Western European capitalism developed as a result of a huge upheaval in Europe - the Reformation in the course of two centuries: first in the 16th century in Germany and France, then there was the 17th century - the Thirty Years' War in Germany, the English Revolution. Starting from the XIV century. in the depths of the Roman Catholic Church, moods arose and gradually matured, directed against the most extreme forms of manifestation of dogmatic and political dictate. Within Catholicism, the first reform movements emerged. In the XVI century. they led to the complete reformation of the Roman Catholic Church and the emergence of a new Christian creed - Protestantism, which in a few decades divided into three powerful branches - Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism.
The Reformation itself did not put forward any capitalist slogans. That main thing, to which the thoughts of people were directed at that time, was the idea of saving the human soul. Luther's main idea was that as a result of the fall of Adam, man became so sinful that no good deeds could help him. Only faith can give him this salvation, faith in the goodness of God. Of course, such a point of view, it would seem, turned a person away from all concrete, real actions, from what constitutes, as it were, the core of capitalist industrial society. But, nevertheless, the Reformation destroyed the traditional medieval society that had developed in Europe. And in doing so, it really paved the way for capitalism. This is especially true of Calvinism.
Calvinism is a branch of Protestantism, it arose in the middle of the 16th century and showed even greater rationalism than Lutheranism. Calvin, as you know, taught that the Lord, before the creation of the world, predetermined the fate of people: some - to salvation, and others - to death. And no human affairs can affect the Divine decision. But success in worldly activities for a person is a sign that convinces and confirms his faith that he is among the elect, as they called themselves, "saints." This ideology appeals only to them. For the rest, it means nothing. Many researchers write that among the Calvinist theologians Christology is very poorly developed, that they appeal mainly to the authority of the Old Testament. Yes, and in the field of morality, acquired wealth meant a sign of being chosen, belonging to the "saints", in direct contradiction with the gospel commandments (Mt. 19:24; Mk. 10; 25; Lk. 18:25); Poverty was also considered a sign of rejection, a sin.
Here is how P. Sorokin characterizes Protestant ethics in economics: “The ability to make money was declared a sign of God's mercy; moreover, it was elevated to the level of a paramount duty: "We must call on all Christians to earn what they can, and save what they can; it is by this that they will become rich," John Wesley preaches. And here is Benjamin Franklin's statement; "Honesty is useful because it ensures a good reputation; so are accuracy, diligence, thrift, and it is for this reason that they are virtues ... Remember that time is money. Remember that money has a productive, fruitful nature." Similar views are preached by representatives of other Protestant movements. Early and medieval Christianity proclaimed wealth a source of eternal torment: the ability to make money - summae periculosae (the main danger), profit - turpe lucrum (shameful benefit), borrowing money - a serious crime, a rich person - the first candidate for a curse, which will be more difficult to enter the kingdom God than a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
But the Reformation and the Renaissance changed this view. On Sundays, the Puritan believes in God and Eternity, on weekdays - in the stock exchange. Sundays: His main book is the Bible, on weekdays the ledger becomes his Bible. As a result, we see the parallel growth of Protestantism, capitalism, utilitarianism, sensual ethics during all subsequent centuries. (p.492)
We consider it necessary to understand the essence of Calvinism to give an excerpt from one of its main dogmatic decrees. this is an excerpt from the so-called Westminster Confession, adopted by the Puritans - English Calvinists at the height of the English Revolution in 1647: Those people who are predestined to eternal life, God, even before the foundation of the world, chose for salvation in Christ and eternal blessedness out of pure, free mercy and love, and not because it has a prerequisite in their faith, good works or love. And it was pleasing to God, according to an inscrutable decision and His field, to exalt His power over His creations, to deprive “steel people of His mercy and predestinate them to dishonor and wrath for their sins, to the glory of His highest justice.” (quoted from p.)
Comparing the teachings of Calvinism and the actual material, including the economic successes of the Anglo-Saxon Protestant and technical civilization, one can observe a striking fantastic combination of two opposing tendencies. Firstly, - complete predestination: before the creation of the world, the fate of man is predetermined, some are predetermined for salvation, others for death; people have no control over their own destiny. This is extreme fatalism, from which everyone who accepts this predestination should simply give up. But, on the other hand, it was this ideology that caused a colossal surge of energy: the people inspired by it organized the English Revolution - the industrial revolution in England, created an industrial and industrial society, created the United States. (p.) In economic life, the ideology of Calvinism stimulates the development of entrepreneurship, financial and industrial spheres - a special socio-economic model is born (Anglo-Saxon Protestant).
And this is not the only similar situation in history, the same is present in Islam. More than once in the Koran it is said that Allah predetermined the fate of man. It would seem that this should also deprive a person of any incentive to be active in life, but this gave rise to an incredible surge of energy: the tribes that roamed somewhere on the outskirts of the then civilized world defeated the two superpowers of that time - Byzantium and the Persian kingdom, reached Spain and conquered her and only in France were stopped. ()
And for the third time in history, a similar situation can be seen in Marxism. Here, too, the whole history is determined by the "iron laws". History is predetermined as a natural scientific process, like the flight of a cannonball that can be calculated - and at the same time, an extraordinary effort of will takes place, which leads to colossal transformations. ()
How to explain such a mysterious combination of predestination and volitional effort, a burst of energy? Why did this ideology contribute to rapid economic development?
This phenomenon can be explained as follows. Human psychology, his soul are built in such a way that every person internally strives for life, fortunately, wants to be the chosen one - God - if we are talking about a monotheistic religious worldview; fate, fortune - if we are talking about a pagan worldview; leader, leader, party - if we are talking about an atheistic worldview. Hence the inner message, which may not be realized, is to prove one's chosenness.
As we remember from the Old Testament story of the righteous long-suffering Job, when God, testing Job's faith, sends misfortune after misfortune to Job, including taking away from him his wealth acquired honestly, how Job's friends react to this: they explain this by the fact that Job Apparently, God also sinned for this and took away his wealth. But there was no sin, and friends could not regard what happened differently, because according to the law of the Old Testament, wealth is a sign of God's mercy to His chosen ones, people of a righteous life. But those were the laws of the Old Testament; there is nothing like it in the New Testament. Calvinism, in fact, returned to the Old Testament, and offered success in worldly affairs and wealth as a criterion for being chosen. A rich person is blessed by God, and all who have no money should serve the "chosen ones." And which of the believers will agree to the role of a sinner, whose fate is eternal death? Who wants to be an eternal servant? That's all and strive to become rich in order to prove their chosenness.
By the way, K. Marx, who came from a family of rabbis and perfectly understood the religion of the Jews (Old Testament), wrote: “Money is the jealous God of Israel in the face of which there should be no other God. Money brings down all the gods of man from above and turns them into commodities. Money is universal, established. As something independent, the value of all things. They have therefore deprived the whole world—both the human world and nature—of their own value. Money is the essence of his labor and being, alienated from a person, and this alien essence commands a person, and a person worships her. quotation from p. 396
However, the psychology of being chosen has an impact not only on the development of the economy, it affects the entire social organism.
Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus
Educational Institution "Vitebsk State University
named after P.M. Masherova"
History department
Department of General History and World Culture
TEST
on the course "World History"
on the topic of: J. Calvin and his teaching
2nd year students
OZO groups
Account number 20090458
Orlova Tatyana Mikhailovna
Work checked:
Kosov Alexander Petrovich
Vitebsk, 2011
Introduction
1. John Calvin: his life and teachings
2. The spread of Calvinism in Europe and its consequences
Conclusion
List of used literature
INTRODUCTION
Calvinism is the name of the religious and philosophical system, the generator of fundamental ideas of which and the most prominent spokesman was John Calvin. His theological views are a kind of revival of Augustinianism, it was Calvin in the 16th century. most thoroughly systematized them and substantiated their practical application. Calvinism is not limited to theology, representing a comprehensive system that also includes certain views on politics, society, science and culture and gives a fairly complete worldview.
In recent years, interest in Calvinism has grown markedly, as evidenced, first of all, by its wide distribution in various parts of the globe. According to Louis Berkhoff, author of the preface to the second edition of H. G. Mitter's Fundamental Ideas of Calvinism, "Calvin's teaching is even more important today than in the days of the Reformation." He is echoed by the American Lutheran F. E. Mayer in Concordia Theological Monthly: "Calvinism remains a powerful factor in the theological practice of modern Protestantism."
At present, a situation has developed when new opportunities have appeared not only for popularizing the ideas of the great Genevan reformer, but also for their thorough study, the study of Calvin's work from various points of view. This will allow us to give a more complete, and most importantly, more objective picture of the period of the formation of a new society. The literary heritage of Calvin remains a kind of "legacy" only of Western civilization, because there are regrettably few translations of his writings and publications of studies devoted to him and Calvinism as a creed as a whole, in Russian and other languages, except for Western ones.
Based on the foregoing, we can set the goal and objectives of the test: to study the life of John Calvin: his teachings, political views, to trace the fate of Calvinism in Europe.
When writing the work, the following were used: a textbook on the history of the Middle Ages by S.P. Karpov, an encyclopedia of world history, which outlines the history of European countries in the early modern times; a fragment of the work of John Calvin: "On the Christian Life"; as well as Internet resources.
1. JEAN CALVIN: HIS LIFE AND TEACHING
From the mid 1530s. the development of reform ideas and their implementation in Switzerland were inextricably linked with the name of John Calvin (1509 - 1564). His teaching had a strong influence on the reform movement in other European countries, especially in France.
Jean Calvin (Calvin, Calvinus - a Latinized version of the French surname Covin - Cauvin) was born on July 10, 1509 in the city of Noyon, located northeast of Paris, not far from two cities famous for their cathedrals - Amiens and Reims.
His parents, Gerard Covin and Jeanne Lefranc, belonged to respected bourgeois families in the province of Picardy, who maintained business relations with the capital of France and the largest Dutch cities - Antwerp and Brussels.
Initially, it was assumed that Jean would be a clergyman: at the age of 12, he was enrolled in the cathedral clergy of Noyon, awarded a tonsure, from 1527, as a student at the Sorbonne, he was considered a priest without performing his duties, which was quite common in the church of that time.
In Paris, Jean studied philology and scholastic philosophy under the guidance of teachers who belonged to the religious renewal movement of the New Piety, through whose schools Erasmus of Rotterdam and Luther passed at one time.
Having completed his theological education in 1528, apparently with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Calvin, at the insistence of his father, changed his intention to be a priest and went to the universities of Orleans and Bourges to study law and the Greek language.
In 1531, he returned to Paris and led the life of a scientist, working on the book “Commentaries on Seneca’s treatise “On Mercy”, published in 1532. At that time, there were active protests against the Roman Catholic Church in Germany and Switzerland, but during In France, the reform movement developed more slowly: the need to reform Christianity was discussed and written mainly by intellectuals from the university environment, gathering for humanistic interviews and circles for the study of the Gospel.
Here Calvin showed himself in 1533, when the situation became difficult. Open attacks on Catholic relics took place in Paris and in a number of French provinces, and the government of King Francis I, not without reason, laid the blame for these speeches on university professors suspected of "Lutheran heresy."
The rector of the Sorbonne, Nicolas Cope, son of the personal physician of Francis I, delivered a speech composed with the participation of Calvin. The speech became an occasion for persecution. In it he said that in religion the gospel should take precedence over rituals, and peace in the church would restore the divine Word, not the sword.
Calvin had to leave Paris, and then France, where he traveled for some time, watching how various "sects" arise in the provinces, generated by the influence of the ideas of the Reformation. The most radical "sect" were the Anabaptists. Calvin's first doctrinal work, On the Sleep of the Soul, written in 1534, is devoted to the criticism of the Anabaptist doctrinal principles.
Calvin's life in exile began in Protestant Basel, where he was known as Martin Lucanius. In this pseudonym one can see a manifestation of personal respect for Martin Luther, whom Calvin personally did not have a chance to meet. At this time, here in Basel, the days of the great humanist of the Reformation, Erasmus of Rotterdam, were drawing to a close. In this regard, later a legend arose about the meeting of Calvin and Erasmus, which is difficult to refute, but there is nothing to confirm.
In 1536 Calvin accepted an invitation from Guillaume Farel to become a preacher in Geneva, and perhaps one explanation is that the influence of French culture was felt more strongly in Geneva than in Basel. Although John Calvin became a "citizen of the world", the bitter motif of exile from his homeland is often heard in his works.
In the same year in Basel, he published his main work "Instruction in the Christian Faith" (Institutiones Religionis Christianae), which is considered the highest achievement of the theology of the Reformation. If Martin Luther is revered by Protestant thought as the great prophet of the Reformation, then Calvin - as the great creator of the system of Protestant ideas. The “Instruction” still serves as an encyclopedia of the principles of Protestantism, although it was created in the 16th century, when, in the era of the decline of feudal society, Europe experienced a mighty rise in Renaissance culture, nations were formed in it, and the once-united Roman Catholic Church split into two - Catholic and Protestant.
The central place in Calvin's theology is occupied by the problems of knowing God as the creator and sovereign ruler of the world, and the mission of Jesus Christ as a redeemer. Calvin gives his understanding of the true Christian life and the means that are necessary for it. One of the main elements of the teachings of John Calvin was his concept of "double predestination". He argued that God, even before the creation of the world, according to his Wisdom, foreordained everything that should be done, including for each person his fate: for one - eternal damnation and sorrow, for others, the elect - salvation, eternal bliss. It is impossible for a person to change this sentence or avoid it. He is only able to realize that forces are constantly and powerfully operating in the world, independent of the desires of individuals. Purely human ideas about the goodness of God are not suitable here, a person can only understand with awe that the reasons for God's condemnation are incomprehensible to him. Something else is open to him - to believe in his chosenness and to pray, humbly preparing to accept any will of God. He should not doubt his own chosenness, because such concern is in itself a "satanic temptation", a symptom of insufficient faith in God.
This part of the Calvinian doctrine was finally formulated in its developed form by the successors and followers of Calvin and was called the doctrine of "worldly vocation" and "worldly asceticism." A true Calvinist must devote himself entirely to his professional activity, neglect comfort, despise pleasure and extravagance, save every penny and be a thrifty and diligent owner. If a person has an opportunity to receive a large income through his professional activities, and he refuses to use this opportunity, he will commit a sinful act.
In these dogmatic provisions of Calvinism, in a distorted, fantastic form, the real economic and social needs of the emerging young predatory bourgeoisie of the period of primitive accumulation were reflected: their admiration for the spontaneous laws of market relations and the power of money, their thirst for profit.
Assessing the social significance of the Calvinian theory of predestination, F. Engels wrote: “His doctrine of predestination was a religious expression of the fact that in the world of trade and competition, success or bankruptcy does not depend on the activity or art of individuals, but on circumstances beyond their control. “It is not the will or actions of any individual that determines, but the mercy” of powerful but unknown economic forces. And this was especially true during the economic upheaval, when all the old trade routes and trading centers were replaced by new ones, when America and India were discovered, when even the anciently revered economic creed - the value of gold and silver - tottered and crashed. according to: 1, p. 200].
Realizing the unspeakable greatness and glory of the Lord, as well as his own smallness, a person must act firmly and resolutely in this world with all his energy, following the commandments and instructions of the Holy Scriptures. He must fully realize his "calling" - the gifts and opportunities laid in him by God, which are manifested in all his activities. God himself, as it were, gives a person a guideline, indicating his support, that a person has correctly understood his “calling” and is fulfilling it on the right path - this is the success or failure of his business. Calvin uses the terms "prosperity" or "disaster" here. God blesses luck, but it must be achieved only in an honest and legal way, not forgetting about the duty both to God and to neighbors. "Prosperity" and "trouble" are tests of humility and moral foundations of a person. "Prosperity," for example, leads to the accumulation of wealth (Calvin does not condemn hoarding per se), but this gift of God cannot be obtained "at the cost of the blood and sweat of other people," that is, in violation of the commandment "thou shalt not steal." Already having wealth, it cannot be squandered by satisfying one's whims, but one should devote from one's abundance to the need of another. The poor, in turn, must endure and patiently endure their trials.
In general, the religious and moral principles of Calvin's teaching affirm and stimulate the high activity of the individual, his sober and rational approach to business, strong-willed pressure in decisions, concern for the success of the business with the asceticism of his own desires - and all this with a firm confidence in his chosenness that is not amenable to logical explanations. God. John Calvin's teaching on salvation and piety, which included the ethical norms of labor and ideas about moderate asceticism in secular life, was aimed at cultivating internal discipline, composure, and fighting qualities of a person.
The church cult, according to the teachings of Calvin, demanded rigor and simplicity. The worship of saints, relics, relics, and icons was rejected. Altars, crucifixes, candles, rich robes and jewelry were removed from Calvinist temples, organ music stopped. Nothing was to distract from concentrated prayer. In the church service, the main attention was paid to preaching, singing psalms.
For the stability of the Calvinist tradition, a new church structure created by Calvin was fundamentally different from the system of the Catholic hierarchy. The "Visible Church" consisted of communities in which the principle of self-government operated. The leaders of the community were elected and controlled by its members. There were four types of "services": pastors to preach, doctors (teachers) to keep the purity of doctrine, presbyters (elders) to control church discipline, deacons to oversee church property, collect donations and care for the poor. The affairs of the community were discussed by its leadership at the council of elders - consistories, dogmatic issues - at congregations, meetings of spiritual mentors.
In accordance with the teachings of Calvin, much attention was paid to the authority of spiritual pastors and church discipline, which did not exclude the most severe measures of influence on its violators. The community of believers had to be firmly educated and at the same time resolutely protected from sins and temptations.
The acute socio-political struggle of the oppressed masses in Germany, its echoes in Switzerland, the experience of Zwingli and Luther showed Calvin how dangerous it is to appeal without any reservations to the Gospel and the ideas of early Christianity, which the oppressed masses understood and interpreted in their own way, seeing in them a justification to your requirements. Therefore, Calvin approached the interpretation of the problems of the state and the socio-political structure of society very carefully.
Calvin condemned the princes, monarchs and feudal lords for their violence, arbitrariness. He argued that if the sovereign and the government establish a tyrannical regime, violate divine laws and insult the church, then sooner or later they will experience the punishing right hand of God, the instrument of which can be their own subjects. But at the same time, Calvin declared any state structure and power, including the feudal absolute monarchy, to be divine. He recognized the right to resist tyranny only for subordinate authorities, the church and representative institutions, such as the States General. At the same time, legal forms of struggle and passive resistance must first be exhausted; only in exceptional cases is open disobedience and the overthrow of tyranny permissible.
Democracy Calvin considered "the worst form of government." He gave all his sympathies to the aristocratic form of government, that is, to the essence of the oligarchy. As a compromise solution, he allowed its combination with "moderate democracy".
In accordance with these views of Calvin, power in Geneva was more and more concentrated in the hands of a narrow group of people. When Calvinism entered the broad European arena and became the ideological banner of the early bourgeois revolutions, the question of the nature of political and church organization was decided in different ways, depending on the specific alignment of class forces and local conditions.
Cruelly hated and persecuted Calvin peasant-plebeian heresy - Anabaptism. He assessed the demand of the extreme Anabaptists to establish the community of property and their denial of authorities as "appropriation of someone else's" and "outrageous savagery."
At the same time, Calvin justified the collection of interest and usury, considered the existence of the most cruel form of exploitation of man by man - slavery, which began to be increasingly used in the colonies, to be natural.
Calvinism thus took shape in a coherent and consistent system of views of the bourgeoisie of the era of primitive accumulation.
A consistory was created in Geneva, which actually subjugated secular power and established captious police supervision over the behavior and life of the townspeople.
This was the time of the highest power of Calvin, when both the Genevan church and the magistrate bowed completely to his authority.
The Calvinist consistory was just as intolerant as the Catholic Church, regarding any manifestation of dissent, especially if there was opposition from the masses (in particular, Anabaptism). No wonder Geneva was known as the Protestant Rome, and Calvin was often called the Pope of Geneva. The Anabaptists were either expelled from the city or executed. In 1553, Calvin personally achieved the arrest and conviction of Servetus, a prominent Spanish humanist scientist who happened to be in Geneva, a naturalist and anatomist, who came close to discovering blood circulation. Servetus "dared" to criticize Calvinist dogmas in his books and kept in touch with the Anabaptists. The burning of Servetus, which caused discontent in the circles of educated society, prompted Calvin to publish a special treatise, where he "substantiated" the right of the church to exterminate apostates. “God,” declared Calvin, “does not spare whole nations; he orders to destroy cities to the ground and destroy their traces; moreover, he orders the trophies of victory to be placed as a sign of a curse so that the infection does not cover the rest of the earth.
In the history of Geneva under Calvin, the fact of a significant change in the moral norms of the urban community is emphasized. Novelists willingly depicted the transformation of an almost free feudal city into a dull fiefdom of a captious "Geneva pope", but for many contemporaries Geneva served as "the best school of Jesus Christ that has ever been found on earth since apostolic times" (J. Knox) [cit. according to: 3, p. 4].
2. DISTRIBUTION OF CALVINISM IN EUROPE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
The new understanding of religion was to cover, in the opinion of the leaders of Protestantism, the population of all European countries. It was necessary to adopt clear and precise organizational forms, to move from the initial ideas about the invisible church to visible churches. This was achieved first of all and best of all in those conditions precisely by Calvinism as the Romanesque type of the Reformation, and, therefore, being closer in spirit to the worldview and worldview of the majority of Europeans.
Calvinism turned out to be prepared for solving such problems and thanks to a number of its features and differences from other Protestant churches:
it was stronger than the rest of the original Protestant creeds, opposed to Catholicism;
in it, to a greater extent, such features of the early Christian period as opposition to any dissent, the unconditional submission of individuals to the community and the almost ascetic ideal of morality were revived;
no Protestant sect insisted so strongly on the unconditional and exclusive authority of the Bible;
Calvin and his followers more resolutely than other leaders of the Reformation expelled superstition and paganism from worship and teaching, i.e., all kinds of external symbols, the pomp of the cult, etc.;
a special desire to restore the early Christian community met with quite a lot of support from the broad masses of the people, due to which sympathy and hopes for Calvinism were noted already at an early stage of its history in almost all of Europe;
at the same time, in the Calvinist communities, their leaders, pastors and elders, enjoyed greater authority than in other Protestant churches. This organizationally strengthened the new movement;
individual communities united among themselves in unions with a common elective administration (presbyterian and synodal structure);
Calvinism turned out to be very closely connected with political movements, which was due to the formation and development of nation-states at that time and the sharp rise of the central government, which actively used for its own purposes any teachings opposed to the Catholic Church.
16th century Calvinist represented a practically established type of a new person who could become an ideal for new churches: confident in the correctness of his teaching, hostile to secular life, focused on prayer and spiritual activity.
Geneva remains the center of Calvinism, but the doctrine itself is widely spread throughout Europe, although its fate in different countries is ambiguous. While Lutheranism was conquering Scandinavia, Calvinism found its followers in the Rhine Valley of Germany, in France, the Netherlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Moravia, and even for a while in Poland. It became a buffer between the Lutheran north and the Catholic south.
In the homeland of the Reformation, in Germany, Calvinism was not widespread. There were few Calvinists and they were at enmity with the Lutherans. The enmity was so strong that there was a saying among Lutherans better papists than Calvinists. Those who were better off financially turned to Calvinism first.
Calvinism gained a foothold in the County Palatine (Palatinate), whose ruler, Elector Frederick III, supported Calvinist theology and the Presbyterian administration of the church. After a dispute in 1560, he finally leaned towards Calvinism.
During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), hostility towards the Calvinists on the part of the German reformers continued. The Lutherans did not support the union of 1609 concluded by the Calvinist princes. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 extended the principle of tolerance to the Calvinists as well. In the 17th century Calvinism was adopted by the powerful Elector of Brandenburg, which contributed to some spread of this creed on the territory of the German principalities.
In the Netherlands, Calvinism began to spread quite early and widely. Lutheran ideas were dealt a serious blow here by Emperor Charles V and in the 50s. Calvinism began to spread, at first among the lower strata of the city. From the very beginning, it takes the form of an opposition current. By 1560, the majority of Protestants were Calvinists, and a minority were Anabaptists, headed by Menno Simons, some followed M. Luther. The sermons of the Calvinists drew crowds of thousands, if government officials made arrests, those arrested were released by force. From 1566 an iconoclastic movement unfolded.
In 1571, the National Council at Edmond adopted the Presbyterian Calvinist system of church government. However, here, among the Protestants, Calvinism had a theological opponent - Arminianism. The followers of Jacob Arminius, in opposition to the teachings of Calvin about the predestination of the fate of each person, developed their 5 articles of "Remonstration".
Their essence was as follows:
a person's choice for salvation is predetermined by faith, condemnation is predetermined by unbelief;
the choice to salvation belongs to all, and precisely in such a way that no one is forgiven except those who believe;
faith comes not from man, but from God;
grace does not work irresistibly;
it remains undecided whether grace is irresistible.
The Dutch Calvinists countered these articles with their 5 canons of orthodox Calvinism:
the complete depravity of a person, that is, a person can do nothing for his salvation;
unconditional choice, that is, a person is chosen by God without any grounds and conditions for this;
limited redemption, that is, Christ died only for the elect, and not for all people;
irresistible grace, that is, if a person is chosen for salvation, he cannot resist the Holy Spirit;
eternal security, that is, once saved is saved forever and can never be abandoned by God.
Subsequently, these canons became the basis of all forms of Calvinism and were adopted in French, English, Swiss and other Reformed churches. It should also be noted that the Arminians, like the Calvinists, believed in the complete corruption of man by sin and the impossibility of saving man without the action of God's grace. With the development of the theology of Protestantism, new trends appeared, some of which adopted the five main canons of orthodox Calvinism. It is now practiced by numerous Reformed and Presbyterian churches in Western Europe and America. The five main canons of Calvinism are also followed by the majority of Baptists.
Calvinism had the greatest success in the south and south-west of France and in Navarre, neighboring France. King Antoine Bourbon of Navarre became one of the leaders of the Huguenot party (Protestants in France began to be called Huguenots by the name of one of their leaders, Besancon Gouge). The nobility was especially willing to accept Calvinism, among which purely religious aspirations were intertwined with political goals and social ideals. Calvinist ideas were defined as a convenient means for restoring to the feudal nobility the political rights and privileges they had lost over the previous century.
In the 50s of the XVI century. Calvinism begins to spread in Scotland. During the regency of Mary of Guise, who ruled under the young daughter of Mary Stuart, political opposition was formed among the nobility against the Stuart dynasty. These groups are beginning to actively use the Calvinist ideas and principles of organization of the Calvinist community. From the very beginning, John Knox became the leader of the Protestants. In his sermons, he mercilessly scourged the idolatry of the royal court. John Knox and the Scottish Calvinists paid great attention to various socio-political issues. He expressed the idea of the people's will as a source of civil power, substantiated the need to limit the powers of the monarch and the legitimacy of resisting tyranny. His ideas would have a great influence on the radical sections of the English Puritans.
In 1560, by a decree of parliament, the secularization of church lands was carried out, most of which went to the nobility. Six Johns (Knox and five others named John) in one week made up the so-called Scottish Confession of Faith, which remained the principal Scottish Confession until the adoption of the Westminster Confession in 1647. Later, the first Book of Instructions was compiled and in 1561. Book of general order. As a result, Calvinism was introduced in Scotland under the name of the Presbyterian Church. The new church had a synodal organization. Priests in it were elected, but not directly by the people, but by church councils and enjoyed great authority.
In England, Calvinism spread after the Reformation. As a result, he is in opposition not to Catholicism, but to the official Protestant Church of England. The Anglican Church, created under Edward VI and Elizabeth, had a number of features in common with Catholicism. The Calvinists demanded further cleansing of the church from superstition and idolatry. Soon they will be called Puritans (from Latin purus - clean, puritas - purity). The official church began to call them non-conformists, because they rejected the uniformity of doctrine and worship, or dissenters (dissenters, from the English dissent - disagreement, divergence of views). This flow was not uniform. The most moderate Puritans were ready to put up with the supremacy of the king in the church, but denied the episcopate and the remnants of Catholicism in the cult. Another group was close in its views to the Scottish Calvinists and advocated a republican - aristocratic organization of Presbyterianism, headed by a national synod.
Puritans actively fought against royal supremacy in church affairs and absolutism in the state. The severity of this struggle and the persecution of the authorities forced many Puritans to emigrate to America. In England itself, Puritanism is gradually disintegrating into various sects and groups and is losing its influence.
The beginning of the spread of Calvinism on the territory of Ukraine falls on the beginning of the 40s of the 16th century and is associated with the activities of famous cultural figures, writers, scientists, politicians who were fascinated by Protestant ideas. The first champions of religious reforms were the most educated people, who were invited by wealthy people to teach their children and develop the scientific and educational process in the country. Of the first preachers who acted in Ukraine as cultural figures, translators, and writers, information about Fom Falkovsky, Pavel Zenovich, Mykola Zhytny, Alexander Vitrelin has been preserved. In Ukraine, Calvinism spread throughout the entire territory from Volhynia and Galicia to Podolia and the Kiev region, but the meetings themselves, as well as schools and printing houses, were concentrated mainly in Western Ukraine. In 1554, the first synod was held, which united the Calvinist communities of the Commonwealth. In 1562, in the Nesvizh printing house of the princes Radzivils, the Calvinist catechism, compiled by Symon Budny, was first printed in Russian. In the 60s of the 16th century there were about 300 Reformed communities in Ukraine.
It should be noted that the spread of Calvinism in Ukraine is closely related to its spread in Poland and Belarus due to the belonging of the Commonwealth. The influence of Calvinists in the Polish Sejm was also significant as a result of the high gentry belonging to Calvinism. In general, thanks to the efforts of Prince Nikolai Radziwil Cherny, who was the chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Calvinism became dominant for a certain time among the magnates and gentry of the principality, which at that time also covered a significant part of the Ukrainian lands.
The spread of Calvinism in Europe resulted in the appearance of its various varieties, the characteristics of which depended on the specific circumstances of the place and time. Calvinist theory and practice sometimes departed quite strongly from Calvin. The diversity of Calvinism, while maintaining its fundamental principles, was not unusual: the existence of various currents turned out to be characteristic of other major trends of the Reformation, including Lutheranism.
CONCLUSION
John Calvin, for all the inconsistency of his nature, was a typical representative of his era. Yes, and it's a fact, Calvin is a genius. Hundreds and thousands of people all over the world followed his genius. His ideas, according to many researchers, were the ideology of the emerging bourgeoisie at that time. Max Weber is of the same opinion. In his work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, he wrote:
“The main feature of Calvinistic piety is that every Christian must be a monk throughout his life. The transfer of asceticism from worldly everyday life to monasteries was blocked, and those deep partial natures, who until that time had become the best representatives of monasticism, were now forced to implement ascetic ideals within the framework of their worldly professional activities.
Thus, it can be said with certainty that Calvinism gave wide layers of religious people a positive incentive to asceticism, and the justification of Calvinist ethics by the doctrine of predestination led to the fact that the spiritual aristocracy of monks outside the world and above it was supplanted by the spiritual aristocracy of saints in the world.
Many may speak of Calvin exclusively in a negative context and even consider him a tyrant.
But if Calvin seems harsh, and his form of government in Geneva tyrannical, then the main reason for this must be sought in the cruelty - always resolute and malicious - with which the adherents of the old order defend their interests. Having won victory over his enemy, no one wants him to come to life again because of personal mercy. Revolutions, after their first victories, still do not feel safe and need to maintain the same strict measures and order that ensured victory. The disobedience of the established discipline by the rank-and-file members of the organization still seems to be as dangerous to the cause (and to some extent this is true) as in the course of the struggle itself. Generally speaking, everything disgusting in such cases is generated by the presence of a crisis, and a crisis can be defined as an extremely tense state of social conflict, when any act of a person can become a matter of life or death.
In the life of John Calvin there were many such contradictory facts interpreted in two ways. But, nevertheless, it is impossible not to appreciate his contribution to world history, the reformation, the formation of the human worldview.
Calvinism religious philosophical orthodox
List of used literature
1. World history: in 10 volumes. V.4. / ed. MM. Smirina, I.Ya. Zlatkina [i dr.]. M .: Publishing house of socio-economic literature, 1958. - 822 p.
2. History of the Middle Ages: in 2 vols. Vol. 2: Early modern times: textbook / ed. S.P. Karpov. - 5th ed. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow. un-ta: Nauka, 2005. - 432 p.
3. Calvin J. About the Christian life: a fragment of the work of John Calvin / translation from French, introduction, notes by Doctor of Historical Sciences N.V. Revunenkova; ed. A. D. Bakulova. - Moscow: Protestant, 1995.
4. Reshetnikova T. // Calvinism. - 2010. - access mode
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Access mode: http://www.koob.ru (Weber M. Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism: Selected Works: translated from German / comp., general ed. and afterword by Yu. N. Davydov. - M. : Progress, 1990. - 808 pp. - (Sociological thought of the West)) accessed: 04/06/2011
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During the period of the struggle against Catholicism, the reformers actively used the achievements of humanism. Humanism contributed a lot to Protestantism: an ancient model of Christian behavior, a new reading of the Bible, the idea of separating Christian morality from rituals, etc. The "first generation" reformers included elements of a humanistic interpretation of Christianity in their teachings. However, the so-called "second generation" of reformers, to which J. Calvin belonged, evolved from ideological eclecticism towards building clear systems. Calvin puts forward the ideal of religious behavior, already built on the denial of humanistic anthropology, the comparison of man with God, the philosophy of the "Greeks" and the secular reading of the Bible. He revises the humanistic traditions of the early Reformation, taking into account the processes that "spoiled the faith" before his eyes. He had to fight already on two fronts - against Catholicism and radical popular interpretations of the Reformation.
Calvin began his life, however, as a humanist, scholarly philologist and jurist. In his first significant work - comments on Seneca's treatise "On Mercy" - he was guided by the methods of criticism of ancient texts by Erasmus of Rotterdam and Guillaume Bude. Of course, over time, reverence and respect are replaced by censure or severe condemnation of most scientists. As the Reformation developed, the controversy with the humanistic worldview in the works of J. Calvin deepened and became more concrete, but his fundamental assessment did not change. As the main sin of humanism, J. Calvin sees precisely the combination of human and Divine wisdom, the confusion in the end of the Divine and the human, religion and philosophy, earth and sky Burdach K. Reformation. Renaissance. Humanism. M., 2004. S. 141 ..
Philosophy and any other science have only an applied value: they can "polish" the natural qualities of a person and form him as a "humane" personality. The starting point for the formation of personality in Calvin is not knowledge, as in humanists, but the presence of a Christian conscience. And without the free arts, the Christian has access to those blessings and virtues to which he was destined from above. And the process of cognition in general loses all meaning if it is not directed to the cognition of God.
Humanists created the indisputable authority of "Saint Socrates" and "divine Plato" and tried to combine ancient culture with Christian morality. J. Calvin considers such a combination to be impossible in principle, degrading faith and God. He directly sets the task of wresting the Christian from the captivity of ancient culture. The first problem, which was of particular importance for many Protestants, was the problem of the "help" of ancient philosophy in matters of faith. Can a Christian resolve his religious doubts with the help of Latin and Greek philosophers? Arguments in favor of this or that religious thesis, taken from Plato or Aristotle, constantly caused disputes between the reformers. Cicero, Plato and many other ancient authors personified universal truth for other adherents of the Reformation. Moreover, he demands from every true Christian an obligatory polemic with the schools of ancient philosophy.
Thus, Calvin's attitude to the ancient heritage became a universal criterion for the religiosity of a person and culture. Since that time, the isolation of the pagan origins of one or another philosophical or religious statement becomes a good basis for accusing Dilthey V. of the anti-Christian position. The outlook on the world and the study of man since the Renaissance and the Reformation. M., 2013. S. 222..
Scholasticism in the era of the Renaissance and the Reformation was subjected to numerous attacks from both humanists and reformers precisely because it was a living embodiment of medieval culture, almost a synonym for it. We can say that it has become the object of criticism no less than the practice and dogma of the Catholic Church. At the University of Paris, Calvin became acquainted with the theological doctrine of the "Via moderna" school. Particularly clear evidence of Calvin's familiarity with this late medieval theological school is voluntarism, the doctrine according to which the final basis of merit is the will of God, and not the goodness of the act itself. John Calvin was familiar with various modern scholastic works in detail, but in the end he went his own way, significantly increasing the element of rationalism in solving individual problems. His views on the place and role of the church in human life, human nature, understanding of God and the world make it possible to see in him not only the finalizer of medieval traditions, but also a thinker of a new type of culture of the Renaissance and the Reformation. Leningrad, 1981, p. 178.
The peculiar approach of John Calvin to medieval culture is also evidenced by his attitude to the practice of the church, which is largely based on medieval traditions of thought and life. In particular, we are talking about Calvin's attitude to relics. Calvin wrote a treatise "A very useful warning about the great benefit that could happen to Christianity if it made a list of all the holy relics and relics located both in Italy and in France, Germany, Spain and other kingdoms and countries." Its first edition was published in Geneva in 1543, but it was apparently conceived earlier. The main task of Calvin and the main content of the treatise was to enumerate the most important relics and show the deceit and forgery of the clergy.
Thus, in his treatise, as in other writings, John Calvin pursues three main goals. He seeks to prove that the Catholic Church has distorted the precepts of Christ. He accuses her of blasphemy, since she replaced the single mediator between God and people with a host of saints. Finally, he accuses her of idolatry, because instead of worshiping God, she began to worship the relics of saints.
Protestant reformers were faced with two diametrically opposed views of the church. These were the views of Catholics and various heresies. The first considered the church to be a prominent historical institution, which is the historical successor of the apostolic church, for the second, the true Church was in heaven and not a single organization on earth deserved the name "Church of God." A new attitude towards the church was not born immediately. The early reformers had no intention of destroying the established church. The very idea of a denomination was still unknown in the 16th century. Schism seemed more terrible than any heresy. Hopes for "reconciliation" with the Catholics began to dissipate after the Diet of Regensburg in 1541. and especially after the beginning of the work of the Council of Trent (1545-1563). It was this council that finally condemned the basic ideas of Protestantism. Protestant churches now had to justify their autonomous existence along with an institution that was based on the centuries-old tradition of Kristen O. Luther's reforms, Calvin's and Protestantism. Moscow, 2005, p. 98.
For this reason, a special surge of interest in the problem of the church in Protestantism falls precisely on the 40s of the 16th century. And it was in the writings of J. Calvin that this problem received a comprehensive consideration at that time. John Calvin was forced to deal with the problem of the church much more thoroughly than previous reformers. The confrontation between Catholics and Protestants entered a decisive stage, the performances of the radicals became especially violent. Calvin addresses this issue already in the first edition of the Instructions. Here is the "minimal" definition of the true church: its obligatory attributes are the preaching of the Word of God and the correct performance of the rites of the sacraments. The further development of the Calvinist doctrine of the Church, strictly speaking, is connected not only with Calvin himself.
Martin Bucer (1491-1551) had a great early influence on his views. Bucer Calvin is indebted for the idea of the need for a quaternary structure of the clergy (pastor, doctor or teacher, elder, deacon) and the theory of the difference between the visible and invisible church. Calvin argued that there were specific biblical guidelines for the correct order of service, so the specific form of church order became a special point of his doctrine. Calvin develops a detailed theory of church government based on New Testament exegesis and largely based on the terminology of Roman imperial administration.
Thus, Calvin lays, in fact, the foundations of a new attitude towards the church. If Luther defined the church by its attitude to the preaching of the Word of God, called it "the assembly of saints" (congregatio sanctorum) and "the communion of faith and the Holy Spirit in hearts" (societas fidei et spiritus sancti in cordibus), then Calvin, retaining the emphasis on the importance of preaching Word of God, begins to develop specific forms of the new church organization. His point of view was more concrete and definite than that of Luther. And the result was that by the time of the death of J. Calvin, the new reformist church had become the same institution of society as the Catholic Church Revunenkova N.V. Renaissance freethinking and the ideology of the reformation. M., 1989. S. 218.
Especially Calvin insists on the distinction between the visible and the invisible church. The Church is certainly a community of believing Christians and therefore a visible group. But she is also a brotherhood of saints and an assembly of the elect, known to God alone, an invisible entity. The invisible church consists only of the elect, the visible church consists of the good and the evil, the chosen and the outcast. The invisible church is the object of faith and hope, the visible one is the object of true experience. Here the question arises as to which of the visible churches corresponds to the invisible Church. Calvin recognizes the need for an objective criterion by which to judge the authenticity of a particular church. He points to two such criteria: "When you see that the Word of God is preached and heeded in purity, and the sacraments are performed in accordance with the ordinances of Christ, then you can be sure that the Church exists." Calvin Jean. Instructions in the Christian Faith. T. I-II. M., 1997. S. 178.
"Predestination" is one of the most difficult points of religious philosophy, connected with the question of the properties of God, the nature and origin of evil, and the relation of grace to freedom. This idea is a universal expression and recognition of the omnipotence of God and the impotence of man. Since ancient times, this problem has occupied the minds of all thinking mankind, and many Greek thinkers came by logical conclusions to the absolute denial of the free will of man. The idea of absolute predestination first appears in Aurelius Augustine as a reaction against Pelagianism. According to Pelagius, the human will acquired such significance that there was practically no place left not only for action, but also foresight on the part of God. Augustine's providentialism turned out to be the first systematized concept of predestination and included the doctrine of grace or predestination for the salvation of the elect, and the teleological concept of history, which seemed to be the realization of a divine plan inaccessible to human understanding and was supposed to end with the end of the world and the establishment of God's kingdom.
Soon after the death of Augustine, a dispute arose in the monasteries of southern Gaul about the limits of human freedom between his zealous students and some followers of Eastern asceticism. The most prominent representative of the new trend was John Cassian (Roman, 360-435), the founder of monasticism in Gaul and one of the main theorists of monastic life. As a disciple of John Chrysostom, Cassian followed Eastern theologians in his views on grace and freedom. For him, the teaching of Augustine, which denies the participation of man in the matter of his own salvation and insists on unconditional predestination, seemed too gloomy and bleak. As a person who led an ascetic life, he could not agree that the exploits of self-denial could not have any meaning. Original sin, indeed, damaged the nature of man, but not so much that he could not wish for good at all. At the same time, Cassian recognized the need for grace: it is given to a person if a person becomes worthy of it. It is given to everyone, but not everyone accepts it, so not everyone is saved.
Thus, Cassian rejected the Pelagian ideas, but he also saw a danger to morality in the Augustinian teaching. Augustine in the last years of his life actively fought against this doctrine and called his followers "Massilians" or "Massilians". Representatives of scholasticism called them semi-Pelagians. The Catholic Church tries to keep to a certain middle line. To deny free will is to deny the merit of the righteous and the sin of the sinner; to deny the grace of God is to ultimately banish the supernatural from religion and reduce it to morality, law.
The ideas of Augustinianism were revived and developed within the framework of Protestantism. The doctrine of predestination is often seen as a core feature of Reformed theology. J. Calvin's views on this problem are not simple. It should be noted right away that the emphasis on predestination, which is characteristic of Calvinism as a whole, is not always justified in relation to this reformer. Calvin's followers developed many of his ideas and gave them the now known clarity and categoricalness G. G. Peaks, Jean Calvin and some problems of the Swiss Reformation. URL: http://lib.ru/HISTORY/CALVIN/calvin.txt (accessed 8.04.14).
The starting point for the doctrine of predestination in Calvinism was the doctrine of God, which is sometimes considered even the core of this Christian trend. This thought is based on the gospel position: "For all things come from Him, to Him and to Him. To Him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36). This is not about the essence of God, his self-essence (aseitas), but about "the omnipotence of God in the natural and moral spheres", his "absolute omnipotence". God is the source of any norms and regulations, absolutely sovereign will. In Calvinism, it is not about payment for services, but about a free gift. God now demands complete and unconditional trust from a person, and faith is no longer understood as a rational, mental conviction, but a feeling of "being in the hands of God", covering the whole soul of a person.
Calvin, in accordance with strict logic, believes that God cannot but solve this problem: redeem or condemn. God is active and therefore actively desires the salvation of those who will be saved and the curse of those who will not be saved. Therefore, predestination is "the eternal command of God, by which He determines what He desires for each individual person. He does not create equal conditions for everyone, but prepares eternal life for one and eternal damnation for others" Calvin Jean. Instructions in the Christian Faith. T. I-II. M., 1997. S. 124.
One of the central points in Calvin's reasoning is the emphasis on the mercy of God. The doctrine of predestination was not central to Calvin's theology, but it became the core of later Reformed theology. This was largely due to such authors as Peter Martyr Vermilius (Petrus Martyr Vermilius, 1500 - 1562) and Theodore Beza. J. Calvin attaches emphatically little importance to the very doctrine of predestination and in his exposition devotes only four chapters (chapters 21-24 of the third book). He designates predestination as "the eternal command of God, by which he determines what He wants to do with each person. For he does not create everyone in the same conditions, but prescribes eternal life to some, and eternal damnation to others." Ibid. P. 124. The reasons and grounds for such an approach of the reformer to this problem, as, indeed, to others, must be sought in the spreading rationalism.
Reformed theologians were faced with the need to defend their ideas not only in the fight against Catholic opponents, but also in disputes with Lutherans. Aristotelian logic, revived by humanists from different countries, has become a fairly reliable ally of Calvin and his followers. On the example of Calvin - Beza, we see how in theology there is a transition from the analytical-inductive method to the synthetic-deductive method, which will become the main one in later Protestantism Wolfius AG Problems of spiritual development. Humanism, Reformation, Catholic Reform. Petersburg, 1922. S. 112.
The Bible is the main document of European civilization, which had a huge impact on the development of society and culture. In the Middle Ages, Scripture was understood as textus vulgatus ("common text), compiled at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th centuries by Jerome. The text of the Vulgate in the Middle Ages existed in several versions, between which there were significant differences. For example, during the period of the Carolingian Renaissance, Theodulf and Alcuin used completely different versions.For this reason, work began on the development of a single standard text from the 11th century, and by 1262 the so-called "Paris version" was created, which became normative.
Humanists, who attached great importance to the "return to the origins" (ad fontes) of European civilization, began to breed two such concepts as "Scripture" and "Vulgate". They began to reject the complex system of interpretation and commentary and turn directly to the text of the Bible. Humanists insisted on reading sacred texts in the original, and not in Latin translation.
During the period of the Reformation, the Bible again began to be given great importance, in some respects the old view of the importance of the Bible was recreated. One of the main slogans of the reformers was Luther's principle of "sola Scriptura" ("only Scripture"). "If the doctrine of justification by faith alone was the material principle of the Reformation, then the principle of "Scriptura sola" was its formal principle. The Reformers overthrew the pope and erected Scripture in his place. Each current of the Reformation considered Scripture as the source from which it drew its ideas and rites" the need to develop the principles of a new biblical studies. This work was done primarily by John Calvin. The first principle of a new attitude to the Bible, Calvin declared certainty in Scripture. It should not be subject to doubt Ruokanen M. The doctrine of divine inspiration. Martin Luther and his place in the ecumenical problem of divine inspiration. SPb., 2004. S. 132-133.
Unlike Luther, Calvin recognized as inspired the whole complex of biblical texts. Calvin strongly defended the integrity of Scripture. In his "Instruction" he specifically analyzes the Old and New Testaments for similarities and differences and proves their unity, indivisibility and equality. For a Catholic, Scripture was difficult to interpret, and so the Roman Catholic Church took on this "work." The Reformers categorically rejected this and made it not the right, but the duty of every believer to read and interpret biblical texts. Already "Small Catechism" by M. Luther (1529) gave the reader a framework in which they could analyze the Bible. However, it is Calvin's Instruction that is the most famous manual of Scripture, especially the final version of 1559.
The socio-political ideas of John Calvin are complex and varied. First of all, he is interested in the problem of the state. The question of the best state structure, which worried the minds of the humanists of that time, Calvin considers theoretically insoluble, because, in his opinion, every form of government has its pluses and minuses. The state must protect property from deceit and robbery, provide people with the availability of material goods. However, modern states not only did not guarantee property, but actually encroached on it through taxes, arbitrariness of officials, etc. Calvin in his writings falls upon kings with accusations of greed and arbitrariness.
The principles of the organization of the church, transferred to the state, according to the reformer, can contribute to its prosperity. The divine origin of power, according to Calvin, is combined with popular election. But the republic is also fraught with "distemper", "tyranny of the people", for these reasons Calvin considers aristocratic rule or moderate democracy to be the best type of government. Such a state has great responsibilities. Calvin believes that the church and the secular authorities should, in a certain sense, be independent. But the state is also an institution of God. Therefore, secular offices should not be considered as emanating from the urban community, but as a divine institution. And this means that the state is obliged to ensure the observance of the will of God, the triumph of true religion.
Thus, Calvin understands the state as the executive body of the church. The Calvinist understanding of absolute predestination is directly connected with the doctrine of "worldly vocation" and "worldly asceticism." It is not given to man to know his predestination, for this is the mystery and greatness of God. But people can guess about the fate that awaits them, because professional activity is "God's destiny" and success in business, in professional activity, enrichment serve as a sign of being chosen for salvation. At the same time, idleness, laziness, a penchant for pleasure, everything that leads a person to vices and poverty are clear symptoms of his sad fate.
The most radical of the ideas of the Reformation was Calvinism, founded by John Calvin (1509-1564).
Under his leadership, the reform of the church was carried out in Geneva in accordance with the ideas outlined by him in the work "Instructions in the Christian Faith" (1536). The ideological basis of the work is the position of divine predestination, according to which the life and activities of people are formed in accordance with the will of God. A person cannot change his destiny, destined by the Almighty, but he is able to understand God's attitude towards himself by the way his life is. If a person shows business activity, is a thrifty and diligent owner, achieves success in work, then he fulfills his life purpose.
Calvin calls on everyone, regardless of their social status, to take an active part in socially useful work and, based on the results obtained, clarify their place in accordance with divine predestination. Thus, Calvin used religion in the interests of the genesis of capitalism by activating the activities of people who, through their work, objectively contribute to the formation of bourgeois society.
Calvin created a new church based on pro-bourgeois democratic principles. Church-
Chashniki stood for the elimination of the privileges of the clergy, the secularization of church wealth, and the recognition of the independence of the Czech church. The Taborites went further, demanding the abolition of the privileges of the nobility, the abolition of serfdom, and feudal duties. The struggle against the Hussites was led by feudal Catholic forces led by Pope Martin V and Emperor Sigismund I, who, after a series of unsuccessful campaigns with the Chashniki going over to their side, managed to defeat the Taborites.
By the 15th century in Western Europe, two main types of heresy finally emerged: burgher and peasant-plebeian. The first of these was caused by the rapid development of cities in Western Europe and the associated strengthening of the new - the third estate, which opposed the privileges and wealth of the church, for the elimination of the priesthood, against the interference of religious figures in state affairs. The interests of the new estate were especially clearly expressed in their demand for the creation of a single national state, as well as in the protection of private property, allegedly coming from God.
Heretical ideas have not been forgotten, have not sunk into oblivion. Years later, they were in demand by the Reformation of the 16th century, followed by the first bourgeois revolutions in Europe.
allotted to it by the legislator, and is called upon to strictly comply with its decisions and laws.
Society should be divided into two categories: superior and inferior. The first - officials, priests, military. The second - artisans, farmers, merchants.
In his essay "Defender of the World" Padua acts as a denunciator of the Catholic Church, making it responsible for all human misfortunes, including wars that violate the proper order in society and aggravate relations between states. His demand is to reduce the activity of the church to the occupation of the spiritual life of people.
The state is the result of the natural development of human society, the beginning of which was laid by the family. Next was the clan, the tribe. The final stage was the state, based on the consent of the people inhabiting it, and protecting their common interests.
Padua is a supporter of the monarchy, but not hereditary, but elected. He considered the only source of power to be the people in the person of its upper classes: the military, priests, officials. They are concerned with common interests. While the lower classes: merchants, farmers, artisans - are a simple people, occupied only with their own interests.
His ideas are the forerunner of the development of democratic principles in the political legal thought of Western Europe.
The local community began to be governed by an elected consistory, which included presbyters (headmen) and preachers who did not have a special priestly rank. The election of church leaders had an impact on secular affairs, which manifested itself in practice in the approval of elective principles in power structures (for example, in parliament).
The ideas of Calvinism have played a prominent role in history. They have become widespread in a number of countries in Western Europe, as well as in North America; had an impact on the revolutionary processes in the Old World, together with other currents of social thought, contributed to the formation of bourgeois political and legal thought. Adherents of new churches and religious teachings (Lutherans, Calvinists, Baptists, Adventists, representatives of the Anglican Church, etc.) began to be called Protestants.
In connection with the ideas of the transformation of the church, the Catholic Church responded to the reform activities with a reaction. The persecution of heretics intensified. It was then that the “List of Forbidden Books” compiled by papal censorship was approved. There is a Catholic monastic order of the Jesuits, founded in Paris by I. Loyola and which became the main instrument of the counter-reformation for the pope.
that heresy should be stopped not by force, for this is a spiritual matter, but by the word of God. Violence only increases resistance. Yes, and in secular government, he condemns those princes who act by force. Lawlessness, he believes, must be overcome by law.
Luther's teaching did not go beyond the limits of the burgher heresy, but in the conditions of the tense social situation in Germany, it served as a powerful ideological impetus for the action of the masses - the peasant war in Germany in 1524-1526. It was led by Thomas Müntzer (1490-1526). Unlike Luther, he assessed the Reformation not so much from the point of view of the depth of church, as social transformations. Müntzer called on the people to an armed struggle against those in power and to establish their own power. He sought to establish the kingdom of God on earth. The authority of faith, actively defended by Luther, was opposed by Müntzer to the authority of reason.
The peasant war, angrily condemned by Luther and not supported by the burghers, was relatively quickly suppressed. But Lutheranism prevailed. It was soon recognized as equal in rights with the Catholic religion. Moreover, as a result of his ideological impact, a further split of the Catholic Church occurs, during which at different times several more religions and sects stand out from it.
Capitalism and Calvinism
Was there a connection between business development and religious zeal? Did the militant Protestants strive for capitalist expansion until the reform of Catholicism prevented them? Was it some kind of coincidence that the most enterprising businessmen came from Protestant Holland and that the highest industrial growth fell on Protestant England? Both countries were strongly Calvinistic. Why were the Huguenots so successful among the business community of Catholic France? And why was the Protestant Brandenburg-Prussia, under the rule of the Calvinist Grand Elector, the only one of the principalities of Germany in the 17th century, able to achieve prosperity? And why did Catholic Italy, Portugal, Flanders, the pre-1559 pre-1559 pre-eminent business centers, fall into such decline by 1689, while Spain, the most aggressive Catholic country of the time, experienced an economic collapse?
Scientists have been arguing on this topic for the past 60 years, to no avail. The German sociologist Max Weber began this discussion in 1904 with his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in which he argued that various branches of Protestantism - especially Calvin and his associates - influenced the birth of capitalism throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. . Weber noted that during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance there were many small individual capitalists, but he also agreed that these businessmen were not included in the European economic community. He describes the spirit of capitalism as a rationally calculated and highly systematized desire for income, as opposed to an irrational desire for power or greatness. Weber finds no trace of this rational capitalism in pre-Reformation merchant bankers such as the Medicis in Florence or the Fuggers in Augsburg. He claimed that the Medicis and Fuggers were terribly stingy in their financial dealings. They took risks for their status, gave dubious loans to kings and clergy, spent their profits on projects, philanthropy, or invested them in property and housing. Weber connects the birth of the spirit of capitalism with the small and medium-sized merchants of the 16th-17th centuries. in England and the Netherlands. These businessmen, he believes, practiced discreet, profitable production and calculated all the necessary savings in order to receive a normal income. In their business practices they applied the ethical teachings of Calvin. Weber attached great importance to the Calvinist idea that any profession or employment of a person is a "call" of God. If a person hears this call, then this sign of God will lead him to salvation. According to Weber, the Calvinist doctrine of predestination brought up in its adherents inner loneliness and outer discipline, asceticism and a love of action. The energy of the Calvinist merchants raised them above the social class. They prided themselves on their contempt for the luxury and idleness of aristocrats and banking princes. Supporting Weber, R.Kh. Towney wrote that "Calvin did for the bourgeois in the 16th century. what Marx did for the proletariat in the 19th.”
Weber's ideas have been criticized from various angles. Some have rejected his premise that there is a meaningful cultural connection between religion and economics. Others saw no point in studying the "spirit of capitalism" phenomenon. Marxists and other economists generally rejected Weber's version that economic ideas and people's behavior cause practical changes. They argued that, conversely, practices influence changes in economic behavior. Therefore, the main point of study should be the economy itself, and not some of its "spirit". Other critics have pointed to Weber's pre-Reformation capitalism. They pointed out that Renaissance Florence and Venice used all the business technologies of Amsterdam and London in the 17th century. Many members of the Catholic bourgeoisie practiced self-discipline and temperance long before Calvin identified these traits. Another line of criticism was that Weber destroyed the ethical teachings of Calvin. He was accused of distorting the understanding of "predestination" and ignoring the repressive atmosphere of Calvinist Geneva, which inhibited rather than stimulated the development of business. Moreover, it was argued that the regions of Europe most devoted to Calvin in the 16th-17th centuries. - Scotland and the Netherlands - remained economically undeveloped. Compared to agrarian Friesland, Amsterdam could hardly be called Calvinist: it was equally neutral towards Catholics and Jews, and its priests did not adhere to the doctrine of predestination. The most outspoken critics of Weber generally argued that the Calvinists were opposed to capitalism.
This controversy died down within a few years. Today, many specialists in the history of this period consider Weber's theses to be oversimplified. Although, no matter how loosely Weber indicated his position, it would certainly be naive to doubt his conclusion that the dynamic economy and religious movements of the 16th and 17th centuries. had a strong connection.
The impact of the Protestant and Catholic Reformation on the economic climate in Europe is difficult to assess, but Weber's conclusion that the Protestant ethic of individualism has changed the value system of commercial society is not without merit.
To see this, remember that St. Ignatius Loyola paid as much attention to emotional and intellectual discipline as Calvin, but disciplined Calvinists practiced modesty and tried not to draw attention to themselves, while a convinced Jesuit invested his resources in luxurious baroque, seeking to show the greatness of God. Modified by papacy-built churches, wide streets, squares, stairways, statues, fountains, and palaces, Baroque Rome was a living example of what Weber called the capitalist irrational. Amsterdam 17th century for all its prosperity, it was a rather modest city with a small number of rich houses. Each canal offered the same view: double rows of tall, closely spaced houses, looking rather monotonous and unimpressive. The Dutch merchant usually placed his shop on the first floor, lived in the middle floors and kept a warehouse under the roof.
The influence of Calvinism on capitalism can only be measured intuitively; the influence of capitalism on Calvinism is somewhat easier to prove, considering certain periods of time. The early Calvinists showed a deep distrust of money.
Saints of the middle of the XVI century. in Geneva, occupying a small oasis in the desert of sins, they did everything to control the greed of the monopolists. But by the end of the 17th century, when Calvin's students found themselves in all the economic centers of Europe, they could not stay away from the activities of their neighbors for long. Only in such remote regions as Scotland, New England and the Netherlands was it possible to preserve and maintain the old traditions of the community. Protestant activists had to rely on self-discipline.
But success in the work, given by God, urged the Protestant to appreciate the worldly worker in himself. Earning income was now considered a duty. By the end of the XVII century. those English and Amsterdam capitalists who practiced Calvinism continued to set themselves up for hard work, and the true meaning of "destiny" changed. The Saints of 1559 became holders of property in 1689.
The Protestant ethic has shaken, but not disappeared. The successful Protestant businessmen felt a measure of respect in society as stewards of the riches of the Lord, and their desire to help the poor and disadvantaged was very significant at a time when the government could provide only minimal social services. The Dutch almshouses and hospitals for the poor, supported by private investment, have earned a good reputation and the gratitude of all their patients. As regards the English doctrine of philanthropy, the prosperous classes gave eight times as much money to charity in 1649 than in 1480. Merchants gave more money than anyone else, especially at the beginning of the 16th and 17th centuries, when many joined the Puritan movement. Since we have mentioned the 350 per cent increase in prices and the increase in trade in England during this period, we may wonder whether there were any in the seventeenth century. Protestants more generous than their 15th century Catholic predecessors? Without a doubt, their funds went to various charitable causes. Philanthropists before the Reformation gave 53 percent of the income of the church (part - to give a decent burial to the priests) and only 15 percent for the needs of the poor, hospitals, etc. And the philanthropists of the early 17th century. gave 12 percent to the church and left 55 percent to the poor. Statisticians love these numbers, which illustrate the relationship between entrepreneurial spirit in trade and religious zeal in the 17th century.
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