(1) Explain Luther’s main points in the selection you read from On the Freedom of a Christian.
1) On the Freedom of a Christian is a work of Martin Luther that conveys Protestant ideas. I think the main point of the text is Luther’s view of justification by faith alone. He asserts that people get saved through faith alone that God has exclusively given to them. He does not accept good works as a means of salvation, such as the Catholic practice of sacraments, but does not discourage virtuous and pious acts. Neither does Luther promote immorality, he rather states that all men are corrupt by nature and they cannot attain salvation with their own strength. Man needs god’s grace to be worthy of heaven. Luther also mentions that Mosaic laws were given to humanity to show people how incompetent they are to follow the laws perfectly. That is why he argues that man must rely on God-given faith for salvation.
(2) Explain Calvin’s main points in the selection you read from the Institutes of the Christian Religion. How does Calvin answer those who say predestination makes God into a being who dispenses justice unequally?
2) In his book The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin claims that predestination means that the Christian God has determined each individual’s ultimate fate. That means God has decided who’ll enter heaven and who’ll be doomed to hell for eternity. Some argued that this doctrine established the Christian God as a divine and capricious being that could act unjustly by whim. Calvin defends his view of predestination by saying God has the authority to do this. Calvin states that “all are not created on equal terms” and just like God elected Abraham to inherit the promised land, so does He elect those who’ll receive the privilege of eternal bliss in heaven. The remnant are, of course, left to eternal damnation in hell, just like all the pagan nations that God separated Abraham from.
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