John Calvin and the Protestant Reformation Essay

This paper is devoted to the period of Protestant Reformation in France and the key figure of this process- John Calvin. John Calvin was a Protestant theologian and the developer of the famous Calvinism theology as a system of Christian church. He is well known for his written works and his teachings, but not many know about his role played in Michael Servetus’s execution. These and some other issues will be discussed in this research. John Calvin was born under the name of Jean Chauvin in Picardie, in France. His father sent him to Paris in 1523 to get ready for the priesthood. There Calvin studied in College de la Marche and then in College de Montaigu till 1528. As he was doing quite well in ecclesiastics, he gained the chaplaincy and the curacy of Saint Martin de Martheville from his native city (Tracy, 1999). In 1529 Calvin resigned chaplaincy for the benefit of his younger brother, but however two years later he resumed and was holding it till 1534 (Gordon, 2002). Calvin proved to be a good student, but his father, who by the year 1528 had problems in relations with the ecclesiastic authorities in Noyon, took a decision, that his son should study law instead. John didn’t argue and went to Orleans, to study law at the university there. In a year he moved to another university and took classes of Andrea Alciati. During his studies at both universities Calvin was very much under the impact of Melchior Wolmar, who was a leader of humanist ranks and was a supporter of Reformation ideas. When in 1531 the father of Calvin died, he had to come back to Paris and take up study of Hebrew. In 1532 John spent another year in Orleans as a student of law again. In spring of the same year he paid his own money for publishing the text of Seneca’s De Clementia, adding his commentary. This was a confirmation of his humanistic views in connection with the Roman Church. At the same time the ideas of Reformation were rapidly spread in France, Calvin however was moving step by step to his position, he wrote in his commentary to Psalms that he â€Å"was too obstinately devoted to the superstitions of popery to be easily extricated from so profound an abyss of mire. † (Barth, 1995). One of his friends, who also shared the ideas of Reformation, was Nicolas Cop. When he became the rector of Paris University, they decided to use the chance to present their comments concerning the Reformation in front of cultured and intelligent audience. In November 1533 Cop held a speech in the Church of the Mathurins, which they gave the title â€Å"Christian Philosophy†, meaning the Gospel. The relation, he built between Law and Gospel, was closely connected to the ideas of Luther. The final part of the speech was however independent and more concentrated on the one of the features of Calvinism, namely – salvation. The speech had all chances to produce a vivid impression on the audience and to attract supporters, but Cop spoke negatively about the hierologists of Sorbonne and called them â€Å"sophists†. This certainly caused their indignation, they sought for support from the government, and Cop had to escape. Calvin followed him due to their known close relation, but risked to return very soon. He couldn’t get rid of his fears, that his support of Reformation ideas could be followed by imprisonment, like it was the case with some other reformers. He decided to become a wanderer in 1534, all the time changing his name. Two and a half years he was going from place to place, was imprisoned in Noyon, visited Paris, where he met Servetus for the first time. In Orleans he published his Psychopannychia, confutation of the theory about sleeping soul between death and the Last Judgment (Gordon, 2002). In 1535 Calvin visited Strasburg under the name of Basel. There he finished his â€Å"Institutes of the Christian Religion†, about the book he wrote: â€Å"My objects were, first, to vindicate my brethren whose death was precious in the sight of the Lord; and next that, as the same cruelties might very soon after be exercised against many unhappy individuals, foreign nations might be touched with at least some compassion toward them and solicitude about them. † (Barth, 1995). After he had published this work, he worked in Ferrara in the court of Duchess Renee. A year later he met his younger brother Antoine and his half-sister Marie in Paris. He traveled with them to Strasburg, but because of the war, had to go to Geneva, planning to remain only one night there. But Farel Guillaume, one of the like-minded persons, convinced him to stay there. Two years he spent at the side of Farel, but still the city could not stand the significant reforms offered by the Reformers and on Easter Monday in 1538 they both were ordered to leave the city. Calvin traveled to Strasburg, where he became minister to the French refugees in the Church of St. Nicolas (Brady, 1994). Two years later he married Idelette de Bure, widow of Jean Stordeur of Liege, an Anabaptist, whom Calvin managed to turn into pedobabtist. They had a son, who lived only several days. Idelette de Bure died in 1549 and Calvin never married for the second time. Calvin didn’t have the plans to return to Geneva as his financial situation was rather poor at that moment, but very soon he got the opportunity to improve his position. In Strasburg he managed to practice the reform, which he could not launch in Geneva, and his fame started to grow very quickly. He received an offer to come out with a course of cathedral lectures. In 1539 Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto sent a letter to Geneva, asking for it to be returned to Roman obedience and Bern government gave the right to answer to Calvin. There were serious changes in the government of Geneva, and as a result the friends if Calvin won the power in the city. For the second time Calvin followed the arguments of Farel and went to Geneva. He knew perfectly, that there were a lot of his enemies, and that not everybody was ready to support him, but his faith in God was his major support. The government prepared a house for him and a corresponding salary. His work in Geneva started, the city turned into his main, but not the only one, center of activity. Geneva was a place, that gathered a lot of refugees from Holland, Italy, England, Spain, who were ready to listen and to support the ideas of Calvin. Also a number of students visited his lectures. His fame was growing, and more and more people were standing by him. At the age of fifty-five he died because of a disease. For Geneva he left one hundred and seventy dollar, faith, education and reconstructed government. Calvin chose Apostle’s Creed as the basis for his ideas, at the same time closely relating theology and ethics. Calvin’s reformation was practical, with the strongest emphasis on the doctrine of predestination; he tried to teach people of the city to refer to it as a cornerstone of the Christian faith. Opposed to lenient views concerning grace and sin, propagated by the Roman Church, the Augustinian doctrine recovered in his words. Calvin did his best to change the face of Protestantism, as he managed to address openly and directly the matters, which other reformers didn’t know or didn’t want to discuss (Brady, 1994). His main target was the proper organization of the church governance and social organization of the church in the city. He was said to be the first politic leader, who was able to build the social organization based on biblical principles. He brought very significant innovation, namely by incorporating church into the government of the city (Cameron, 1991). In the middle of 1550s the structure of Geneva was changed completely in accordance to Calvin’s ideas. As a result Geneva became the most important center of Protestantism in Europe and attracted the persecuted refugees from other countries. The branch of Calvin’s reforms became the prevalent branch of Protestantism from the seventeenth century. Calvin had the same problems as Luther with Anabaptists. On the 16-17 of March in 1537 he had a public meeting with them, and using his strong argumentation disposed of their ideas, as confirmed by Council of Two Hundred. Along with a great number of supporters Calvin had his opponents as well. Calvin played a very important role in the execution of Michael Servetus – â€Å"the Spanish physician, radical reformer (‘Anabaptist’), and unitarian. † (Gordon, 2002). In 1531 Servetus published his ideas denouncing the Trinity, which was the key doctrine Catholics and Protestants could agree about. Three years later Calvin agreed to meet Servetus in person in Paris, Servetus however didn’t appear. From 1546 till 1548 they exchanged letters, trying to convince each other, but finally Calvin had to stop the correspondence, as it was growing more and more rancorous. In 1553 Servetus was sentenced to death in absentia by Inquisition in Spain for spreading heresy. Calvin provided very important evidences to support the conviction. Servetus escaped from the prison, but was again arrested in Geneva on the initiative of Calvin. This time he was sentenced to burning on a stake, which took place in 1553. Then Servetus was buried together with the copy of his last work – De Trinitatis Erroribus. Servetus was the only one, who was sentenced to death for his religious beliefs during the lifetime of Calvin, and there is finally no agreement about the correctness of Calvin’s actions concerning this issue. Hundreds of years later modern Calvinists do not support the actions of Calvin towards Servetus. Nowadays persecution, and what is more death sentence for religious beliefs and positions, seems to be barbarous. Calvin was certainly not the only reformer. The ideas of Calvin and Farel were really close, but Farel was a missionary, a preacher and not theologian or even less a statesman. Calvin, being French would probably not be able to spread his influence so successfully either in Zurich or in Wittenberg, as Zwingli and Luther did it. Calvin was much younger than Luther and Zwingli and had an advantage of having a good foundation for spreading his ideas. He managed to build a system based on their new ideas. He proved to be better organizer and better thinker, at the same time lacking their genius and activity. His life was not as dramatic as those of Luther or Zwingli; he didn’t possess that genial humor or was able to raise popular enthusiasm. And still he remained the most influential Reformer of the Protestant Church. References: Barth, K. (1995). The Theology of John Calvin, tr. by G. W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans. Brady, T. (1994). Handbook of European History, 1400–1600: Late Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation. Leiden and New York. Breen, Q. (1968). John Calvin: A Study in French Humanism. Cameron, E. (1991). The European Reformation. Oxford and New York. Gordon, B. (2002). The Swiss Reformation. Manchester, U. K. , and New York. Tracy, J. (1999). Europe’s Reformations, 1450–1650. Lanham, Md.

Environmental Compliance and Safety Research Paper

Environmental Compliance and Safety - Research Paper Example This was evidenced by lack of coordination between the various agencies and companies involved in oil drilling operations during the disaster. This paper examines corrective mechanisms employed to control the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and agencies involved in the exercise. In addition, the paper explores the compliance regulations violated during the exercise. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was triggered by an explosion in the British Petroleum (BP) operated Macondo well on April 20, 2010. The explosion killed eleven crewmembers of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and several others suffered various levels of injuries (Ramseur, 2011). The blowout destroyed the drilling platform and it sunk two days later. Following the explosion, oil leakage was discovered on the sea floor and it continued discharging crude oil until its containment on July 15, 2010 (Uhlmann, 2011). According to Ramseur and Hargety (2011), over 4.9 million barrels were discharged into the water during the period. However, the exact volume of crude oil discharged remains unknown. The oil discharge was so voluminous that it contaminated the beaches of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida (Ramseur, 2011). The oil spill caused significant environmental and economic damage to the region. Commercial activities in the Gulf of Mexico especially commercial fishing and tourism were disrupted. Consequently, livelihoods of many people depending on these sectors were adversely affected. The impact on aquatic life was equally disastrous, killing numerous animals and plants in addition to polluting their habitats. The exact environmental, economic and social effects of the oil spill remain unknown up to date. However, the adverse environmental effects are expected to continue being felt in the affected region for many years, as demonstrated by the earlier Exxon Valdez oil discharge in 1989 (Uhlmann, 2011).

CRITIQUE OF EARLY CHRISTIAN TEXT-- --POLYCARP'S LETTER TO THE Essay

CRITIQUE OF EARLY CHRISTIAN TEXT-- --POLYCARP'S LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS - Essay Example The date of the Letter is hardly satisfactorily determined; often scientists take as the reference point martyrdom of Polycarp (Palmer 3). The texts written in this period (late 1st and early 2nd centuries) have been influenced in more or less grade Jewish motifs that â€Å"pervaded Christian thinking and practice at this primitive stage† (Patristic literature). The Holy Spirit even in extremely bias translations saves all the major doctrines. In every way it leads the person to Jesus. There are several translations of the Epistle of Polycarp and each of them has something to convey and bring (Church History 39). The doubts against the authenticity of it, especially the last chapters, surviving only in the ancient Latin text, cannot be considered thoroughly, because critics did not want to accept the message of Polycarp in its full form as it contained the words about the letters of Ignatius Antioch. The Epistle to the Philippians was written shortly after the death of St. Ignatius. It was caused by a petition to the Christians of the city Philip of habeas letters of Ignatius to Polycarp and other Christians, what he had, to them. Fulfilling their request, the Bishop of Smyrna gives them a number of Christian teachings, warns against the heretics, tells the responsibilities of presbyters and deacons, men and virgins, spouses and widows, he convinces to avoid covetousness, to practice praying and fasting, and instills patience and love for enemies. For a long time the Greek text of the Polycarp`s Letter contained first only 9 chapters and the remaining 5 chapters were preserved in the ancient Latin translation. So from the point of view of contemporary scholars they could be placed to a category of Jewish-Christian literature. Polycarp`s letter is a sign of growing awareness of the traditions of Christianity. His letter is also supplemented with verses from the New Testament: â€Å"The strong root

Conservation focusing on Animal Extinction Essay

Conservation focusing on Animal Extinction - Essay Example People engaged in the fight for conservation, in a worthy and patriotic cause, most often try to sully their reputation by opposition, and the dramatic fervor of such opposition has constituted a major liability. It is also important to recognize that conservation neither arose from a broad popular outcry nor centered its fire on the private corporations which have often supported conservation policies. "Conservation, above all, was a scientific movement, and its role in history arises from the implications of science and technology in modern society. Conservation leaders sprang from such fields as hydrology, forestry, agrostology, geology, and anthropology It is from the vantage point of view of applied science, rather than of democratic protest, that one must understand the historic role of the conservation movement." (Hays, 1999, p 2). Therefore, conservation issues have historically offered topics of debates and one of the ongoing political controversies in the United States sinc e 1977 has been the debate concerning oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). ... Debates over conservation issue concerning drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have a pertinent role in the understanding of Hays's view that one must understand the historic role of the conservation movement from the vantage point of view of applied science, rather than of democratic protest. The debates over this conservation issue have been in place ever since President Jimmy Carter approved a bill in 1980 for the approval of the Congress to allow drilling in ANWR. It has been one of the most-widely used issues as political device, by both the Democrats and the Republicans. The major argument against the drilling in the 1002 area of ANWR is that it would potentially harm the natural wildlife in the area, especially the calving ground of the Porcupine caribou, whereas the supporters of oil exploration in the region highlight the amount of economically recoverable oil, relating to the world oil markets. The major arguments in favor of oil drilling in the 1002 area of ANWR underlie some basic assumptions about 'Nature' and economic growth and the debates concerning the topic illustrate that the wise use of natural resources may be either technical or largely political. According to the supporters of oil drilling in ANWR, it could radically lower the price of oil, which can lead to a major economic boom, and it can be effective measure to lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil, particularly in the Middle East. As opposed to the arguments of the critics of the procedures, they maintain that drilling could be done without disrupting the sanctuary or damaging the environment. Similarly, it can considerably help the

Global & International Business Contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Global & International Business Contexts - Essay Example etailers of the world, one can find that the company has more than 2,300 supermarkets & convenience stores and has employee strength of 326,000 people. Tesco’s main business is located in Great Britain, where it is the largest private sector business house in United Kingdom and also has the largest food retail business, has more about 1,900 stores (Tesco, n.d.). In continental part of Europe, Tesco have businesses in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, and Turkey. In Asia, this company has business in Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. It also has financial services known as Tesco Financial Services that have 4.6 million customers which is roughly divided into credit card holders and car insurance policy holders. It also has 100-unit Tesco Express chain, due to which the company is ranked as the largest seller of gasoline in United Kingdom. It also has small urban stores known as Tesco Metro and hypermarkets known as Tesco Extra. It is now expanding its business with a TV channel and a "retail based education institution†. The SWOT and PESTAL analysis show that Tesco currently has the resourcing capabilities to introduce the baby wear segment in the market and able to implement a market developing strategy built on the success of its stores in the country. Tesco targets the high-end marketing segment with the differentiation strategy. It opts for introducing a segment of baby wear in Sweden, although there numerous stores operating in Sweden. The current report, using PESTLE and SWOT analysis, will analyze Tescos situation in market and that will be a valuable information for the management team to opt for the correct and definite strategies mainly in corporate level and international level which relates to introduce designer baby wear for infants & toddlers in Northern Europe i.e. Sweden. This report shows that how Tesco tend to diversify market and will also handle its own corporate portfolio. Tesco can

Better Luck Tomorrow Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Installation Architecture Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Installation Architecture - Research Paper Example The installation architecture depends on space to depict its dimension. The argument that architecture is intended to create space hence, those elements that frame space such as walls and divisions on the screen makes it is true. The elements of installation that makes it architectural include site-specificity, temporality, cerebral, interaction, photo record and process. In installation arts, space has a vital functionality since it establishes the level of impact of objects on the spectators. In installation arts, the views have no option of moving around the objects in the hall. The viewers are compelled to move through the objects in the hall. In this case, the space provides the dimension on which the spectator will observe the object movements on the screen and the walls. In case the observers move around the items in the wall, they obtain a three-dimensional view hence, can connect several elements of installation arts and develop a concrete perception about the event. The spa ce is a complex factor in installation arts because it determines all dimensions around the object. Space occupied by the object and the distance between the object and screen controls the reference of the presentation and the exposure of light around the objects. The lights promote the dimension within the hall, division or the floor space. The lights elongate the blind spot of an individual and improve the clients view behind the main object. Walls allow for the exposure of the piece of art in desirable sizes and foster appropriate perceptions among the viewers. The walls provide the setting on which the changing images form their background hence; other decorations on the wall can enhance the presentation. Installation arts may consist of walls that are parts of the performance. The claim that there are no spectators in installation arts is fundamental because the spectators are actively involved into performance due to their reactions. The actions taken by the spectators are cau sed by the prompts they obtain from the stimuli from the images on the walls. The divisions promote the architecture in installation arts by displaying linked objects in a comprehensive consequence. Site-specificity in installation arts requires the connection between the object and its surrounding space. Installation art incorporate the inclusion of items in a space such as walls. The space determines the dimension onto which an object is observed. An object that is flat on the screen may be perceived as a two-dimensional image. Contrarily, an object with a distant background triggers the perceptions of three-dimension among the viewers. Gramazio & Kohler: Digital Materiality, there is a stronger relationship between the constructed assembler and precision material and the space onto which it is installed. There is a symbiotic relationship between the assembler and the truck. The element is therefore, specific to the site. Retrieved on April 14 from http://www.core.form-ula.com/wp- content/uploads/2009/09/screen-shot-2009-09-29-at-113505-am.png The temporality aspect of the architectural installation relies on the physical relationships to the worldly objects. Time is critical in architectural installation since the objects viewed on the walls and perceived for various dimensions and meanings lose value within a period. The conventional belief that the world is a produce of time is real in temporality. The walls and the number of