Western Civilization: “Institutes of the Christian Religion” By John Calvin
By Ivana 10/16/17 Lesson 15 Tom Woods Ron Paul Curriculum
John Calvin was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant reformation. His book “Institutes of the Christian Religion”, published in 1536, was his attempt to summarize Protestant ideas and theories.
A radical concept associated with the Protestant movement was the idea of predestination. This meant God chose the eternal fate of a person before they were born. No matter how religious you were or how many good deeds you performed, did not make a difference because God had the final say.
This outraged many people because to them it presented God as a being who dispensed justice unequally. John Calvin defended the idea in his book.
He said we are not predestined because God is unjust; it is because he is merciful. He makes in a point that we are not deserving of any salvation, and that we should be grateful for even being considered.
He gives an example from the Old Testament, where God establishes a covenant with Israel, even though it was a rebellious nation. Israel was not chosen for its moral actions, it was chosen because of God’s mercy.
Idea Girl 