HIST 126: The Age of Reformations

Guide questions to John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion

1. According to Calvin, what is “pure and true religion?  How is it achieved?
2. For Calvin, what does superstition mean?  To whom does he indirectly refer as superstitious?
3. Can man know God?  How so and to what degree?  In this sense, how does Calvin’s opinion differ from Luther’s?
4. What is the role of Scripture?  How can we know that it is, indeed, God’s word?
5. What, according to Calvin, is Providence?  If, as Calvin states, nothing happens by chance or fortune, how are we to explain the vagaries of life?
6. How does Calvin deal with the issue of free will? What is his view of human accountability?
7. What is true self-knowledge?  How are we to gain it?  Why is it crucial?
8. What is faith?  What is repentance? How are they achieved and how are they related?
9. What does Calvin mean when he says “Doctrine is not a matter of talk but of life”?
10. Why is it necessary for the elect to “bear the cross”?
11. What is the difference between the promise of the Gospel and the promise of the Law?  Why is this significant?
12. What is Calvin’s stance on good works?
13. Lastly, according to Calvin, what is Christian freedom?