Portal:Calvinism

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The Calvinism Portal

Calvinism (also called the Reformed tradition, Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, or the Reformed faith) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. Paul Helm, a well-known Reformed theologian, appropriately uses the term Augustinian Calvinism due to John Calvin's self-admitted adherence to Augustine's theology. "Augustine is so wholly within me, that if I wished to write a confession of my faith, I could do so with all fullness and satisfaction to myself out of his writings."

Calvinists broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Calvinists differ from Lutherans on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, theories of worship, and the use of God's law for believers, among other things. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the religious tradition which it denotes has always been diverse, with a wide range of influences rather than a single founder. In the context of the Reformation, Huldrych Zwingli began the Reformed tradition in 1519 in the city of Zürich. His followers were instantly labeled Zwinglians, consistent with the Catholic practice of naming heresy after its founder. Very soon, Zwingli was joined by Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, William Farel, Johannes Oecolampadius and other early Reformed thinkers.

The namesake of the movement, French reformer John Calvin, converted to the Reformed tradition from Roman Catholicism only in the late 1520s or early 1530s as it was already being developed. The movement was first called Calvinism, referring to John Calvin, by Lutherans who opposed it. Many within the tradition find it either an indescriptive or an inappropriate term and would prefer the word Reformed to be used instead. The most important Reformed theologians include John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, and R. C. Sproul were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I. Packer, John MacArthur, Timothy J. Keller, David Wells, and Michael Horton.

Reformed churches may exercise several forms of ecclesiastical polity; most are presbyterian or congregationalist, though some are episcopalian. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions. The biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 100 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship and the International Conference of Reformed Churches, as well as independent churches.

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William III (Kingdom of England), also named William I (Kingdom of Ireland), William II (Kingdom of Scotland), and William III of Orange (Principality of Orange and the Netherlands) (The Hague, 14 November 1650 – Kensington Palace, 8 March 1702), was a Dutch Prince of Orange from his birth, and Stadtholder of the main provinces of the Dutch Republic from 28 June 1672, King of England and King of Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland from 11 April 1689, in each case until his death. Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish Crowns following the Glorious Revolution, during which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed. In England, Scotland and Ireland, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death on 28 December 1694. He reigned as 'William II' in Scotland, but 'William III' in all his other realms. Often he is referred to as William of Orange, a name he shared with many other historical figures. In Northern Ireland and Scotland, he is often informally known as King Billy. An important consequence of William's reign in England involved the ending of a bitter conflict between Crown and Parliament that had lasted since the accession of the first English monarch of the House of Stuart, James I, in 1603. The conflict over royal and parliamentary power had led to the English Civil War during the 1640s and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. During William's reign, however, the conflict was settled in Parliament's favour by the Bill of Rights 1689, the Triennial Act 1694 and the Act of Settlement 1701.

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The "Shield of the Trinity" diagrams the classic doctrine of the Trinity
Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper initiated neo-Calvinism
John Calvin on his deathbed with church members
A Calvinist church in Semarang, Indonesia. Protestantism in Indonesia is largely a result of Calvinist and Lutheran missionary efforts during the colonial period.
The Bay Psalm Book was used by the Pilgrims.
The burning of the Guernsey Martyrs during the Marian persecutions in 1556
The seal of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, an early American Presbyterian church
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrating forgiveness
The Grote Kerk in Haarlem, Dutch Republic, c. 1665
Calvin preached at St. Pierre Cathedral, the main church in Geneva.
Stephen Bocskay, leader of Hungarian Calvinists in anti-Habsburg rebellion and first Calvinist prince of Transylvania
Calvin's magnum opus: Institutio Christianae religionis
Moïse Amyraut formulated Amyraldism, a modified Calvinist theology regarding the nature of Christ's atonement.
Reformed church in Koudekerk aan den Rijn (Netherlands), 19th century
Fall of Man by Jacob Jordaens
This Dutch stained glass allegory shows Christ ascending the cross with Satan and several dead people on his back. Faith is personified as a woman to the right of a naked man on the ground asking Christ the way of salvation.
Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this painting of the interior of the Oude kerk in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte c. 1661.
Statues of William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and John Knox at the centre of the International Monument to the Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland. They were among the most influential theologians that helped develop the Reformed tradition.

Did you know...

... that the 1919 demolition of "one of the most costly religious edifices" in New York City, the 1906 Madison Square Presbyterian Church, was called "a distinct architectural loss"?

...that in Reformed theology, baptism is believed to be a replacement for circumcision as a rite signifying forgiveness of sin?

... that Robert Dick Wilson was a leading Bible scholar who was able to read the New Testament in nine different languages while still at Princeton University, and strongly defended the Bible's historical accuracy?

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