Are You Predestined?: The Words of John Calvin and Martin Luther Compared…Including an Extensive Bibliography

By Harry Audley Flannery B.A. J.D. LL.M

Death. There has to be more to life; death just cant be the end of it all! Hope. We all keep within our souls, our hearts, and our minds a vision of a future of some kind, a resurrection, a continuation, or an opportunity to see and talk to the loved ones who preceded us. Oh how we hope! God, how we hope and pray that there is more to life than death. The ultimate symbol of hope for many on earth is the Bible. The words within its covers were used so far back in time that they just cant be without meaning. The words convey so much for our minds, our spirit, and our understanding of an everlasting future. And the understandings and consequences are forever being reviewed and taught through the works of Reformation-era biblical thinkers such as John Calvin and Martin Luther. And one of the central questions of that time was: Does predestination provide us any answers?

This book has its origins in the 1960s, while the author majored in both religion and history at Ohio Wesleyan University. At the time, there was no work in the literature solely devoted to comparing and contrasting the words of John Calvin and Martin Luther in regard to their thoughts about the doctrine of predestination, nor was there an extensive bibliography devoted to this subject.

The search and the passion to understand whether we live or die (from an eternal perspective) is an ongoing mental and spiritual effort for all of us.We have the Bible and we have the Koran. We have many religions and many authors have written on the subject of human existence and human destiny. The writings from hundreds and thousands of years in our past cannot be insignificant, and those writers deserve our full attention as we seek the truth of our very being.

God bless.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490869735

Harry Audley Flannery B.A. J.D. LL.M

The author is a graduate of five learning institutions having been awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University; the degree of Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University College of Law; and a Master of Laws (in taxation) from the Boston University School of Law. He is a graduate of the Summer Naval School of Culver Military Academy (Honor Naval School United States Department of Navy) and New Castle Senior High School. An author of over forty articles published in National, state and local legal periodicals, he is a former Associate Editor of the Pittsburgh Legal Journal. Under the pen name of Grant Stinn, Esq. he authored the book LOVE: Sex, Marriage, Divorce, or Happiness? (Millennial Mind Publishing an Imprint of American Book Publishing). He is listed in numerous editions of the Marquis Who’s Who publications and is currently in house counsel for a Fortune 200 company.

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Copyright © 2015 Harry Audley Flannery, B.A. J.D. LL.M

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6974-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6975-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6973-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015902207

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/27/2015

Contents

Preface

Dedication

PART I Reflections and Insight

Reflections

Insights

PART II John Calvin and Martin Luther

Preliminary Comments

Introduction

Analysis

Conclusion

Comments

Working Bibliography

PART III Primary And Secondary Sources

The Discussion and Analysis Continues

Introduction

Annotated Bibliography of Primary Sources

John Calvin

Martin Luther

Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Sources

John Calvin

Martin Luther

PART IV Other Information Sources

Final Thoughts

Acknowledgements

Author

PREFACE

I t has been over forty years since I originally undertook the task of exploring, researching and analyzing the comparison of the words of John Calvin and Martin Luther as to their views as to the Doctrine of Predestination.

For the researcher and the curious, hopefully the research that follows is enlightening as well as thought provoking.

The reader will encounter my thoughts and insights gained from reflecting on my own background and life experiences as same relates to John Calvin’s and Martin Luther’s thinking in regard to the Doctrine of Predestination and of those theologians before them. The citations and annotations of primary, secondary and other information sources should be of interest to the scholarly researcher.

The extensive research provides the readers many of the consequences of the Doctrine of Predestination and its Biblical origins.

The Author

DEDICATION

T o those of us who seek an understanding as to life, death, and beyond.

To the researchers, scholars, clergy and those of us who may find the historical source references invaluable yesterday, today and tomorrow…

To my family both living and beyond and in the words of both John Calvin and Martin Luther who remain in what was, is, and will be in the same moment of time.

My wife, Maureen, my children, Preston and Courtney, their spouses, Jenny and Mike, my grandchildren, Connor, Miley, and Payton, who are my inspiration. As we march through time our parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, in-laws as well as grandparents and on and on will always represent a part of my individual make up and forever remain within…

PART I

Reflections and Insight

Reflections

T he human brain, the thoughts, the imagination, the wonderment of it all, of what life is. From the earliest of times of existence, the thoughts, the fears, the imaginations, that early mankind must have had when first reflecting in viewing the sun, the moon, clouds, lightening, storms, blue skies…Our thoughts must have gone hay wire….when our capabilities of thinking and communicating came into being. The fears that we must have had and have.

As we evolved, we dreamed, imagined, and yes prayed of wondering why, who, and where we are and where we are going. The creation of the early writings into print by historians, theologians, and Biblical writers of the WORD reflected that which encompassed all within our very soul from a divine spiritual perspective. These historical writers included John Calvin and Martin Luther.

Today with our technological advances we even find that people who never have met but by communicating via the internet, texting evolve and even experience true love feelings… causing the communicators to meet, mate, and even marry. The interaction of thoughts ideas emotions and how such is communicated between and to one another is mind boggling….We all want to know who we are and why and where we will end up. FEAR of all of this remains an ongoing concern. Thinkers, communicators of yesterday, today and tomorrow and though the means may change the result of trying to understand comprehend, and communicate remains. Yet the good feelings within, spiritual and otherwise are not the case in regard to the Doctrine of Predestination…no free will no good feelings, no salvation through good works, no salvation through faith …promotes humility… for we cannot change what is.

WITH GOD WE HAVE EVERYTHING ….

…WITHOUT GOD WE HAVE NOTHING.

Insights

O ur faith, religious views are so much a part of all our inner selves that the search for all the whys remain within. The love experiences, which in the author’s view, is as close to the spiritual divine feeling within that has no physical boundaries. When felt, such truly transcends …coming close to spiritual everlasting moments in time. Is the experience predestined when occurring between two human beings is it foreknown, is it FATE?

Having majored in both History and Religion at one of the leading small universities, Ohio Wesleyan University, the author’s mind was swept into the educational endeavor to understand the meaning of predestination and the meaning of the true love experiences that some of us may never encounter and some may experience only once or through fate may encounter more than once……without such ever being searched for or sought…just a happening that happens?

Why does stuff happen, why does love happen, is the entire life experience predestined??? Does death never or ever happen? Do we really have independent choice, free will at all???

The author’s educational experiences included graduating from a public school, New Castle Senior High School., graduating with over 600 students who had diverse religious- race-economic backgrounds. Though the author initially sought while in college to be a preacher he is currently an active practicing lawyer.

The author grew up in a nondiscriminatory religious family whose father, Wilbur E. Flannery was a leading Harvard educated physician. The author’s father was a civic leader and prior to being a physician was a Methodist minister. Of note the author’s great grandfather was a catholic priest who left the priesthood and married a divorcee.

The author’s mother, Ruth Donaldson Flannery, was a