The Reformation

Martin Luther and John Calvin are household names, of a type where people have no idea about them other than knowing their importance in Christian thought and culture. It is surprising, therefore, how closely their language and concerns reflect modern times. Martin Luther was a rabble-rousing man of the people, filled with invective and the emotional force of connecting with humanity rather than culture or wealth. John Calvin’s sardonic sense of humour permeates a constant barrage of myth-busting that would do a modern-day fact checker proud. Three less well-known writers round out the collection. Zwingli, Melancthon and Savonarola all preach with a force befitting true Christians fighting against the vast powers of a Catholic church that was the most powerful entity in Europe, and had consolidated a wide range of practices that broke the people away from an experience of divinity. Savonarola speaks with the voice of a travelling preacher, a man of the people whose voice matched that o