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John Calvin’s Beliefs vs. Ignatius of Loyola’s Beliefs John Calvin was an influential person in the 1500’s on the teachings and writings of religion. Another important leader was Ignatius of Loyola, but his was in the form of Counter-Reformation. Calvin and Loyola had different beliefs about salvation. Calvin and Loyola also had a way to make people be drawn to their beliefs. John Calvin was born in France to a upper middle class Roman Catholic family in 1509. His father wanted him to be a priest because it worked for the Pope, so at the age of fourteen he went to Paris to study at a university.
While he lived in Paris the teachings of Luther spread, which made Calvin search for the truth behind religious ideology. “Through research and study, Calvin collected his thoughts in a book titled, Institutes of the Christian Religion” (Smith Lesson 24 para4:pg1). His book was about his ideas or beliefs of what people should read in the truth for answers about religion. Ignatius of Loyola was born in Spain in 1491. “He was a Spanish theologian and one of the most influential figures in the Catholic Reformation of the sixteenth century” (New World Encyclopedia).
After a battle that he was wounded in, he had a spiritual vision to be as religious as he could like Christ himself. He created a new religious order known as the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. “The members had to be strong, educated, and most of all, holy”(Smith Lesson 25 para2:pg3). The purpose of this order was to help Catholics not to be influenced by Protestants, and help Protestants return to their original Catholic faith. Although Calvin and Loyola were religious truth seekers, they had different views about how people could get salvation.
Calvin believed people were born sinful, but only a few would be saved from sin after death. “He also believed that God had already chosen whom to save”(Smith Lesson 24 para1:pg2). Calvin named the chosen the elect because he thought that they were elected to run the Christian faith. Loyola on the other hand believed that self-discipline and good actions saved people. Calvin created a movement called Calvinism to organize its people into a religious community. He set up a council of twelve elders to make laws about what is right and wrong. Those things considered to be “wrong” included: playing cards, gambling, drinking, alcohol, singing, and dancing” (Smith Lesson 24 para3:pg2). The people of the Calvinism belief were suppose to go to church often, and the council members were supposed to make sure the people were leading proper no wrong doing lives. “People were imprisoned if they did not live by the Calvinism belief system”(Smith Lesson 24 para1:pg3). Calvinism even forced some people out of the religious community for not living by the belief system, so that is how the city got the name city of saints.
The reason people followed Loyola’s beliefs is that it did not matter if someone was rich, poor, sick, or healthy his order was there to help in any way and for people to join their faith. In 1541, Loyola was elected as first General of the Society. The first and most important thing to the Society was absolute obedience to anything and everything that the church leader said, and another was self-mastery. The Jesuits mission was to teach the people that their church was the whole world. Also the Jesuits would go on missions around the world to show the people of the world that they were doing God’s work.
Loyola, like Calvin, had a list of things to follow by being in his society which was called the Constitutions. “The Constitutions rules for the society was: 1)The Jesuits were to be at the disposal of the Pope. 2)They were to go wherever he ordered them to go to save souls. 3)They were never to accept a bishopric etc. unless the Pope ordered it. 4)They were to wear no special habit. 5)There were to be no special mortification’s, e. g. no fasting without a medical report. 6)They were excused from communal prayer and masses. 7)All members were to take the three traditional monastic vows.
An elite would take a fourth vow of direct obedience to the Pope if he sent them on a foreign mission. 8)Faith was to be spread by preaching, spiritual exercises, charity and education in Christianity. “(Trueman) In some ways Loyola did not have a lot of believers because of the Catholic faith, and the wars that surrounded it. A lot of the people did not trust the Pope, so they did not want to follow him. Calvin and Loyola had different views on some of the same things. Like Calvin believing that people were born sinful, in my opinion, I believe that this is not true it is really how a person is raised is how they will be in the future.
Although Loyola believes that self-discipline and good actions saved people, I do agree that Loyola’s belief in salvation because I really do not think that babies and children are sinful as soon as they are born. In Calvin’s religious community that follows Calvinism, I do not agree how they treat the people if they do not follow their rules. In my opinion, people should be free to do as they wish in their own homes and in the way they believe, and should not be forced to leave their home because of it.
Loyola also had rules to follow and most of them was to the Pope, but when he talked about his spiritual exercise that he went though, he studied the Christ as close as possible. He made me believe at first that he followed Christ teachings, and in my studies of Christ wants people to happy in their religious and others should not try to get them to leave their religion. Loyola’s order was to get people to keep their Catholic faith and to get others to return to Catholic faith if they have changed.
A lot of people do not study the Catholic faith that much to this day, it is more of the other religions like Protestants that are more of a major religion in the world now. I do not think that everyone should have the same religion because people would still argue over it, and to this day no one should have to leave their home for a reason such as their religious beliefs. Works Cited “Saint Ignatius of Loyola. ” New World Encyclopedia. 13 Apr 2008. Web. 1 Jun 2011.. Smith, Bob. “Your Fate is Sealed. ” SSG01, World History (Section 4). James Madison High School, Atlanta GA. Lesson 24. para4:pg1. 30 May 2011. Smith, Bob. The Chosen Ones. ” SSG01, World History (Section 4). James Madison High School, Atlanta GA. Lesson 24. para1:pg2. 30 May 2011. Smith, Bob. “The Chosen Ones. ” SSG01, World History (Section 4). James Madison High School, Atlanta GA. Lesson 24. para3:pg1. 30 May 2011. Smith, Bob. “The City of Saints. ” SSG01, World History (Section 4). James Madison High School, Atlanta GA. Lesson 24. para1:pg3. 30 May 2011. Smith, Bob. “Do Unto Others. ” SSG01, World History (Section 4). James Madison High School, Atlanta GA. Lesson 25. para3:pg3. 31 May 2011. Trueman, Chris. “The Jesuits. ” historylearningsite. co. uk, 2000-2011. Web. 31 May 2011. .