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SOURCES OF DENOMINATIONS -- II Major Groups formed at the Time of the Reformation Click here for printable blank diagram (keyed to the numbers below) Most churches that developed at the time of the Reformation follow the teachings of one of these two men: Luther or Calvin. 8. Martin Luther. His followers were called Lutherans. The Lutheran church began in Germany, and later became the primary church in the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland). More about Lutherans 9. John Calvin. Most of the other Protestant churches have adopted his views. Calvin agreed with Luther about the "three onlies" and the importance of justification by grace through faith. The differences between Luther and Calvin include views in these three areas: a) Purpose of Bible. Luther’s emphasis was on the Bible as a place to find forgiveness through Christ. Calvin’s emphasis was on the Bible as a place to find God’s will -- what laws should be followed by people to show they are true Christians. b) theme of Bible: For Calvin, the main theme in the Bible was “the sovereignty of God;” for Luther, it was "the cradle in which we find Christ." c) Approach to Bible. Calvin, with his background as a lawyer, devised explanations for some Bible teachings that differ from Luther's views. Here are two examples: First, view of communion. Luther was emphatic that Christ’s words when He instituted communion, “this is my body and this is my blood,” are to be taken at face value, whereas Calvin said that Jesus was in heaven, and was present at communion only in a spiritual sense. (Jesus is present with you in communion, but he is not in the bread.) Secondly: Why some are saved and some not. The Bible says that Christians can rest in the assurance that God has already decided that they will be saved. (Ephesians 1:4-5). This topic is called “predestination” or “election.” Calvin, in keeping with his systematic approach to explaining Christianity and his emphasis on the sovereignty of God, wrote that therefore God must have predestined certain people to go to hell. This teaching is called “double predestination.” (that is, predestination both to heaven and to hell). Luther ‘s approach was that we should not go beyond what the scriptures actually say. The Bible does teach that Christians have been predestined for salvation. As far as those who are not saved, the Bible teaches that it is their own fault: the Bible does not actually say that some people are predestined to hell. It is a logical conclusion, but not actually taught in the Bible. Luther's approach is in keeping with his willingness to limit doctrine to what the Bible actually says, even if the teachings might not seem to make logical sense when compared to one another. It is also in keeping with Luther’s use of the Bible to bring comfort, as compared with Calvin’s use of the Bible as rules for Christian living. In Europe, Calvin’s followers formed churches which are called 10. “reformed” churches, and many of these followers were found in Switzerland and Holland. Therefore a well-known Calvinist church of European origin is called the Dutch Reformed church (immigrants who brought that church to America have renamed it the Christian Reformed Church.) Calvin and his followers felt at first that only Psalms should be used in church, not hymns. They translated the Psalms into poetry, and then wrote "hymn-tunes" so that everyone could sing them. The Lutheran church emphasized hymns right from the beginning, and was called "the singing church." In the 1700's, most of the "reformed" churches of England began to allow hymn singing as well as Psalms. After Vatican Council II in the 1960's, hymn singing became common in the Catholic churches. Non-Lutheran Protestant churches today can be divided into groups that insist on "double predestination" and others that in reaction stress man’s free will. (Those that stress free will are called "Arminian," after a Dutch Calvinist theologian named Arminius who around 1600 wrote against the ideas of "double predestination.") See chart for more detail about Calvinism and Arminianism. Most of the other major Protestant denominations were formed in one country: 11. England. 12. The Church of England was formed when the King of England took control of the English churches away from the pope, appointing the bishop at a city called Canterbury as church leader. At first, the teachings of the church in England continued to be similar to Catholic teachings, but as the years went by the teachings came closer to Calvin’s. Another name for this church is “Anglican.” After the American revolution, Americans in this church changed its name to “Episcopal.” This term means “church organization in which authority is in the hands of appointed leaders called “bishops.” (The word “bishop” is a shortened version of the Greek word “episcopos” which means “supervisor.”) Roman Catholic and Anglican churches both use an “Episcopal” system. English Christians who did not want to accept either the king or the pope as head of the church had to meet illegally, and are called 13. Dissenters. Some of them remained in the Church of England in order to “purify” it from within, and are called 12a. Puritans. By “purify,” they meant making the church less Roman Catholic and more Calvinistic. Those who did not remain in the Church of England are called 14. Separatists. Many of today’s denominations trace their roots to these Calvinist-influenced separatists. One clear difference among these churches is in the way they are organized. Some of them felt that decisions for groups of churches should be made by elected representatives. This system is called 15. Presbyterian. This term comes from the Greek word “presbyter” which means “elder,” that is, mature church leader. Scotland adopted this system for its churches. (Presbyterian churches and Reformed churches are two names for the same understanding of Christianity). Some Dissenters and Puritans left England to seek religious freedom in America. These immigrants are known as 16. Pilgrims. Many of them rejected both the “Episcopal” system and the “Presbyterian” system. They felt each congregation should be independent. Because of this “congregational” system, their churches are called Congregational Churches. (The congregational approach held the upper hand in England for a while; they defeated the king militarily and executed him; but when their government ran into difficulties, and the English returned to the system of having kings, the Church of England again became the dominant church in England). In 1954, most of the congregational churches in America took the name “United Church of Christ.” (UCC). (Other well-known groups of dissenters who found freedom in America are the Friends (also called Quakers) and the Plymouth Brethren.) Meanwhile, there were some Christians in Europe who felt that there needed to be more separation between government and church. They also taught that infant baptism was not effectual, and that those who professed faith as adults needed to be baptized again. They were rejected by Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists, who called them 17. Anabaptists. (The Greek term “ana” means “again.”) Mennonites and Amish are two groups of today who traced their origins to the Anabaptists. Some English dissenters who fled to Europe adopted the Anabaptist teachings, and formed the church we call 18 Baptist. Most of these churches use the “congregational” method of organization. These churches see baptism and communion not so much as something God does to us, but more as something we are doing for God, as an act of obedience. That view is reflected in calling these activities “ordinances” rather than "sacraments." Some Baptist churches today have adopted the "double predestination" approach, and others the Arminian (free-will) approach. Return
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