How Did Martin Luther Influence John Calvin's Philosophy

On October 31, A nervous young man named Martin Luther climbed up the cathedral’s stairs and nailed his ninety-five grievances against a corrupt church. Martin Luther’s defiance sparked off the Protestant Reformation, an event that forever turned the world upside down and changed the landscape of religion. At the same time, a bright eight-year-old child began his studies in classical philosophy; a study that involved in-depth studies in Plato and Aristotle. This child, John Calvin, became simply known as “the theologian” by many reformers including Martin Luther; used his background in philosophy to help explain the depths of biblical truths and, refine the reformer’s beliefs.
John Calvin (Jean Cauvin) was born on July 10, 1509 in Nonyon near …show more content…
The young man who would eventually be called Plato, by his gymnasium classmates due to his muscular build, started off as a student of the gadfly of Athens, Socrates. Plato was deeply devoted to his master Socrates, even attending the event of his death, drinking the poison hemlock After his master’s death, Plato went on to build upon his masters teaching to the point, where both philosopher’s teaching is …show more content…
Charles Partree in his book, Calvin and Classical Philosophy, states that the “philosophy of Plato is often thought to occupy, a kind of middle ground between Christianity and pagan antiquity…various aspects of his thought are considered congenial by many Christian thinkers” Partree’s point is that Platonism was agreeable with Christianity in several key points unlike many other philosophies of the time. Partree goes on to give several examples of common grounds between Platonic thought and Christianity such as, “Plato believes in the existence of God, man’s duty to imitate God, God’s role in creation, affirmed the providence of God, he criticized the pagan myths, and had such a passion for