Prior to the time of the Protestant Reformation, the General feeling towards the .
Catholic church was one of repugnance. This was because of the highly bureaucratic Vatican .
and the Renaissance Popes who spent a ridiculous amount of money on the redecoration .
of the catholic churches. Severe alteration was required, thus the Reformation began. .
Though they were two considerably different men with considerably different beliefs and .
practices, John Calvin and Martin Luther shared certain view points and most importantly .
the same objective; to reform the church. it is fair to say that they both played equally .
important roles in the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin, an educated French man of law, .
converted to Protestantism and devoted his life to the reform of the church. Also, Martin .
Luther, who On the thirty first of October in the year 1517 inadvertently created an .
opportunity for change by nailing his ninety-five theses to a church door in what is now .
Wittenberg, Germany. Both Calvin and Luther believed in: the unimportance of the Pope, .
Christian dogma, and liberty of priests. On the other hand, their beliefs conflicted in the .
areas of: salvation and government. The two had many similar practices including: the .
translation of the Bible into vernacularism, the use of propaganda, the non-celibacy of the .
clergy, the denouncing of female priests, iconoclast activities, and the stale environment of .
the churches. However, they shared differences in practices as well, for example: the target .
group for worship, the consensus of vices i.e. drinking, partying, etc. Together, these two .
men made an extraordinary impact on history .
.
As far as similar beliefs go, John Calvin and Martin Luther shared a few of the same .
view points. Neither Calvin or Luther believed that the Pope was any greater a person .
than any other Christian. They believed that no man had the power to excommunicate .
another from the church.
