Zwingli and Zurich

Well, next we move to the Reformation in Switzerland. At about the same period that Luther was beginning his attacks on the abuses of the Roman Catholic church, there was a Swiss contemporary named Ulrich (Huldreich) Zwingli (1484 – 1531). They did not know one another, and they did not work together, but they were contemporaneous in the time-frame of the early part of the 16^th Century. Zwingli was beginning a similar move in the country of Switzerland. He was educated at the University of Basel, and he became, then, a parish priest.

Apparently, he soon began to have misgivings about some of the religious practices within the Roman church of his day, but his real work as a Reformer did not begin until he had been called to be a pastor of Zurich in 1519 [the word “pastor” here is not used as it is in the New Testament of elders/shepherds/overseers, but is the position of leut-priest (preacher and pastor) in the Roman Catholic church]. Using the Bible as his guide, he began to challenge openly many of the practices of the Roman Catholic church, and the people seemed ready to follow him. He was protesting, also, the practices, the organization of the Roman Catholic church. He was quite successful. And thus, by 1525 the reforming process in Zurich was practically completed.

The reforms that had taken place in Zurich began to spread into other cities in Switzerland, and it didn’t take long before a good portion of that small country was in revolt against Rome. However, not every canton (and that word “canton” is a term used for the various geographical regions in the country of Switzerland of the day)—not every canton accepted the “new faith,” and violence broke out. And while he was serving as a “chaplain” to the army in one of these military campaigns, in one of these wars, Zwingli was killed. However, just as when Luther died, there were several ready to “take up the gauntlet.”

Calvin and Geneva

After the death of Zwingli, there was another outstanding leader of Swiss Protestantism, and his name was John Calvin. He didn’t have his roots in Switzerland; he was actually born in France in 1509, but he would end up going to Switzerland as he was becoming more and more at variance with the Roman Catholic authorities in France. He found refuge in Basel, Switzerland. Here, at the age of twenty-six, he wrote and published what was considered to be one of the most scholarly and, perhaps, influential books of the whole Reformation period, a book that is called The Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Calvin was soon invited to Geneva to lead the Reformation there. For nearly twenty-five years, Calvin was the dominant figure in that city, which became a virtual theocracy, patterned after, based after, the Old Testment theocracy [theocracy: government by a person or persons claiming to rule with divine authority]. His title was “the Master,” actually sort of a combination of mayor, governor and prime minister along with being the religious leader leading this effort of protest against the Roman Catholic church. Geneva under Calvin became a stern and straightlaced community. He enforced some very strict standards and some very strict laws. Excess in food and drink, frivolity in speech and habit, were punishable by law. Also, religious doctrines that were in variance with what Calvin believed were not tolerated.

But Calvinism was far more than a series of stern negatives. It had within it what writers and historians refer to as a “dynamic force” that soon made a challenge to all of Europe. Luther’s “hallmark” was that he stressed God’s grace and salvation by faith only. He saw that salvation was a product of faith, rather than the buying of indulgences. Calvin, who borrowed heavily from the theology of Augustine, stressed God’s sovereignty and man’s election. Going beyond Augustine, Calvin taught double predestination: the elect (those who have been “elected” by God through His Holy Spirit) have been predestined to salvation, where at the same time the nonelect have been predestined—elected—to damnation.

Does anybody know the flower that Calvin is associated with? Have you ever heard of TULIP? John Calvin’s TULIP? It’s an acrostic [a poem or statement in which certain letters in each line, such as the first letter or the last letter, spell out a word, motto, etc.]. So T – U – L – I – P is an acrostic that represents Calvinistic doctrine, even to this day. The “T” stands for “Total heredity depravity.” In other words, we are all afflicted by original sin. The “U” stands for “Unconditional election.” That is where this predestination comes about. The “L” stands for “Limited atonement.” Calvin states that Jesus is our atoning sacrifice, but that atonement is limited only to those who are “pre-elected.” The “I” is for “Irresisible grace.” If you are predestined, you can’t resist it; you can’t help yourself; you’re overwhelmed by grace. And the “P” is for “Preservation of the saints.” Simply, that is, if you are “elected,” then you not only can’t help yourself, but you can’t do anything to change your condition. (I’ve got a sermon on that; I’ll preach that sometime—“John Calvin’s TULIP.”)

But that is Calvinism; that is the doctrine which he began to establish, and the basic tenents of Calvinism are alive and well today. Where, with Luther, of course, there is the denomination of the Lutherans that wear his name…. And by the way, just for what it’s worth, Luther never desired that the movement that he began carry his name. It would only be after his death that followers would adopt this title, this name, and name their movement for him. But, of course, we have the Lutheran church here, as well as other places in the world. Calvinism, however, would actually spawn quite a number of denominational doctrines, and even some denominational organizations. For example, the Presbyterians have their roots going back to Calvin. But Calvinism would actually embody a number of doctrines that would take form and shape in different parts of the world and under different names as part of denominational doctrines with different groups. Virtually every denomination that teaches and believes in some form of “once saved, always saved” can trace their roots for that doctrine, at least, back to John Calvin.

[See the acrostic below:

T otal heredity depravity.

U nconditional election.

L imited atonement.

I rresistible grace.

P reservation of the saints.]