Compare the Lutheran and Calvinist Reformations

Like the family and the economy, religion is a usual and pervasive phenomenon, a part of the cultural system, because it is assumed to meet both(prenominal) basic need of gentle being. Religion is an integrated part of human experience and shows remarkable continuity through time. Even in the late secularized societies in the West, religion has persisted and still exerts a great influence in the lives of people.Almost all known peoples in all places and times contribute just about set of specific cultural patterns made up of beliefs and codes of conduct, tinged with ablaze views, an explanation or justification of human behavior and social brass section regarding the distribution of power between the leaders and the decreeed, the lesson code, the distribution of wealth, or the success of some and failure of another(prenominal)s may be found in religion.Religious, beliefs and practices establish been debated by various religious sectors and it complicates the Lutheran and Calvinist reformations. This paper comp atomic number 18s and contrasts the precepts and beliefs between Lutheran and Calvinist Reformations.II. DiscussionA. Calvinism and its beliefsThe theology and system of church building building practices based on the teachings of the protestant Reformation leader John Calvin. It is the doctrine of the Presbyterian and the Reformed churches and is part of the heritage of Baptists, the Congregationalists, and certain other Christian groups. Calvins thought is most completely expressed in his Institute of the Christian Religion (1536). Other significant documents of Calvinism argon the Canons of Dort (1619), the doctrinal basis of the ameliorate churches and the Westminster Confession (1646), the traditional Presbyterian creed.Fundamental to early Calvinism was the belief in paragons absolute sovereign will over the affairs of man. To do graven images will was mans first duty. check to the doctrine of original viciousness, ecstasy, the first man, was created pure and did paragons will. Adams sin, however, resulted in mans fall from this state. Thus, all humans was infected with a total depravity, leaving man free to sin but not to do good. All were rightfully damned (R. Po-Chia Hsia & Henk vanguard Nierop, pp. 234-236, 2002).The stiff Calvinist doctrine of limited at unmatchedment held that Christs death at wizd for the sins of a limited few, not all mankind. The limited few, called the elect, were so saved. gibe to fate, Calvins most widely known doctrine God decreed eternal life for the elect and eternal damnation, or reprobation, for the rest. According to the idea known as ir refuseible grace, individuals elected by God to be saved by his grace could not choose to resist it.Calvinist, like most other early Protestants, emphasized the doctrine of justification, which dealt with the delineate of mans salvation. A saved individual was made harmless by Gods grace, and by Gods public opinion was decl ard just, or acceptable.Good flora by an individual could not achieve his salvation or justification he had to live by credit al iodin. However, his trust was expressed outwardly in strict moral and righteous conduct and good works. To a Calvinist, the ability to base ones life in confidence was probable evidence that one was saved from sin and numbered among the elect (Kingdon, p.45, 2006).In Calvinism, Scripture became the supreme permission in faith and life. Calvinists believed that the Bible designated only two sacramentsbaptism and Holy Communion. Calvins notion of the church government in which the church elects elders, or presbyters, to govern its affairs came from the Bible and was adopted by the Presbyterian and the Reformed performes. This idea of eidetic church government was an important influence on the development of ultramodern democracy.In the seventeenth hundred, some Dutch theologians and the English Puritans added to Calvinism the covenant theology. The cove nant was a contractual relationship between the Christian and God. The sacraments were representn as seals of the covenant. There were two covenants that God made with manthe covenant of works was made with Adam the covenant of grace was made in the Nazarene Christ (Van Bruaene, pp.481-489, 2004). The covenant theology, which became central to Puritanism in England and America, softened the doctrine of predestination by giving recognition to human cooperation in achieving salvation.B. Lutheran and its beliefsThese are Protestant Christians who follow the teachings of Martin Luther, the leader of the German Reformation. Lutherans form the largest group of Protestants. The Lutherans are the largest religious group in Germany they claim more than 95 per centum of the people of the Scandinavian countries and they have strong minorities in many other countries. Lutherans in the United States number about 8,460,000 and are the nations fourth largest religious group.Lutherans places str ong emphasis on doctrine. It affirms that the Bible is the resole rule of faith and accepts all traditional Protestant Christian doctrines. typical Lutheran beliefs are defined in Luthers two catechisms, the Augsburg Confession, the Schmalkaldic Articles, and the blueprint of Concord (Anderson, pp.121-125, 2001).The chief Lutheran tenet is justification by faith alone. Salvation, according to this belief, does not come through food works. Rather, it comes by the faith of believers that God has forgiven their sins through the Sacrifice of Christ, and that by Gods grace they have been warrant (become righteous).Lutheranism has two sacraments, baptism and the Lords Supper.Lutherans believe that in Holy Communion in that location is no physical change in the bread and wine, but that Christ is authentically present to forgive sins and to renew the spiritual life of believers. Lutheran churches take for greater use of liturgy the most Protestant churches, but there are differences in forms of public worship among Lutheran bodies (Braaten, pp. 83-86, 2004).There are differences also in church government. The Lutheran churches in Europe have bishops. In the United State the local congregation is the unit of church organization and the source of authority. During the 19th century congregations combined in synods, or regional groupings (Arnold, p.47, 2002). After 1900 many synods united to form national cognomens. around synods are advisory bodies while others have a considerable fare of authority.The evangelistic Lutheran Church in America was form in 1987 by a merger of the American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church in America, and the Association of evangelistic Lutheran Churches. The denomination has 5,300,000 members, two of the denomination that make up the church were born out of mergers and one, the association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, was a group that seceded from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (Braaten, pp. 83-86, 2004).The Lutheran C hurch-Missouri Synod believes in strict adherence to the Bible and to all Lutheran confessions. This denomination, of German origin, was founded in 1847 by the Rev. Cal F. W. Walther. The Missouri Synod has about 2,630,000 members. It has many congregations in Canada (Rogness, pp. 364-366, 2000).The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is one of the conservative Lutheran bodies, holding without reservation to the Lutheran confessions and the infallibility of the Bible. The church was organize in Milwaukee in 1850. It has congregation in most states of the Union and has some 400,000 members. Other Bodies. There are several small Lutheran denominations.Thy include the Apostolic Lutheran Church of America (6,000 members), Association of Free Lutheran Congregations(19,000 members), Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (12,000 members) Church of the Lutheran Confession (9,000 members), Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (7,000 members), Evangelical Lutheran Synod (20,000 members ), Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (14,000 members), Protestant Conference (Lutheran), Inc. (1,000 members), and knowledge domain Confessional Lutheran Association (1,300 members) (Nelson, p.17, 2002).III. ConclusionIn conclusion, by the early twentieth century, only a few Protestant churches held to the strict Calvinism of the 16th and 17th centuries. Most churches characterized as Calvinist have either greatly modified or rejected such doctrines as election, predestination, and irresistible grace to give man a free will to determine his salvation. Moreover, there was more rivalry between Lutherans and the Reformed Church, which was founded by John Calvin. The reformed faith gained considerable support in some German states. During the 19th century the Lutheran and Reformed groups formed union churches in many of the states. abduceAnderson, C.S. Faith and Freedom The Christian Faith According to the Lutheran Confession, pp.121-125, (Augsburg, 2001). Arnold, D.W. T he Way, the Truth, and the life history an Introduction to Lutheran Christianity, p.47 (Baker Book House, 2002). Braaten, C.E., editor. The New Church Debate Issues face up American Lutheranism pp. 83-86, (Fortress Press, 2004). Kingdon, Robert M. The Disciplinary Revolution Calvinism and the Rise of the State in archaean Modern Europe. renascence Quarterly, Vol. 59, p.45. 2006 Nelson, E.C. The Rise of World Lutheranism, p.17 (Fortress Press, 2002). Rogness, A.N. The Story of the American Lutheran Church, pp. 364-366, (Augsburg, 2000). Van Bruaene, Anne-Laure. Calvinism and Religious Toleration in the Dutch Golden Age. Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 57, pp.481-489, 2004. R. Po-Chia Hsia, Henk Van Nierop. Calvinism and Religious Toleration in the Dutch Golden Age. pp. 234-236, Cambridge University Press, 2002