Portal:Calvinism
The Calvinism Portal
Calvinism, also called Reformed Christianity, is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and various other Reformation-era theologians. It emphasizes the sovereignty of God and the authority of the Bible.
Calvinists broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Calvinists differ from Lutherans, another major branch of the Reformation, on the spiritual real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, theories of worship, the purpose and meaning of baptism, and the use of God's law for believers, among other points.
The namesake and founder of the movement, French reformer John Calvin, embraced Protestant beliefs in the late 1520s or early 1530s, as the earliest notions of later Reformed tradition were already espoused by Huldrych Zwingli. The movement was first called "Calvinism" in the early 1550s by Lutherans who opposed it, however many in the tradition find it either a nondescript or inappropriate term and prefer the term reformed.
The most important Reformed theologians include Calvin, Zwingli, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, John Knox, and John à Lasco. In the 20th century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Louis Berkhof, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, R. C. Sproul, and J. I. Packer were influential. More contemporary Reformed theologians include the late Tim Keller, Desiring God Ministries founder John Piper, as well as Joel Beeke and Michael Horton. (Full article...)
Selected article
He developed the symbolic view of the Eucharist. He denied the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and following Cornelius Henrici Hoen, he agreed that the bread and wine of the institution signify and does not literally become the body and blood of Christ. Zwingli’s differences of opinion on this with Martin Luther resulted in the failure of the Marburg Colloquy to bring unity between the two Protestant leaders.
Zwingli believed that the state governed with divine sanction. He believed that both the church and the state are placed under the sovereign rule of God. Christians were obliged to obey the government, but civil disobedience was allowed if the authorities acted against the will of God. He described a preference for an aristocracy over monarchic or democratic rule.
Selected images
Did you know...
- ... that the design of the Third Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Ohio, may have been patterned after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem?
- ...that in Reformed theology, baptism is believed to be a replacement for circumcision as a rite signifying forgiveness of sin?
- ... that the Presbyterian Church of Victoria was formed in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations?
Subcategories
Topics
Background: Christianity • St. Augustine • The Reformation • John Calvin • Five Solas • Synod of Dort
Theology: Five Points (TULIP) • Covenant Theology • Regulative principle
Documents: Calvin's Institutes • Confessions of faith • Geneva Bible
Influences: Theodore Beza • John Knox • Jonathan Edwards • Princeton theologians • Henry Cooke
Churches: Reformed • Presbyterian • Congregationalist • Reformed Baptist
Peoples: Afrikaner Calvinists • Huguenots • Pilgrims • Puritans • Scots • Ulster Protestants
WikiProjects
Things to do
|
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
If those don't satisfy, try wandering through Category:Calvinism articles by quality looking for things to do.
Related portals
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus