Having covered the errors underlining the false teachings of Jan Huss, Martin Luther, and Huldrych Zwingli, we naturally come next to John Calvin. Like the other three, John Calvin taught a radically different doctrine than that taught by Our Lord Jesus Christ, believed by the early Church, and preserved through the ages. While Calvin’s errors were also based on a false understanding of authority (i.e., Sola Scriptura), some of his errors were distinct from those of his contemporaries.
Who Was John Calvin?
John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. He initially studied law, but his interests soon turned to theology after he learned of Martin Luther’s new religion. In the early 1530s, Calvin fled from France to Basel, Switzerland. There he began to develop his theological ideas and wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion, which was filled with the heresies of predestination, Sola Scriptura, and other errors. This text became the foundation of the “Reformed” Protestant sects.
In 1536, Calvin was invited to Geneva, Switzerland, where he became a leading figure in the city’s Reformation. He sought to implement his ideas of church governance and moral discipline, which led to conflicts. After being initially expelled from Geneva, he was later invited back. During his time there, he helped establish a theocratic government that dictated a strong unity between the religious rulers and heads of state. Thankfully, God raised up St. Francis de Sales to combat Calvinism. By God’s grace, this Doctor of the Church labored in Geneva and surrounding areas, converting 72,000 heretics back to the Catholic Faith.
Calvin’s teachings spread throughout Europe, and his influence extended to various Reformed movements in different countries, such as the Netherlands, Scotland, England, and parts of Germany. His theological ideas, known as Calvinism, became a major force in shaping Presbyterianism, Congregationalism, and Reformed Baptists.
What Did Calvin Teach Against Catholic Doctrine?
The Bible As the Sole Authority: Like Luther and Zwingli, Calvin emphasized the authority of the Bible as the sole source of religious truth. Calvin rejected the Catholic view that Tradition, along with Scripture, held equal authority in matters of Faith. For Calvin, Scripture alone was sufficient for understanding God’s will and receiving divine guidance. And like those who came before him, Calvin’s view is refuted by both Scripture itself and 1,500 years of actual Church history. (Calvin’s position is internally inconsistent, as he expected his followers to accept the doctrines he put forth in his magnum opus Institutes of the Christian Religion. What irony…)
Justification by Faith Alone: Calvin, like other Protestant founders, held to the doctrine of sola fide, or justification by faith alone. He taught that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone and does not require us to live out our faith through any works, which directly contradicts the teaching of Our Lord and our God-given sense of justice.
Denial of the Visible Hierarchy Established by Christ: He opposed the hierarchical structure of the Church, which was established by Christ upon the supreme authority of the Pope. For Calvin, the Body of Christ was purely spiritual. It could not be seen or joined visibly. Rather, it was an ‘internal matter of the heart’ and only God knew who was in or out of the Church. (This belief can be terribly abused to manipulate people by false prophets claiming God lets them know who is of the Church and who is not.)
Rejection of Church Tradition: Calvin objected to the veneration of saints and the use of images and relics. In this he harkens back to the iconoclasts who devastated the Church in the East. This error is ultimately rooted in a denial of the full reality of the Son of God’s Incarnation.
Denial of the Sacraments: Calvin recognized only two Sacraments – Baptism and the Eucharist. However, he viewed even those two Sacraments as symbolic acts that pointed to spiritual realities and rejected the idea of Sacraments as channels of divine grace which effect what they signify. He therefore denied the Real Presence of Christ, the Sacrifice of the Mass, and even the efficacy of Baptism for Salvation. Those who have been baptized as children in denominations that follow Calvin’s ideas should be conditionally baptized upon conversion to the Catholic Faith.
Predestination: One of Calvin’s most controversial and egregious teachings was the doctrine of predestination. He believed in the concept of “double predestination,” which asserted that God predestined some individuals to be saved (the elect) and others to be damned (the reprobate). He therefore rejected free will since a person is destined to either Heaven or hell and cannot change his fate.[1]
Various Congregational, Reformed, and Presbyterian churches look to these errors as their basis. We have a responsibility to work for the conversion of those ensnared in the errors of Calvin, and to that end, let us invoke the patronage of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen,[2] who was martyred by the Calvinists for his defense of the Catholic Faith.
Prayer to St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen:
O Glorious St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, who courageously withstood the vicious opposition of the enraged Protestants whom thou didst so forcefully refute, while winning thousands of former Catholics back to the one, true Fold of Christ; obtain for us an abundance of thy ardent love of the holy Catholic Faith, and thy burning zeal for souls, which led thee to embrace joyfully thy cruel martyrdom by vicious Protestant soldiers, at the command of a Calvinist minister.
By the holy indignation whereby thou didst repulse their threats and demands for thy apostasy, obtain for the remnant Catholic faithful a spirit of earnest zeal in our fervent prayer for the conversion of all who have embraced the errors of the diabolic sects of Protestantism. Implore the Hearts of Jesus and Mary to dispel the vicious errors which keep them from the Immaculate Heart of the great Mediatrix of All Graces, that they may quickly experience therein the abundant graces of conversion to the one true Catholic Church of Her Divine Son, and final perseverance in grace, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
(Three Hail Mary’s)
ENDNOTES:
[1] One of the 15 Promises given by Our Lady to those who are devoted to the Rosary is “Devotion of My Rosary is a great sign of predestination.” This form of “predestination” should not, though, in any way be confused with the Calvinist use of the term. Stated another way, devotion to the Rosary is a strong indication that someone is on the path to Heaven. It is not, however, an assurance that salvation is guaranteed.
[2] St. Fidelis served as a missionary to Grisons, Switzerland and had so much success that the Protestants claimed he was a spy for the Austrian emperor. He was stabbed to death in a church by a group of Protestant heretics. He died with the final words, “Lord, forgive my enemies.” Learn more about his life.