Western Civilization I / Unit 15 WC1 1424 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Luther and Calvin Compared: Salvation, Sacraments, Church and State
The idea
The exam sets Luther against Calvin and asks which statement fits which. The method is four features with paired answers: how one is saved, what communion is, who rules the church, and how the faith spread.
In practice
Salvation: Luther by faith alone, freely offered; Calvin by predestination, the elect chosen before birth. Communion: Luther Christ present in the bread; Calvin present spiritually. Rule: Luther under the prince, a territorial church; Calvin under elders and the Consistory, a disciplined community. Spread: Luther through northern Germany and Scandinavia by princes' choice; Calvin through France, Scotland, the Netherlands and England as minorities and rivals. Apply: a statement about a state church chosen by its ruler is Lutheran; a statement about a congregation that polices dress and drink is Calvinist; a statement about the elect is Calvinist; a statement about a German Bible is Lutheran.
Where people slip
Both held faith alone and both damned the other, the anchor says; the difference is what faith alone rested on, God's offer or God's decree. Do not answer that either taught tolerance. Neither did.
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