus; Bible is "cradle for Christ" |
shows God in control: stresses
"sovereignty of God." |
| Interpretation |
limit to verses alone |
logical conclusions beyond the
verses |
| Example 1: communion |
Giving the bread in communion,
Jesus says "this is my body." The word "is" should be accepted. |
Since Jesus is in heaven,
therefore Jesus must not be in the bread. Jesus is with you
spiritually. |
| Example 2: predestination1 |
Though the Bible comforts
believers by saying God predestined1 them, no verse says that God
predestined anyone to hell. |
Since the Bible says God
predestined some to heaven, therefore God must have predestined the
others to hell.2 |
| Traditions |
Keep traditions that are not
against the Bible3 |
Discard any tradition that is
not in the Bible |
| Example 1: singing |
Fostered singing hymns |
at first only allowed singing
Psalms |
| Example 2: Sunday church
service |
Allowed traditional European
structure4 (adapting Catholic mass) |
Discarded traditional
structure, created a simpler service |
1
pre=ahead of time, so "predestination" means God decided where you would end up "ahead of
time."
2 Term is "double predestination."
3 more on the
Lutheran Approach
4 more on Luther and the church service
Later developments:
After Calvin, a man named
Arminius, a professor in the Calvinist (that is, "reformed') church of
Holland, said he did not accept the extreme Calvinist's teaching about
“double-predestination,” ( that God not only took the initiative in
bringing people to be saved, but also determined beforehand who would not be
able to be saved.) Arminius taught "conditional predestination," by which he
meant that God predestined the ones that he already foresaw wojuld come to
faith. The strict Calvinists produced a document in 1618
condemning Arminius. The letters of the word “tulip” are often used to
summarize the strict Calvinists, and the carts below compares them to the
followers of Arminius and to the followers of Luther:
TULIP and Arminianism
|
|
strict Calvinists |
Arminians |
Lutherans |
|
T |
Total depravity of man1 |
Man is able to respond to the gospel
of his own free will |
Man is not able to respond to the
gospel except by a miracle of the Holy Spirit |
|
U |
Unconditional Election2 |
God predestined the ones he knew
would believe |
If you are saved, it is because you
have been predestined. |
|
L |
Limited atonement3 |
Christ died for everyone’s sins |
Christ died for everyone’s sins |
|
I |
Irresistible Grace4 |
Man can resist |
Man can resist |
|
P |
Perseverance of the Saints5 |
Believers can fall away |
Believers can fall away |
Notes on the TULIP chart:
1Depravity means enemies of God and unable
to know God
2The word “election” here means the same as
“predestination.”
3Atonement means salvation by the blood of
Christ; limited means Christ only paid for the sins of the people who were
going to come to faith.
4Means that if God has decided to save you,
you are not able to refuse it.
5Those who are saved can never fall away.
Saints here means believers.
The Protestant church that is
well-known for taking an Arminian position is the Methodist church; churches
that call themselves "evangelical" would also usually follow Arminius. Some
denominations, such as the Baptists, have divided over this issue: some
Baptist churches specify that they are "free-will Baptist" and the ones who
teach double-predestination might call themselves "reformed Baptist." The
Presbyterian church is well-known as a church that still maintains the
strict Calvinist view of "double-predestination."
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