Page 8 - History of Christianity II- Textbook

Study Section 2: The Great Reformers – continued

2.1 Connect

One of the greatest contributions of the early reformers was their willingness to
painstakingly translate the Bible into the language of the common men. Martin Luther
translated the Bible into German and John Calvin into Swiss. It took enormous efforts for
these men to do this and many years of their lives. Before their day, a common person had
absolutely NO access to able to read the Bible. They were all written in Latin and the church
services were held in Latin. The common people had no idea what was going on in the
church and certainly did not know how to be saved from their sin. By this time, the church was telling
them that salvation was granted from the church as a result of their good works. People were ignorant
of even the basic stories in the Bible. As we continue studying, we will see that God raised up key men
and women who paid the price to bring God’s Word to the people.

2.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to state Phillip Melanchthon’s contribution to the Reformation.

2. The student should be able to identify with Heinrich Bullinger in his quest to make Jesus Christ
know to the people of Germany.

3. The student should understand and be able to describe how John Calvin influenced the
understanding of major doctrines in the Bible which even today are a source of contention in the
Church.

2.3 Phillip Melanchthon 1497-1560

Melanchthon distinguished himself from his contemporaries not only through
his works as a humanist and his extraordinary gift for Greek, Latin, and Hebrew,
but also through his outstanding achievements as a reformer, politician, and
educator

Melanchthon played an important role during the Reformation, not only as
Luther's friend and confidant, but also as the negotiator for the Protestant side during
Congresses and Religious Talks. Moreover, he contributed to the systematization of Reformation
thought with his "Loci Communes." Melanchthon provided Luther with the decisive impulse for
translating the Bible.

Sebastian Franck, c. 1499-c.1543 –

Franck was a German Protestant Reformer and theologian who converted
from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism but departed from Martin Luther’s
views, emphasizing a mystical attitude in place of dogmatic belief.

Franck combined the humanist’s passion for freedom with the mystic’s
devotion to a religion based on the inner illumination of the spirit. He believed

7