JOHN CALVIN & THE DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION

John Calvin

John Calvin (1509–1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism, aspects of which include the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation. In these areas Calvin was influenced by the Augustinian tradition. Various Congregational, Reformed and Presbyterian churches, which look to Calvin as the chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. 

Calvin was a tireless polemic and apologetic writer who generated much controversy. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition to his seminal work Institutes of the Christian Religion, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, as well as theological treatises and confessional documents. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530.

The Geneva Bible

After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestantism in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where he published the first edition of the Institutes in 1536. In that year, Calvin was recruited by another Frenchman William Farel to help reform the church in Geneva, where he regularly preached sermons throughout the week. 

The city council resisted the implementation of Calvin's and Farel's ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of church of French refugees. 

He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and was eventually invited back to lead its church in 1541. Calvin died in 1564. At first his body was laid in state, but since so many people came to see it, the reformers were afraid that they would be accused of fostering a new saint's cult. On the following day, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the Cimetière des Rois. While the exact location of the grave is unknown, a stone was added in the 19th century to mark a grave traditionally thought to be Calvin's.

More information: Calvinism (The Theopedia)

The torture of a bad conscience
is the hell of a living soul 

John Calvin