Renaissance and Reformation in Switzerland Worksheet

Renaissance and Reformation Topic 6: Reformation in Switzerland Answer each of the following questions with answers of 200-300 words each. Use the textbook, class materials, lecture notes, and library (academic, peer-reviewed) materials to prepare your responses and include APA-style citations. Make sure to use some primary sources in your responses. Include an APA reference page at the end of this worksheet. 1. Explain the Reformation in Switzerland. What are the efforts of Ulrich Zwingli to bring Protestantism to Zurich? Describe the changes that occur as a result of Zwingli’s work. Ulrich Zwingli was a Swiss persist who fought for reform in the church for several years before Luther. Zwingli began his condemnation of the church by attacking the doctrine used in Switzerland at the time. Eventually, he would summarize his new theology by stating that if it cannot be found in the Scriptures, then it is untrue, and people should not believe it (Dean, 2022). Zwingli also studied the Bible so that he could properly teach his people directly from the Scriptures. He also openly condemned the selling of indulgences and opposed pilgrimages (Dean, 2022). By 1519 Zwingli had begun to teach in Zurich. While there, Zwingli defended the 67 theses in front of a group of 600 observers. Because of the truth behind his points, the city of Zurich became a champion of the ideas presented by Zwingli. As a result of Zwingli bringing the Reformation to various cities in Switzerland, the five Roman Catholic provinces declared war against Zurich out of fear that they were losing power but were swiftly defeated (Dean, 2022). Another result of the Reformation being brought to Switzerland was a disagreement that was had between Martin Luther’s theology and the theology of Ulrich Zwingli. The two theologians disagreed on some of the main points concerning the bread and the wine present at the Last Supper. 2. Identify and describe the significant writings of John Calvin. What impact do these writings have on the spread of the Reformation? When it comes to John Calvin, there are various writings that can be considered significant to the Calvinism movement. Examples of these writings include both the Heidelberg Catechism and the Necessity of Reforming the Church. The Necessity of Reforming the Church is a short book wherein John Calvin generally speaks about the biblical doctrine of justification. In this book, Calvin also speaks about the need to restore the proper means of worship, sacraments, and the church as a whole (Calvin, 1543). This work by John Calvin impacted the spread of the reformation by exposing and calling for repentance for all of the spiritual corruption in the Catholic Church at the time (Calvin, 1543). Another influential work by Calvin was Heidelberg Catechism. This wiring is split into three parts. These parts are titled Of the Misery of Man, Of Man’s Deliverance, and, Of Thankfulness (Calvin, 1563). In general, the Heidelberg Catechism was written in order to help the members of the church learn the main points of the new form of faith in a question-and-answer format. It functions as the standard Calvinist confession of faith (Calvin, 1563). The Heidelberg Catechism impacted the spread of the Reformation by helping people to summarize some of the main focuses of the Calvinistic belief system. The more clearly people were able to see those main points, the better they were able to understand how to follow them and change the way the church functioned at the time. 3. Explain the Five Points of Calvinism. In what ways do these ideas affirm/coincide with Luther’s Reformation and how do they differ? The Five Points of Calvinism are total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints (Dean, 2022). Total depravity refers to the idea that a man is corrupted by sin in his mind, body, soul, and emotions. Unconditional election means that God’s fondness towards humanity has nothing to do with man’s works or his goodness but has to do with God choosing to love humanity out of his own free will (Dean, 2022). Limited atonement refers to the idea that Jesus’s death on the cross did not cover all the sins that would ever be committed but instead only covered the sins of those who were elected to salvation. Irresistible grace meant that once God called someone to salvation, that person cannot avoid it. Finally, the perseverance of the saints means that a person is unable to lose their salvation (Dean, 2022). The main ideas of the Calvinist point of view have some differences when compared to the Lutheran belief system. For example, the Calvinists believe that salvation is only granted to specific people whereas Lutheranism teaches that anyone can be saved. Another example of differences between the two faith systems is the belief in the concept of predestination. Lutheranism teaches that predestination is not important whereas Calvinism teaches the opposite. 4. Compare Calvinism with Arminianism. How do the ideas of Jacobus Arminius threaten the basic principles of the Protestant faith? Calvinism and Arminianism are two forms of the Christian faith system that are different in some ways and similar in others. For example, in the Calvinist belief system, the severity of God is absolute, unlimited, and fairly unconditional. However, the Arminian belief system states that, while God is sovereign, He has limited abilities when it comes to His correspondence to man’s freedoms and responses (Dean, 2022). The Calvinist faith also states that God’s foreknowledge of the future relies on Him having made the plans that humanity is currently following. On the other hand, Arminianism states that God’s future knowledge relies on his knowledge about man’s specific responses to his various decrees (Dean, 2022). One of the fundamental differences between Calvinism and Arminianism concerns salvation. Arminianism states that those who are saved are those who God knew would choose to follow Him anyway whereas Calvinism states that salvation is granted to the specific people who were elected into salvation. Jacobus Arminius was the founder of the point of view known as Arminianism (Dean, 2022). His ideas threatened the basic principles of the Protestant faith by admitting that the writings and teachings of John Calvin were to be held in higher regard than any that came before him other than the Scriptures (Dean, 2022). Arminius’s belief system also challenged the principles of the Protestant faith by stating that man can do nothing to receive salvation and that salvation is God’s choice alone.