Martin Luther and John Calvin by Saya Hayashi

Agreement
  • Religious authority rested on the Bible
  • No need for pope or any high authorities
  • Rejected the idea that good works were needed for salvation
  • Kept the church sacraments: baptism and Lord’s Supper
  • Salvation by faith

Difference
Luther
  • Rejected idea of predestination
  • Justification by faith alone—good deeds were unnecessary
  • Every person should serve God in its individual calling
  • Clergy—serve as pastors
  • Lutheranism
  • 95 Theses—indictment of abuses in sale of indulgences
  • Lord’s Supper—denied transubstantiation (substance of bread and wine is miraculously transformed into Jesus’ body and blood)
  • Church should be ruled by the state
Calvin
o Predestination—eternal decree; God predetermines who would be saved and who would be damned
o The Institutes of Christian Religion
o Unity of church and state
o Ecclesiastical Ordinances—4 offices: pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons
o Lord’s Supper—Jesus is spiritually present