John Huss's disputes with the Church were over church discipline and practice. He denounced the restriction that reserved drinking from the chalice to the celebrant. Huss called it contrary to Scripture and to the ancient tradition of the Church – Jesus had shared the cup with all as had early Christians. He declared that the office of pope was historical not scriptural, being established by the Church as a means of conducting itself in an orderly manner. Declared guilty of heresy, Huss was burned at the stake in July 1415. His followers became the Moravian Church.

Martin Luther was moved to protest by the ever growing dispensing of indulgences, granted by the pope as forgiveness of the temporal punishment of a person's sins but not of the sins themselves. In his 95 Theses he charged the Church with heresy after heresy. He argued that the Christian faith lives within humans, quite apart from the physical world where temporal punishments are meted out. Where in Church doctrine were scriptural teachings of penance and righteousness? Where was individual salvation? It was these theological arguments that eventually led to Luther's excommunication in January 1521.

Leader of the reformation in Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli charged that the Church had wandered far from the simple Christianity of scriptures. In particular he cited the adoration of saints and relics, the promise of miraculous cures, and indulgences. He proclaimed the supremacy of Scripture over church dogma, denounced enforced celibacy of the clergy, and denied any physical transformation of the Eucharistic bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Zwingli died on the battlefield in October 1531 when the Roman Catholic cantons raised a surprise attack on Protestant Zurich.

Philipp Melanchthon, Luther's co-worker and friend, systematized the Evangelical doctrine in his Loci Communes Theologici. He facilitated reform of the schools and universities and was widely considered to be Luther's eventual successor. He composed the Augsburg Confession, and it was he who convinced Luther to translate the Bible into vernacular German. Dying from complications of a severe cold, he wrote of his approaching death: "Thou shalt be delivered from sins, and be freed from the acrimony and fury of theologians." And then: "Thou shalt go to the light, see God, look upon his Son, learn those wonderful mysteries which thou hast not been able to understand in this life."

John Calvin (1509-1564)

John Calvin is said to have brought about the fullest development in the theology, political theories, and ecclesiastical thought of Zwinglianism, He built the reformed "Calvinist" church on the doctrine of predestination – the doctrine that salvation is not a choice, but is rather pre-determined by God from the beginning of time. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion he proclaimed: "We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which He determined what He willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is ordained for some, eternal damnation for others." As his own life neared its end, he refused to cut back on his daily routine, declaring, "What! Would you have the Lord find me idle when He comes?"

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10/22/07
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