Calvin on Tap again....December 14th, 7-9pm at Smith's Public House. Men, we will be viewing the movie from 2003 on the life of Martin Luther. Reformed discussion, beverage and fellowship to follow. Don't miss it! And now just a little history on the Calvin/Luther connection:We have no way of knowing when Calvin accepted Luther's doctrine, but there can be little doubt about its influence on him. With the exception of Augustine, Luther undoubtably had more influence on Calvin than any other person. McNeill (154) informs us that, "While writing the Seneca Commentary Calvin lived in the house of a cloth merchant, Etionne de la Forge, a devout Waldensian from Piedmont. This man was an ardent reader of Luther and a fearless propagandist of Protestantism" (p. 109). It is little wonder that Meyer (1969) writes, "In many respects Calvin can and must be regarded as Luther's disciple" (p. 174).
More evidence of Luther's influence can be detected in the Institutes themselves. In 1965, John Hesselink gave a studied analysis of the development and purpose of Calvin's Institutes. He observes that "It covered the traditional catechetical themes: the Law, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Supper and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper in the same order as Luther's Catechisms" (p. 68).
