Calvin's Reformation Dbq

Next, “justification by faith alone" is surely the most important contribution of the Reformation. The second most important, arguably, is the "doctrine of vocation. " In the same way, Calvin’s reformation of the Roman Catholic Church was not limited to soteriology, but extended to an entire world and life view, including vocation. The dogma of dualism that was once held by Gnostic heretics was not fully extinguished in the early days of the church; its influences can still be seen in the medieval Catholic doctrine of vocation. For the Roman Catholic Church, the word vocation was to be exclusively used to indicate the work of a church officer such as a priest or nun; so central was this idea of Holy Orders that it was elevated to the status …show more content…
The Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy of vocation did not only make religious work more holy then secular, it also divided religious work into differed levels of importance. At the very top of callings was the office of the Pope, who served as Vicar of Christ. Calvin condemned the work of the priests and monks as dishonouring God, writing “For Paul censures those lazy drones who lived by the sweat of others, while they contribute no service in common for aiding the human race. Of this sort are our monks and priests who are largely pampered by doing nothing, excepting that they chant in the temples, for the sake of preventing weariness .” Below that were layers of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, and these classes of clergy were further divided into sub-categories of their own. Calvin wanted to do away with all this and, establish what would become known as the “Presbyterian Government”, modeled after how the New Testament Church governed them. Calvin would replace the hierarchy of priests with four ecclesiastical offices, two of which would be held by the laity. “A well-ordered Church lives under the supervision of the four orders of pastors, doctors, elders, and the deacons. ” In this radical departure from the Catholic Priesthood Calvin invited the laity to serve in the capacity of deacon and elder, yet another example of how Calvin …show more content…
As we move farther away from the days of the Reformation, the Church becomes guilty of forgetting what our forefathers fought and died for. As a Church we often glorify the work of the clergy and treat those who work in full-time ministry as more godly individuals. The Church must recapture the reformation doctrine of vocation because only when “a young Christian woman realizes it is just as spiritual to sing for the Metropolitan Opera as it is to sing in the church choir, we will begin to see a new generation of liberated Christians calling attention to their Maker and Redeemer.