Zwingli Is the Forerunner of Calvin
Many more people will admit to
Calvinism than to following Zwingli, but the perspective is quite similar.
Zwingli began the unfortunate stance of opposing Luther while pretending to be
allied with the Reformation. The basic error is proclaimed with boldness in
Zwingli and continued in Calvin. They did not grasp the Biblical teaching of
God’s effective Word associated with earthly elements. When Zwingli ended the
Biblical concept of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion as sacraments conveying
grace, Calvin continued this disaster and canonized for many Protestants the
role of human reason judging the Scriptures.
Zwingli is not well known
because he formed a military alliance to promote his reform, and the Catholic
cantons opposed him. This conflict ended in a battle where Zwingli and other
clergy died in their armor, 1531.
He began his reforms in 1522, which
were certainly the groundwork for Calvin’s. Herman Sasse in Here I Stand wrote about the Zwingli
turning the Holy Communion service into a memorial meal. People poured into
church for the last presentation of the Body and Blood of Christ, and Zwingli
was haunted by a dream about abandoning “the Lord’s Passover.”
One result of rationalizing
Christianity was the emergence of Anabaptists in Zurich, where Zwingli
preached. Although baptism was just an ordinance, the city council passed a
death sentence on those who refused it for their children. Some Anabaptists
were killed and the rest fled around 1527. This became part of the Radical
Reformation - Mennonites, Ahmish, Hutterites – defined by their understanding
of believer’s baptism.
Luther’s connection with
Zwingli came at the Marburg Colloquy, where Zwingli refused to accept the Real
Presence. Luther wrote in chalk, “This is My Body” in Latin on the table. The
doctrinally indifferent see this argument as a matter of opinion. One Mequon
senior answered the question in church history by saying, “Luther was wrong!”
But the issue is the efficacy of the Word, which is not a franchise issue, but
a foundational, Biblical teaching.
Calvin’s Reform in Geneva
In 1509, John Calvin was born
in France and had a dual education. He was known for his intellect, perhaps
aiming for the priesthood but directed toward law by his father. He had a
conversion experience around 1530 and earned his law degree In 1532. He was
allied with reform movements in the Church, which led to an initial stay in
Geneva, Switzerland - expulsion – and an
invitation to come back in 1541. He agreed with Zwingli’s view of Holy
Communion and became the figure for opposition to Luther until his death in
1564.
