264 Chapter 14be baptized if the efficacy of the sacrament depended
upon the faith of the recipient, Zwingli responded that
the faith was that of the parent or guardian and that the
sacrament was in effect a covenant to raise the child as
a Christian. The rite was analagous to circumcision
among the Jews. He also rejected Luther’s doctrine of
the Real Presence in communion and argued, after
some hesitation, that for those with faith Christ was
present in spirit though not in body.
Zwingli’s ideas were theologically original and ap-
pealed strongly to other reformers, but Luther rejected
them at the Marburg Colloquy in 1529. The failure of
this meeting marked the beginning of a separation be-
tween the Lutheran and Reformed traditions that per-
sists to this day. It also coincided with a vote by the
Imperial Diet to enforce the Edict of Worms against all
non-Catholics. Those who protested against this mea-
sure, Lutheran and Reformed, became known as Protes-
tants. In the meantime, the efforts of Zürich to export
its reformation to other parts of Switzerland led to con-
flict, and Zwingli was killed, sword in hand, at the bat-
tle of Kappel.
Among those influenced by Zwingli’s teachings was
John Calvin (1509–64). Calvin was born at Noyon in
France, the son of a wealthy lawyer who for most of his
career had been secretary to the local bishop. A bril-
liant student, Calvin was educated at Paris and at Or-
leáns where he earned a law degree. His interests
eventually turned to humanism and then to theology. In
1534 he adopted the reformed faith. His conversion
bore immediate fruit in The Institutes of the Christian Reli-
gion,a more-or-less systematic explanation of reformed
teachings. The first edition appeared in March 1536,
and though Calvin continued to revise and expand it
throughout his lifetime, this early effort contained the
basic elements of his mature thought.
Calvin is best known for his uncompromising posi-
tion on predestination, holding, like Zwingli, that God
divides the elect from the reprobate by His own “dread
decree” (see document 14.5). Luther, like St. Augustine,
believed that God predestines certain individuals to sal-
vation, but he had stopped short of declaring that some
are predestined to hell. To Calvin, this seemed illogical.
To select some is by definition to reject others. This
doctrine of “double predestination,” like many of his
formulations on the sacraments and other issues, may
be seen as refinements of ideas originally suggested by
others, but Calvin was far more than a mere compiler.
He made reformed doctrines more intelligible, edu-
cated a corps of pastors who spread his teachings to the
farthest corners of Europe, and provided a model for
the governance of Christian communities that would be
influential for generations to come.
The unlikely vehicle for these achievements was
the small city of Geneva. When Calvin arrived there in
July 1536, the city was emerging from a period of polit-
ical and religious turmoil. It had long been governed by
a bishop whose appointment was controlled by the
neighboring dukes of Savoy. The belated development
of civic institutions and dissatisfaction with Savoyard
influence led to an alliance with the Swiss cantons of
Bern and Fribourg and to the overthrow of the bishop.
The Bernese, who had accepted the Reformation while
remaining nominally Catholic for diplomatic reasons,DOCUMENT 14.5
John Calvin: Predestination
The importance of John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination
has probably been overstated. It was neither unique to him nor
the center of his own theology, which emphasized what he
called the knowledge of God. Nevertheless, the power of this
summary statement from the Institutes of the Christian
Religionindicates why Calvin’s teachings on predestination
made an indelible impression.As Scripture, then, clearly shows, we say that God
once established by his eternal and unchangeable
plan those whom he long before determined once
for all to receive into salvation and those whom,
on the other hand, he would devote to destruc-
tion. We assert that, with respect to the elect, this
plan was founded upon his freely given mercy,
without regard to human worth; but by his just
and irreprehensible judgment he has barred the
door of life to those whom he has given over to
damnation. Now among the elect we regard the
call as a testimony of election. Then we hold justi-
fication [that is, acceptance by God] another sign
of its manifestation, until they come into the glory
in which the fulfillment of that election lies. But as
the Lord seals his elect by call and justification, so,
by shutting off the reprobate from knowledge of
his name or from the sanctification of his Spirit,
he, as it were, reveals by these marks what sort of
judgment awaits them.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion,vol. 2, p. 931,
ed. J.T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles. Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1960.