Comparing the Conversion Experiences of Luther & Calvin

COMPARING THE CONVERSION EXPERIENCES OF LUTHER AND

CALVIN - Dr Daryl James Barclay

Martin Luther (1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564) both wrote during their lives

of significant personal conversion experiences. For each man, the nature of the

experience itself is understandably different, as one might expect given factors such

as culture, period, personality and worldview. Furthermore, it is clear from the

writings of Luther and Calvin that their own accounts of the experience of conversion

are more than mere historical records. How, then, is each man’s experience of

conversion distinctive and idiosyncratic, what light can we throw on each reformers’

subsequent attitudes and behaviours, and what similarities and differences are there

between their particular understandings of the conversion process?

Conversion

For our present purposes, the term “conversion” will be taken to describe the way in

which great sinners are redeemed from their waywardness through a single, often

dramatic, moment of conversion.1 This is, of course, a central theme of Christianity,

exemplified most powerfully for the 16th

century Christian by the lives of Paul and

Augustine. For the Christian, however, there is more to conversion than a sudden

change of mind or heart:

To speak of conversion … is to suggest, discreetly yet definitely, that behind this volte-face

there is to be discerned the hand of God. Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus points to a distinct perception on his part, and subsequently within early Christian circles, of the

influence of God on apparently unpromising and unyielding material … his subsequent about-

turn was of such a magnitude and intensity that he could only attribute it to divine

intervention.2

In a sense, neither Luther nor Calvin could have been described as living a life of

intentional or rampant sinfulness, but as each man was later to acknowledge in his

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own way, and as we will see below, the issue is more one of moving from an

experience of darkness into a powerful moment of illumination.3

The Climate on the Eve of Reformation

Everyday life on the eve of the Reformation was characterized by a climate of

religious and psychological anxiety, dominated by a sense of insecurity about

salvation.4 In response to these desperate circumstances, a medieval piety of

achievement grew up and salvation became for many a commodity which, by means

of such practices as indulgences, could be purchased from the Church as an antidote

to perdition.

Luther was not immune to the anxieties of his age – in fact, he seems to have been

more susceptible to them than most:

Luther’s movement was rooted in his own personal anxiety about salvation; an anxiety that, if the popular response to him is any indication, was widespread throughout Europe. This

anxiety was an effect of the crises of the late medieval period … but its root cause was the

uncertainty of salvation in the message of the church.5

Luther’s Tower Experience

Luther’s conversion is often referred to as his “tower experience” or Turmerlebnis.6

Scholars have devoted an enormous amount of attention to the dating of this

experience, to its content, and to its place in the development of Luther’s theology.

Regarded by some as one of the most important events in Western religious history7,

it is also viewed by other as a secondary experience in Luther’s overall religious

development.8 Still others claim that there were three phases in Luther’s religious

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development and that the tower experience may be associated with any of these three

phases. A further argument has also been put forward for a differentiation between

the tower experience and Luther’s reformatory transition or reformatische Wende.9

This approach posits two separate experiences, the first of which significantly

predates the latter. The earlier experience of conversion is attributed to the influence

of Johannes von Staupitz and his Augustinian theology which centered on the

forgiveness of sins and on faith in Jesus Christ. Subsequently, the tower experience

provided Luther with an explanation of how he could be justified by God.10

Primary Sources

In order to assess these various positions, it is necessary to examine the sources of our

best information on Luther’s conversion experience. It is also important to bear in

mind the relationship between Luther’s own experience and the understanding of

conversion he describes in his earlier writings.11

Luther’s articulation of his views on conversion can be traced to the writings of 1518-

1519 in which he emphasizes firstly the link between conversion and the action of the

Word:

In Scripture the Word is at work to convert man. Christ, as the Word who has suffered

humiliation and death for man, also brings about the conversion of the world.12

A second emphasis is the relationship between conversion and baptism which is

underlined by Luther’s use of language. He refers to the experience of being born

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again and of entering paradise itself through open gates. These are the writings of one

who has gained a new sense of assurance and confidence, as well as a personal

commitment to a fresh and decisive direction for his life.13

Many scholars date Luther’s conversion to this period, in some cases preferring 1518

at the most likely date. This would certainly fit with the chronology later recorded by

Luther himself.

In the Operationes in Psalmos there is a close parallel to Luther’s 1545 description

and he also makes unusually frequent references in this work, written between 1519

and 1521, to Romans 1:17. In his Explanations to the Leipzig Propositions, which

Luther completed in the autumn of 1519, he launches a strongly worded attack on

scholastic theologians:

I know and confess that they taught me nothing other than ignorance of sin, righteousness, baptism and the total Christian life. Nor did they teach me what constitute the power of God,

the grace of God, the righteousness of God, or about faith, hope and love. In brief, not only

did they not teach me anything but what they did teach was entirely contrary to holy scripture … I lost Christ then; now in Paul I have found him.

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This passage suggests that the experience of finding Christ through Paul was a recent

occurrence, and it also betrays important similarities to Luther’s subsequent account

of some twenty-five years later.

In Luther’s autobiography, which appeared in 1545 as the Preface to the first edition

of his Latin works, his concern is to demonstrate how he was forced both by God and

the papists to take stances he had never wished to take, rather than to detail the exact

route to his discovery of justification by faith. He makes it clear that at the time of his

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discovery he had already begun reinterpreting the Psalter,15

having lectured

previously on Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. He had also written against relying

on indulgences at the expense of faith. Profoundly vexed as to how one comes to be

justified before God, he had yet to abandon the belief that justification is something

obtained by human efforts, even though he had clearly opposed the nominalist

concept of earning merit in the eyes of God.16

The Epistle to the Romans

Eventually it was in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans that Luther developed an intense

fascination which would guide and shape all that he did and wrote from that point

on.17

Once he had succeeded in grasping the passage (Rom 1:17) in which St Paul

quotes the prophet Habbakuk (Hab 2:4), “a flood of knowledge swept over him,”18

and he saw that justification is not what the sinner achieves, but what the sinner

receives:19

Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an

extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not

blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, ‘As if, indeed,

it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the Decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by

the Gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!’ Thus I

raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St Paul wanted.

At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, ‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, “He who through

faith is righteous shall live.”’ There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is

revealed by the Gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’ Here I felt that I

was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally

other face of the entire scripture showed itself to me. Thereupon I ran through the scriptures

from memory. I also found in other terms an analogy, as, the work of God, that is, what God

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does in us, the power of God, with which he makes us strong, the wisdom of God, with which

he makes us wise, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God.20

Here Luther’s description of his conversion experience reflects a mature

understanding of a the twofold action of God in conversion: through God’s opus

alienum the person recognises that the righteousness required by God lays outside the

range of human endeavour; and by God’s opus probrium, the person receives the

necessary grace mediated through the Word by God himself to know that he is made

righteous.21

In a conversation recorded in the Tischreden in 1532, Luther describes his conversion

in a slightly different way, dwelling first on the experience of an alien work of God:

The words ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness of God’ struck my conscience like

lightning. When I heard them I was exceedingly terrified. If God is righteous (I

thought), he must punish.22

In the same conversation, he concludes that,

… if we, as righteous men, ought to live from faith and if the righteousness of God should

contribute to the salvation of all who believe, then salvation won’t be our merit but God’s mercy. My spirit was thereby cheered. For it’s by the righteousness of God that we’re

justified and saved through Christ. These words (which had before terrified me) now became

more pleasing to me. The Holy Spirit unveiled the Scriptures for me in the tower.23

This is not to say that all of Luther’s theological problems surrounding the issue of

conversion were resolved in one fell swoop. On the contrary, he clearly struggles,

especially in his earlier works, with the question of preparation for conversion,

offering little comment on the difficult question of whether a person can reach a level

of humility or receptiveness for conversion through his own efforts. Although Luther

is eventually able to acknowledge that it is God who effects preparation in the human

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person, he remains unclear “on the extent of man’s responsibility for persevering in

conversion through faith and humility.”24

Three aspects of Luther’s tower experience merit particular attention. First, in spite of

whatever attempts Luther himself may have made to prepare for conversion, the

experience itself occurred outside his own efforts. Second, Luther’s personal

conviction is that he was transformed by his tower experience to such an extent that

his anger and anxiety were replaced by a newfound joy and conviction: he clearly sees

himself as one who has been converted. Third, the nature of Luther’s conversion is

essentially a scriptural revelation in which he perceives the full implications of what

he had begun to recognize through his study of Scripture: “… a totally other face of

the entire Scripture showed itself to me.”25

Luther’s insight paved the way for massive reform which would occur in phases, over

time and with varying degrees of intensity depending on local circumstances. In due

course other reformers appeared, some in sympathy with the views of Luther and

others sharply at odds.

Conversion as a Rejection of Catholicism

As the Reformation gained momentum, there was a growing tendency to regard the

medieval catholic church as typifying the worst aspects of post-exilic Judaism: “Did it

not teach justification by works of the law, according to Paul the chief theological

error of Judaism?”26

In the same way that Paul epitomized the momentous transition

from Judaism to Christianity, so too might his conversion be paralleled in the

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sixteenth century by anyone who deliberately chose to break with a catholic

background for the purposes of claiming, deliberately and decisively, an attachment to

the Reformation. Similarly, the decisive conversion experience of Augustine was

assimilated and promoted by the image-makers of the Reformation. By Calvin’s time,

the term ‘conversion’ had become heavily loaded with powerful overtones and

evocative associations. 27

Calvin

Twenty-six years younger than Luther, John Calvin was a second-generation reformer

born into a world of conflict. His spiritual heritage was the Roman Catholicism of his

day: monolithic, intransigent, hierarchical, and burdened by the excrescences of many

centuries. The circumstances of Calvin’s childhood and his early years of formal

education afforded him more or less continual contact with men of the Church.

Ironically, Calvin’s ecclesiastical environment also provided the context for his early

exposure to the reformers and their various agendas. He pursued his humanistic

studies with enthusiasm, and in 1532 he published a learned commentary on Seneca’s

essay on clemency. Whatever may be said of his conversion, it is clear that it did not

obliterate his evangelical humanism, but rather built upon it as a firm foundation for

his evolving reformist agenda.28

In the light of only scant primary sources, it must be conceded that even up to 1530

there is not the slightest indication that Calvin had progressed beyond the humanist

positions or shown any susceptibility to the arguments of those advocating a break

with Rome.

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Calvin himself is of little help when it comes to understanding his experience of

conversion: as one who deplored the cult of personality, he was careful to leave very

few clues to his own religious development.

The Problem of Calvin’s Conversion

Not surprisingly, no other aspect of Calvin’s life seems to have preoccupied scholars

more than the date, manner, causes and agencies of his conversion.29

In taking up

these matters, it is of the utmost importance to be clear on which sources are

acceptable as evidence. In the past it has been customary to draw on the following:

(i) a passage from Calvin’s Preface to his Commentary on the Psalms;

(ii) a brief passage from the Second Admonition to Westphal;

(iii) a passage from the Reply to Sadoleto; and

(iv) the accounts in Beza and Colladon.30

The Preface to the Commentary on the Psalms is the document to which historians of

Calvin most frequently refer in order to prove the fact of his conversion and to

elucidate its significance:

God drew me from obscure and lowly beginnings and conferred on me that most honourable office of herald and minister of the Gospel. My father had intended me for theology from my

early childhood. But when he reflected that the career of the law proved everywhere very

lucrative for its practitioners, the prospect suddenly made him change his mind. And so it happened that I was called away from the study of philosophy and set to learning law:

although, out of obedience to my father’s wishes, I tried my best to work hard, yet God last

turned my course in another direction by the secret rein of his providence. What happened

first was that by an unexpected conversion he tamed to teachableness a mind too stubborn for its years – for I was so strongly devoted to the superstitions of the papacy that nothing less

could draw me from such depths of mire. And so this mere taste of true godliness that I

received set me on fire with such a desire to progress that I pursued the rest of my studies 10.

more coolly, although I did not give them up altogether. Before a year had slipped by

anybody who longed for a purer doctrine kept on coming to learn from me, still a beginner, a

raw recruit.31

Three Key Questions

Ganoczy poses three key questions in relation to this text: To what extent can we

consider it historical, strictly speaking? What is the exact meaning of the expression

“subita conversione”? Is the dominant idea the personal conversion of Calvin?

From the historian’s point of view the document lacks chronological precision and is

marked by inconsistencies of various kinds. For example, Calvin refers to a troubled

period of five years from 1541 to 1546. In fact, we know from other more reliable

sources that the vicissitudes to which Calvin refers began after 1546. Scholars tend to

agree that Calvin’s purposes are not to create an historical narrative but rather to

compose a reflection on his own journey of faith with the emphasis more clearly on

theology than chronology.32

What, then, did Calvin himself mean by the expression “subita conversione”? To

begin with, it is clear that the subject of the sentence in which we find this expression

is not Calvin himself, but God. It is also clear from a study of this reformer’s

theology that conversion essentially means repentance in which the turning around is

entirely the work of God, not of the person concerned.33

Furthermore, Calvin’s

commentary on Paul’s conversion is very similar to his personal conversion account,

as Ganoczy has shown:34

The obvious similarity between these two accounts – which clearly does not exclude differences of detail – leads us to believe that Calvin at age fifty intentionally compares the

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miraculous change in Paul to the beginning of his own transformation in order to emphasize its divine origin.

35

It seems plausible, then, that Calvin’s desire to offer an impressive example of God’s

power is the reason for using an adjective such as “subita.” This raises, of course, the

whole question of literary genre. Ganoczy believes that the entire Preface to the

Commentary on the Psalms belongs to the prophetic genre. He cites Calvin’s

references to David, and the comparisons Calvin makes between David and himself,

as well as the abundance of prophetic themes and references to other biblical prophets

such as Jonah. Ganoczy’s conclusion is that the exact meaning of “subita

conversione” should ideally be sought in a theological-prophetic context and not in a

purely historical point of view:

It appears obvious to us that this a posteriori interpretation of an early event was expressed

according to Calvin’s concept of “conversion as repentance” which was developed by a

lengthy study of the Scriptures. The adjective “subita” was not introduced by a chronicler’s

concern for precision but by a theologian’s desire to emphasize the divine origin of the event.

This procedure seems to conform to the prophetic literature and to be justified by it.36

Interestingly, Calvin always emphasized the gradualness rather than the suddenness of

conversion and the difficulty of making progress in the Christian life. He believed

that we are converted little by little to God and by stages,37

a belief he was to apply to

his interpretation of Luther’s conversion process with which he had obviously become

familiar.

We are now in a position to examine Calvin’s dominant purpose in his Preface to the

Commentary on the Psalms. As we have already seen, Calvin focuses quite

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deliberately on the callings of David and the apostle Paul so as to illustrate the grace

of God who also chose to initiate and nurture Calvin’s own ecclesiastical vocation.

Apart from these key foci, Calvin’s other preoccupation is with the state of the

Church, especially its discipline, enemies and salvation. His desire in publishing his

commentary, then, is that it will be useful to the Church in dealing with its own

survival issues.38

The Preface is clearly not intended first and foremost by Calvin as

an autobiographical or historical vehicle. Much more important to him is the triumph

of divine power over every human obstacle, “accomplished through the ministry of

his servant in order to restore the Church.”39

A further important question concerns the actual nature of Calvin’s conversion

experience. From what, and to what was he converted? Unlike Luther, whose

writings exerted a profound influence on him,40

Calvin received no profound insight

into a scriptural text or theological concern. He said nothing about any belief that

would later be associated with him and there is nothing here to suggest what would

subsequently be called “Protestantism,” a word unknown before 1529.41

Calvin’s

own belief about this time is that he became more open, or more teachable, and that

this “teachableness” released in him a desire to make progress in the acquisition of a

purer doctrine.

Points of Comparison

What comparisons can be made in summary between the conversion experiences of

Luther and Calvin? I would propose that there are a least eight points of worthwhile

comparison:

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- The accounts of both experiences are essentially a posteriori interpretations

written several decades after the event in question. Neither reformer’s version

was intended solely as an historical account.

- Both reformers see God as the principal agent of conversion and are conscious

of their own powerlessness in the face of divine intervention.

- The contexts of each reformer’s conversion are distinctly different. Given that

Luther’s conversion experience came first, it appears that he had no

contemporary predecessor whose conversion or example might influence him,

and certainly no significant tradition of institutional or theological reform.

Calvin, on the other hand, being a second-generation reformer, grew up in a

climate of conflict and fomentation in which major developments had already

taken place, and where Luther’s influence, and the influence of other key

figures, had already been felt.42

- Luther’s actual experience involves a classic or primordial revelation, whereas

Calvin undergoes a change of disposition or attitude which is more an

experience of repentance and has nothing to do with a confessional change.

- Luther’s conversion is quite clearly rooted in Scripture: Calvin’s is less clearly

connected with any specific form or medium.

- Both reformers were influenced by the examples of Paul and Augustine as

great sinners called to righteousness by the dramatic intervention of God’s

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grace. They recognised both an historical and religious affinity between their

own experiences of conversion and those of Paul and Augustine. Luther even

prays directly to Paul for help in the immediate build up to his experience.

- Whereas Luther attached considerable significance to his personal conversion

experience in the tower, Calvin saw his own conversion much less as a precise

or dominating event. Indeed, Calvin resisted any undue emphasis on the

conversion of Paul himself, and grew increasingly unhappy with the way in

which Luther’s own conversion was beginning to assume mythical proportions

among sixteenth century Lutherans.43

- Neither conversion experience was accompanied by a specific reform agenda

or by divine revelations about the manner in which righteousness or

teachableness were to be applied to the institutional Church.

- Whereas Calvin retained a reticence about his conversion experience

(consistent with his reluctance to write about himself), Luther made several

references to his tower experience which are colourful and more distinctly

autobiographical.

Conclusion

The perspective of history allows us to discern in the lives of Luther and Calvin a

distinct pre-conversion period during which two prodigiously gifted men are educated

and formed for future ministry. The experience of conversion intervenes and each

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man’s energies are able to flow in new and innovative directions which build on

earlier skills and knowledge, but which also demand further significant effort and

personal growth, accompanied at times by profound experiences of pain and

disillusionment. Yet, what counted for Luther was the value of perseverance in

conversion, and for Calvin the absolute sovereignty of the message of the one Lord.

One cannot fail to admire in both men their deep fidelity to the God who not only

called them to a pivotal moment of conversion, but who also continued to accompany

them on the difficult paths that lay ahead.

ENDNOTES

LW Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann, 55 vols. St Louis:

Concordia/Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1955-86.

WA D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe, 58 vols. Weimar: Böhlau, 1883-.

1 A. McGrath, A Life of John Calvin (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991), 69. 2 Ibid., 69-70. 3 According to Wicks, Luther believed that “Conversion takes the form of despair at one’s abilities.”

Luther And his Spiritual Legacy (Wilmington: Michael Glazier Inc, 1983), 78. 4 For a more detailed discussion of this climate of insecurity see Lindberg, The European Reformations

(Oxford: Blackwell, 1996), 56-70. 5 Lindberg, The European Reformations, 62-63. 6 Friedenthal comments on the efforts of scholars to discover the exact location of Luther’s conversion:

“There have even been grotesquely fervent but deadly serious, arguments as to whether the scene of the

inspiration was Luther’s little study or the ‘heimliches Gemach,’ which an abbreviation in the

handwriting of a pupil reveals to have been the monks’ lavatory.” (Luther, 121). Erikson regards the

lavatory as a highly symbolic location for Luther’s conversion, and using a psychoanalytical

methodology, draws out a number of what he refers to as ‘psychiatric relevances’. Young Man Luther

(London: Faber and Faber), 198-200. 7 M.J. Harran, Luther on Conversion (London: Cornell University Press, 1983), 174. 8 In his major work on Luther, Friedenthal devotes only two pages to Luther’s conversion experience

and is dismissive of attempts to date or explore it. Luther, (London; Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1970),

120-121. Oberman tends to use the word “discovery” instead of “conversion” in his discussion of

Luther’s spiritual rebirth. Luther (London: Yale University Press, 1989), 152-154. 9 For a full discussion of these various positions see Harran, Luther on Conversion, 174-188. 10 Ibid., 177 11 Ibid., 180 12 Ibid., 182 13 Ibid., 185-186. 14 WA 2, 414, 22-28 (Reolutiones Lutherianae super propositionibus suis Lipsaie disputatis). 15 “But another book of the Bible also occupied a central position for him, the Psalms. It appealed to

him because of its great poetry and music. At first the theologian in him followed tradition, laboriously

explaining the psalms according to their fourfold interpretation and associating every line with Jesus,

whose voice it was, not David’s, he heard in the poetry and song. The whole of his latter work, in fact,

is rooted in the Psalms, above all the strength and ardour of its language and its wealth of feeling…

The Psalms formed the basis of his whole output of hymns, and the Reformation derived more power

from song than from its arguments and disputes.” Friedenthal, Luther, 120-121. 16 Harran, Luther on Conversion, 181. 17 “Luther’s theology was Pauline theology … and until very recently the whole theology of

Protestantism repeatedly took its stand on this Epistle. ‘This Epistle is the true centrepiece of the New

Testament and the purest gospel,’ he (Luther) wrote at the beginning of the preface to his translation. It

was a book to be learned by heart and made one’s daily companion, and this was how he himself

treated it. It is possible to include all his fundamental viewpoints, as well as his conduct in life and

attitude to the state, within the framework of a commentary to this Epistle.” Friedenthal, Luther, 120. 18 Oberman, Luther, 153. 19 Lindberg, The European Reformations, 70. It is worthwhile noting that some scholars remain

sceptical about Luther’s conversion account from his 1545 Preface, suggesting that it is most likely a

romanticised and overdeveloped account of a much more gradual period of growing awareness:

“Martin Luther, recalling in his dotage his great moment of religious insight some thirty years after the event, appears to have compressed history substantially; insights which may be shown to have taken

place in a moment of devastating illumination.” (McGrath, A Life of John Calvin, 71). 20 WA 54, 185, 21-186, 13; LW 34, 336-337. 21 Harran, Luther on Conversion, 183. 22 WA TR 3, Nr. 3232c, 228, 24-26. 23 WA TR 3, 228, 27-32; LW 54, 193-194. 24 Harran, Luther on Conversion, 185. 25 WA 54, 189, 9-10; LW 34, 337. 26 McGrath, A Life of John Calvin, 69.

Endnotes continued:

27 Ibid., 70. 28 W.J. Bouwsma, John Calvin: A Sixteenth Century Portrait (Oxford:OUP, 1989), 12. 29 T.H.L. Parker, John Calvin (Tring: Lion Publishing, 1982), 192. 30 According to Parker, Sprenger also draws on a fifth source, Calvin’s Commentary on Acts 9 which

deals with the conversion of St Paul (John Calvin, 192). 31 John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms, in Parker, John Calvin, 193. 32 A. Ganoczy, The Young Calvin (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987), 262. 33 See Ganoczy, The Young Calvin, 261-263. 34 Ibid., 262. 35 Ibid., 263. 36 Ibid., 265. 37 Bouwsma, John Calvin, 11. It is interesting to note that Bouwsma places very little store on Calvin’s

Preface: “The evidence for a ‘conversion’ corresponding to this model in Calvin’s life is negligible. It

consists almost entirely of a single passage in the preface to his commentary on the Psalms, written in

1557, nearly thirty years after the supposed event, to which, during this long interval, he had never

before directly referred. His silence may itself not be decisive: Calvin was generally reticent about

himself. But the passage seems to me almost useless as evidence for what it is commonly taken to

demonstrate (10). 38 Ganoczy, The Young Calvin, 261-264. 39 Ibid., 261-264. 40 Ibid., 145. 41 Bouwsma, John Calvin, 10-11.

42 “Those insights central to Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith are echoed by the young Calvin:

God calls the unrighteous, the outcasts and the downcasts, those who are foolish and weak in the eyes

of the world. McGrath, A Life of John Calvin, 71. 43 Bouwsma, John Calvin, 11.