Luther and Calvin Critique

            Martin Luther wrote his address to the nobility in Germany that were Christian. He begins with a proper and humble greeting. He then goes on to say that no good works come without faith and that our trust and hope should not be in our own strength, but in God alone. Luther then lays out the three main walls that the Roman Catholic Church has built to give itself the authority is has. The first wall is that the temporal powers of the world have no power over the church and that it is above all worldly powers. The second wall is the RCC claims they alone can interpret the scriptures, namely via the authority of the pope. The third wall, which seems most ridiculous of the three to Luther, is that no one may call a council but the pope. He then states the heresy of the RCC for believing such things and goes on to call the Romanists (bishops) “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

            Luther certainly did not consider the Church inerrant. His critique of the church is vilifying, to say the least. The RCC has accumulated far too much power and none of it, Luther says, is anchored in scripture. He cites the Apostle’s Creed, the main creed of the RCC, against the Church, showing how far it has come from its original beliefs. His most brutal attacks are against the pope, who is the main transgressor of the Church and is the main reason for its corruption.

            John Calvin wrote the Institutes as his definition of the basis of Christian doctrine. It begins with the ultimate authority and inerrancy of scripture and from there works to show how a Christian should truly live. He also calls the RCC erroneous because they claim that they decide how and to what extent to apply scripture, rather than taking it as the supreme decree of God. He then describes the nature of man as completely unrighteous which is important because then salvation can only come “from the mercy of God”, not from any works of man. Calvin then lays out the Christian Liberties. First, Christians are above the law because we have been justified. Secondly, because we are above the law, does not mean we should act as such, but rather willfully obey the law in obedience to God. Lastly, the indifferent pleasures of the world can be ours if they are not forbidden in scripture. He ends by showing the corruption in the visible church, but says the true church, the invisible church, is infallible because it is a direct work of God.

            Calvin’s logic and theology are remarkable. He treats matters with the proper amount of severity and does not go too far as to brazenly state his points, but makes them in a mannerly fashion and moves on. His basis of scripture is a solid base, indeed the only true foundation. His view of the law as in relation to the Christian can be construed as antinomian to an extent, especially his first Christian liberty. It is further clarified in the second liberty. The main point of all the Christian liberties is that the life of a Christian need not be ascetic, but allows for pleasure while still on earth.

            Calvin and Luther both agree on a great amount of material, the most important being the sovereignty and the absoluteness of scripture. Scripture must be the basis of salvation because it is the only direct revelation from God. Both reformers, especially Calvin, heavily quote Paul because in his books and epistles is laid out the way Christians should live. Both agree on the complete bondage of humans to sin. This view is dramatically different than many of the philosophers throughout history beginning with Plato and Aristotle, to Aquinas and the medieval church, to Machiavelli and Erasmus and More. Many of the thinkers believed in some sort of imperfect natural state of man but none went as far as saying man was completely and totally depraved. One of the many quotes Calvin takes from Paul concerns the depravity of the race of man in which there is “no one righteous, not one.” For one of Paul’s main points throughout all his works is the unrighteousness of man who can be saved only by the grace and mercy of Christ. Over the years the RCC had been growing increasingly corrupt, denying much of the authority of the Bible and introducing their own extra-scriptural measures to a Christian life. It had been the point of much criticism, even from Catholics such as More and Erasmus that were for reform. The Church’s main fault was ignoring that salvation came come “by faith alone, not by works so that no man can boast.” They grew away from the truth of the scriptures, which is why it was necessary for the great Reformation, led by Luther and Calvin to reestablish the supreme authority of the Bible.