Calvinist Protestantism

• Institutes of the Christian Religion 1536, expanded to 1559

  Calvin's systematic theology, revised across his whole life from a short handbook into four books. It is the reference point for everything Reformed, and considerably more readable than its reputation.

• The Canons of Dort 1619

  The rulings of an international synod called to settle a dispute with the Arminians over free will and election. These five heads of doctrine are what the English mnemonic TULIP later summarised.

• The Westminster Confession and Shorter Catechism 1646-1647

  The English-speaking world's standard Reformed doctrinal statement, with a catechism whose first question about humanity's chief end is still memorised by children in Presbyterian churches.

• c. 6–4 BCE – 30/33 CELife of Jesus of NazarethLife of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, crucified in Roman Judea c. 30–33 CE.
• c. 30 CEJerusalem church formsAfter the crucifixion, apostles led by Peter and James form the nucleus of the earliest Christian community, initially a sect within Judaism practicing communal living.
• c. 46–60 CEPaul's missions and the Council of JerusalemPaul's journeys plant churches across Asia Minor and Greece; the first Christian council in Jerusalem opens the faith to Gentiles without full Jewish law observance.
• 64 CENero's persecutionAfter the Great Fire of Rome, Christians are scapegoated and brutally executed — the first imperial-level targeting of the new faith.
• c. 70 CEGospel of Mark writtenThe earliest gospel is composed; Matthew and Luke follow c. 80–90, John c. 90–100.
• 249–251 CEDecian persecutionFirst empire-wide persecution: edicts require all citizens to certify sacrifices to the gods and emperor, producing mass lapses, confiscations, and martyrdoms.
• 303–311 CEThe Great PersecutionDiocletian and Galerius demolish churches, burn scriptures, and demand universal sacrifice; its failure — capped by Galerius's 311 toleration edict — demonstrates Christianity's resilience.
• 313 CEEdict of MilanConstantine and Licinius decree religious toleration across the Roman Empire, legalizing Christianity.
• 325 CECouncil of NicaeaFirst ecumenical council establishes the Nicene Creed and fixes the date of Easter, defining orthodox Christology against Arianism.
• c. 350 CECodex SinaiticusOldest surviving complete Christian Bible, in Greek including the Septuagint.

Understand the theology that made anxiety productive and work into a calling.

1. Module 1

   Sovereignty First

   You understand that Calvinism starts from God's total sovereignty, and that predestination is a consequence of that premise rather than its centre.

   Do: Write out what follows logically if a being is genuinely all-powerful and all-knowing.

2. Module 2

   Working Through TULIP

   You understand each of the five points of Dort and which one most people actually object to.

   Do: Argue the Arminian case against irresistible grace as strongly as you can, then answer it.

3. Module 3

   Vocation

   You understand the Reformed claim that ordinary work — farming, plumbing, accounting — is a calling with the same dignity as ministry.

   Do: Write what your job would look like if you treated it as a vocation rather than a wage.

4. Module 4

   The Weber Problem

   You understand the thesis linking Reformed anxiety to capitalist discipline, and the serious historical objections to it.

   Do: Identify one place in your own life where you work to prove something rather than to produce something.

5. Module 5

   Grace and the Ledger

   You understand the internal paradox: a theology that says you cannot earn anything produced a culture of relentless earning.

   Do: Try one full day of deliberate rest and record precisely what guilt shows up and when.

• The Lord's Day every Sunday

  Public worship plus a genuine cessation of ordinary work — the central weekly discipline of the tradition.

• Reformation Day 31 October

  Marks Luther's 1517 challenge to indulgences; observed with services, lectures and a certain amount of denominational cheerfulness.

• The Lord's Supper monthly or quarterly, depending on the congregation

  Communion, deliberately less frequent than in Catholic practice and preceded by self-examination, in the Reformed understanding of the elements as spiritually rather than physically Christ's body.

Calvinism says you cannot earn your standing and then produced a culture of relentless earning. Is the Protestant work ethic the doctrine's greatest unintended achievement, or the clearest evidence that people cannot actually live as though grace is free?