Hannah Carney

SAC on the Protestant Reformation

March 13, 2017

Structured Academic Controversy: Luther v. Calvin

The Protestant Reformation can be a tricky subject to teach to students

of any age. Most accounts of it are simplified, and it is usually taken out of

the context of a Western Europe in which the monolithic Church defined

nearly every aspect of life for all classes of society in the centuries after the

fall of Rome and before the Reformation. As Peter Wallace (2012) describes,

in Europe before the Reformation,

religious time governed diet by circumscribing periods of fasting and

feasting, regulated work patterns by honouring Sundays and holy days
with rest from labour, and affected rhythms of conception by
advocating sexual abstinence during the penitential seasons of advent
and Lent. (p. 65)
In addition, the Church demanded tithes from all subjects, had a hand in

most secular governments, and even had its own system of justice that

meted out sentences for myriad secular and religious offences.

In my search for a topic that I wanted to teach using a rigorous

document-based lesson of my own creation, I noted that, not surprisingly,

the textbook my 9th grade students use for world history followed the pattern

of over-simplification and inadequate historical context that failed to

demonstrate the complexity of the movement and the absolutely radical,

terrifying implications of what Jan Hus, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, John

Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other reformers were proposing regarding the

massively powerful Church. Many reformers, most notably Jan Hus, so

threatened the Church establishment that they were imprisoned and

executed, and even Martin Luther had to escape religious authorities with the

help of his powerful friends and allies.

It is worth noting, as well, that the Reformation is often seen as a

boring period of history sandwiched between the colorful Renaissance and

age of exploration, and the court intrigues and political maneuvering of state

building and absolute monarchy. Having sampled from a small fraction of the

abundant literature on the subject, I now am fully convinced that the period

is anything but boring, and that in fact there is significant scholarly and

religious debate as to the causes, significance, and after effects of the

Protestant Reformation. I was surprised to find several scholarly articles by

evangelical theologians such as a collection of essays edited by Sung Wook

Chung of Denver Seminary in which John Calvin is held up as a major

influence on modern day evangelical Christianity. One document in the set

that I put together for this lesson is a scholarly article that holds up Calvin as

a father of modern democracy, or at least of the concept of constitutionalism

that was still relatively new at the time (Little, 2012).

Martin Luther is the best known of the Reformation leaders, but he too

contains layers of complexity that rarely come out in a typical textbook

account that teachers assign their students, or even in excerpts of the

Ninety-five Theses that are now included as supplemental materials in most

student texts. The Stanford History Education Group lesson on Martin Luther

does a nice job of introducing students to Martin Luthers complexity as a

reformer while reinforcing the historical thinking skill of corroboration in

much the same way that the John Smith lesson does (two pieces of writing

by the same person during different periods of that persons life that

contradict one another).

For my Central Historical Question, which I will use to guide students

through a Structured Academic Controversy, I decided to use Professor

Reismans suggestion of pitting two great Reformation leaders against one

another and having students decide which one was the bigger rebel. The

CHQ for this lesson is, Who was a bigger rebel: Martin Luther or John Calvin? I

find this question particularly appealing because to answer it, students must

first understand basic information about the Catholic Church at the time of

the Reformation, then they must understand that church reformers had

different platforms and approaches to church reform, and then they must

decide for themselves which platform, as represented by the documents in

this lesson, was more radical and rebellious. The other aspect of this

question that I like is that there is no clear answer. As Johnson and Johnson

(1988) put it, controversies must be described as interesting problems to be

solved rather than as win-lose situations (p. 38).

My biggest challenge in designing this lesson, I believe, is to ensure

that my students background knowledge on the subject is solid before we

begin. Again, these are 9th grade students in my world history class, and at

the time we are engaging in this SAC, they will have read the two textbook

sections of the chapter on the Renaissance and Reformation. They also will
have completed the Stanford History Education Group document-based

lesson on Martin Luther and the way his doctrine changed over time from his

relatively obscure youth to his more established middle age. I will begin the

unit on the Reformation with a slide presentation that sets the stage for the

Reformation by demonstrating how deeply influential the Church was in all

aspects of Medieval life, and by giving a very brief overview of the waves of

church critique and church reform going as far back as the early Middle Ages

to show that the Reformation did not come out of nowhere. Since students

will already have a pretty good understanding of who Martin Luther was by

the time they begin this SAC lesson, I will focus my attention in the short,

introductory PowerPoint on introducing John Calvin and reinforcing students

understanding of the Church status quo at the time of the Reformation in

order to help students understand why it was so radical to defy the Church.

One schema that students will hopefully have from our previous unit on the

Renaissance is of humanist philosophy and the works of Erasmus and

Thomas More, among others, which would influence both Luther and Calvin

in different ways. My formative evaluation will include observations of their

SAC preparation and presentations, and their participation in the group

discussion at the end.

What will likely be challenging for students is remembering, as they

read the documents, why the concepts described in them were radical and

rebellious for their time. For example, it might be hard for students to

understand why its radical to say that people should study the scriptures

and try to understand them better, but what I want students to realize is that
the Catholic Church at the time didnt want just any person to study the Bible

and believed that only clergymen, and higher up ones at that, had the

religious authority to study and interpret the scriptures. What I will do to help

scaffold students learning is to craft guiding questions that draw on

background information from the introductory PowerPoint to help students

correctly interpret the significance of the documents.

My main goal is that students understand that both reformers were

rebels for their time. The main skill I want students to focus on during this

lesson is consensus-making, as this tends to be really challenging for them in

previous group work projects we have done.

Works cited:
Beck, R., Black, L., Krieger, L., Naylor, P., Shabaka, D. (Eds.). (2010). World
History: Patterns of Interaction. Dumfries, North Carolina: Holt McDougal.
Calvin, J. (1539). Letter to Cardinal Sadoleto. In Olin, J.C. (Ed.) (2000) A
reformation debate: Sadoletos letter to the Genevans and Calvins reply.
New York, NY: Fordham University Press. (pp. 57-59).
Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T. (May 1988). "Critical Thinking Through
Controversy." Educational Leadership.
Little, D. (2012). Calvins Theology of Church and Society: Modern Reception
and Contemporary Possibilities. In Billings, T. B. & Hesselink, I.J. (Eds.)
Calvins Theology and its Reception (216-240). Louisville, KY: Westminster
John Knox Press. (p. 220)
Luther, M. (1520). Freedom of a Christian, Part Two. In Thornton, J.F., &
Varenne, S.B. (Eds.) (2002) Faith and Freedom: An Invitation to the Writings
of Martin Luther (3-16). New York, NY: Vintage Spiritual Classics.
Wallace, P. (2012). The Long European Reformation, 2nd ed. New York, NY:
Palgrave Macmillan. p. 74.

Hannah Carney
SAC on the Protestant Reformation
Lesson Plan

Central Historical Question: Who was a bigger rebel: Martin Luther or John
Calvin?

Lesson objectives: students will understand how radical the Protestant

reformers were by participating in a Structured Academic Controversy lesson
based on two major leaders in the Protestant Reformation.

Background knowledge: Students will have a basic understanding of the

Catholic Church leading up to the Protestant Reformation, and will have a
solid understanding of Martin Luthers role in the Protestant Reformation
Sequence of Activities: (Assuming three 50-minute class periods)

1. [5 min.] Introduce the do now question: what was the reformation

supposed to reform? Give students a minute to discuss with the person
sitting near them, and then elicit a few answers.

2. [8 min.] Students take notes on a brief PowerPoint with basic

information about the Catholic Church of the 16th century and about
Martin Luther and John Calvin. Ask students to define radical, elicit a
few responses. Show students the slides on the SAC procedures and
explain the steps we will take in this unfamiliar lesson format.

3. [15 min.] Ask students to read with a partner documents A and B, the
two textbook passages on Luther and Calvin, respectively. Students will
answer the guiding questions those two documents. Elicit 2-3 student
responses to the questions.

4. [2 min.] TRANSITION: Now that we have read the textbook accounts,

explain that we need to gather more evidence in order to be able to
answer our Central Historical question. Hand out Documents C and D.

5. [15 min.] Students silently read Document C and D and then should
work in pairs to answer the questions together.

6. [3 min.] Class discussion:

Have we answered our CHQ yet? Why or why not?

How reliable are our documents? Which document do you find most
reliable so far? Why?
What other evidence do we need in order to answer the CHQ?
[possible responses include that we need to see primary sources, we
need to get more clarity on each reformers position, we need
documents that show more of the reformers ideas, etc.]

7. [2 min.] Explain that students need to read Documents E and F for

homework, and answer the Guiding questions for them.

The next day

8. [8 min.] Have students discuss the guiding questions for Documents E

and F in pairs or small groups. Elicit a few responses.

9. [10 min.] Organizing the evidence: students will now fill out their
graphic organizer with evidence supporting the side they were
assigned. Team A is arguing that Martin Luther was the bigger rebel,
and Team B is arguing that John Calvin was the bigger rebel.
 10. [10 min.] Team A presents to Team B, while Team B takes notes.
Team B repeats Team As main points back to them.

11. [10 min.] Team B presents to Team A, while Team A takes notes.
Team A repeats Team Bs main points back to them.

12. [10 min.] Consensus building: students write a brief consensus

statement that shows their agreement on one side or another (or
both), or demonstrates that group members have carefully considered
the validity of each position.

The next day

13. [5 min.] Have students review their consensus statements from

yesterday.
14. [20 min.] Lead discussion on the SAC
How did your views on the two reformers develop as you read
through the documents?
Did you stay in the same position you were assigned, or did you
change (or adopt a combination of the two positions?
So Id like to take a vote: who was the bigger rebel, Martin Luther
or John Calvin?
What made Martin Luther a rebel? He encouraged people to
question their relationship to God, he said that wearing a
clergymans robes and holding high religious office didnt make a
person truly faithful to God. Said reading Scriptures and having
personal faith was central to being a good Christian.
What made John Calvin a rebel? He supported the idea of a
constitution and checks on monarchs power, said that religious
ceremonies didnt get people closer to God, said that most
sermons were purposely hard to understand and were full of
superstition. His ideal government forbade a lot of the worldly
habits that had become common in Europe at the time.

Assessment: Student understanding will be assessed by their participation

in the class share outs and in the SAC, as well as on their participation in the
discussion and their answer to the CHQ.
Document A: Patterns of Interaction textbook excerpt
Martin Luthers parents wanted him to be a lawyer. Instead, he
became a monk and a teacher. From 1512 until his death, he
taught scripture at the University of Wittenberg in the German
state of Saxony. All he wanted was to be a good Christian, not to
lead a religious revolution.
In 1517, Luther decided to take a public stand against the actions
of a friar named Johann Tetzel. Tetzel was raising money to rebuild
St. Peters Cathedral in Rome. He did this by selling indulgences.
An indulgence was a pardon. It released a sinner from performing
the penalty that a priest imposed for sins. Indulgences were not
supposed to affect Gods right to judge. Unfortunately, Tetzel gave
people the impression that by buying indulgences, they could buy
their way into heaven.
Luther was troubled by Tetzels tactics. In response, he wrote 95
Theses, or formal statements, attacking the pardon-merchants.
On October 31, 1517, he posted these statements on the door of
the castle church in Wittenberg and invited other scholars to
debate him. Someone copied Luthers words and took them to a
printer. Quickly, Luthers name became known all over Germany.
His actions began the Reformation, a movement for religious
reform. It led to the founding of Christian churches that did not
accept the popes authority.
Soon Luther went beyond criticizing indulgences. He wanted full
reform of the Church. His teachings rested on three main ideas:

People could win salvation only by faith in Gods gift of

forgiveness. The Church taught that faith and good works
were needed for salvation.
All Church teachings should be clearly based on the words
of the Bible. Both the pope and Church traditions were false
authorities.
All people with faith were equal. Therefore, people did not
need priests to interpret the Bible for them.

Source: This is a passage from the textbook called Patterns of

Interaction, written by Linda Black, Roger Beck, and two other
authors in 2010. This is the passage that introduces the reader to
Martin Luther and his critiques of the Church.

Document B: Patterns of Interaction textbook excerpt

When Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517, John Calvin had
been only eight years old. But Calvin grew up to have as much
influence in the spread of Protestantism as Luther did. He would
give order to the faith Luther had begun.
In 1536, Calvin published Institutes of the Christian Religion. This
book expressed ideas about God, salvation, and human nature. It
was a summary of Protestant theology, or religious beliefs. Calvin
wrote that men and women are sinful by nature. Taking Luthers
idea that humans cannot earn salvation, Calvin went on to say
that God chooses a very few people to save. Calvin called these
few the elect. He believed that God has known since the
beginning of time who will be saved. This doctrine is called
predestination. The religion based on Calvins teachings is called
Calvinism.
Calvin believed that the ideal government was a theocracy, a
government controlled by religious leaders. In 1541, Protestants
in Geneva, Switzerland, asked Calvin to lead their city. When
Calvin arrived there in the 1540s, Geneva was a self-governing
city of about 20,000 people. He and his followers ran the city
according to strict rules. Everyone attended religion class. No one
wore bright clothing or played card games. Authorities would
imprison, excommunicate, or banish those who broke such rules.
Anyone who preached different doctrines might be burned at the
stake. Yet, to many Protestants, Calvins Geneva was a model city
of highly moral citizens.
Source: This is a passage from the textbook called Patterns of
Interaction, written by Linda Black, Roger Beck, and two other
authors in 2010. This is the passage that introduces the reader to
John Calvins ideas and influence on the Protestant Reformation.
 Document C: from Peter Wallace
Traditional accounts of the Reformation begin with a university
professor, Martin Luther (1483-1546), nailing 95 theses for public
debate to a church door at Wittenberg on 31 October 1517. This
apocryphal story reflects the perspective of Church historians
who focus on Luther as essentially a theologian, and on the
Reformation as essentially a theological struggle. In addition,
some historians present Luthers theology as a complete and
coherent whole rather than an evolving and sometimes
contradictory product of intense polemical debate. Luthers
innovative understanding of the centrality of faith in Christian life
and his willingness to broadcast his insights gave people an
opportunity to re-evaluate their own relationship with God. The
diverse individual responses of Luthers audience would
eventually create distinct paths to faith, and that process is just
as significant as Luthers role as instigator. Luther had the
charisma and energy to trigger reform, but, as we will see, he
could not control the course of events or, in the long run, the
nature of his own reformation.
apocryphal: well-known but probably not true
theologian: someone who studies religious faith, practice, and
experience
theological: relating to the study of religious faith, practice, and
experience
polemical : characterized by a strong written or spoken attack
against someone elses opinions, practices, or beliefs
instigator: someone who causes something to happen or to begin.

Source: The author of this excerpt is Peter G. Wallace, a professor

of history at Hartwick College in New York. His other book is about
conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Colmar, France. This
book was first published in 2004 and then again in 2012 in a
second edition.
 Document D: from David Little (Modified)
As it happens, Calvin strongly supported most of the basic
features of modern constitutionalism: a written code
understood as fundamental in being a foundation of
government and subsequently unalterable by ordinary legal
process; attribution of political and legal authority, including
limits on and division of power by means of a self-conscious,
direct and express act by the people whom the government is
taken to represent; the conviction that any act of government
outside the stated limits is an exercise of power without right
and properly subject, if need be, to required restraint: an honest,
able, learned, and independent judiciary; and the codification
of a set of inalienable individual rights, whose enforcement is
considered to be a critical condition of legitimate government.
Calvin wrote that Every commonwealth rests upon laws and
agreements preferably written downagreements that are
regarded as fundamental to the protection of the freedom of the
people, a term he used repeatedly. Written law is nothing but
proof of the [natural law], whereby God brings back to memory
what has already been imprinted in our hearts. The structure of
government should, on his view, be polyarchic rather than
monarchic.
constitutionalism: the belief that government should be based on
a constitution
judiciary: the courts of law in a country or state, or the branch of
government that includes courts of law and judges
codification: to put laws or rules together as part of an orderly
system
commonwealth: a group of countries or states that have economic
or political connections to each other
polyarchic: describing a form of government in which power is
invested in multiple people

Source: Professor David Little is a retired professor of Religion,

Ethnicity, and International Conflict at Harvard Divinity School. He
wrote this essay for a collection on John Calvin that was published
in 2012.

Document E: from The Freedom of a Christian (Modified)

To make the way smoother for the unlearnedfor only them do I
serveI shall set down the following two propositions concerning
the freedom and the bondage of the spirit:
A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

These two theses seem to contradict each other. If, however, they
should be found to fit together, they would serve our purpose
beautifully.
It is evident that no external thing has any influence in producing
Christian righteousness or freedom, or in producing
unrighteousness or servitude. A simple argument will furnish the
proof of this statement. What can it profit the soul if the body is
well, free, and active, and eats, drinks, and does as it pleases? For
in these respects even the most godless slaves of vice may
prosper. On the other hand, how will poor health or imprisonment
or hunger or thirst or any other external misfortune harm the
soul? Even the most godly men, and those who are free because
of clear consciences, are afflicted with these things.
It does not help the soul if the body is adorned with the sacred
robes of priests or dwells in sacred places or is occupied with
sacred duties or prays, fasts, abstains from certain kinds of food,
or does any work that can be done by the body and in the body.
The righteousness and the freedom of the soul require something
far different, since the things which have been mentioned could
be done by any wicked person. Such works produce nothing but
hypocrites. On the other hand, it will not harm the soul if the body
is clothed in secular dress, dwells in unconsecrated places, eats
and drinks as others do, does not pray aloud, and neglects to do
all the above-mentioned things which hypocrites can do.
Furthermore, to put aside all kinds of works, even contemplation,
meditation, and all that the soul can do, does not help. One thing,
and only one thing, is necessary for Christian life, righteousness,
and freedom. That one thing is the most holy Word of God, the
gospel of Christ.
vice: bad behavior or habits
Source: Martin Luther wrote The Freedom of a Christian, of
which the above passage is an excerpt, in 1520, three years after
the publication of his 95 Theses and the widespread reaction that
followed.
Document F: Letter from John Calvin to Cardinal Sadoleto
Of ceremonies, indeed, you have more than enough, but for the
most part so childish, and contaminated by multiple forms of
superstition, as to be utterly ineffective for the preservation of the
Church. None of these things, you must be aware, have I
exaggerated unfairly.
Ceremonies we have in a great measure abolished, but we were
compelled to do so; partly because by their multitude they had
degenerated into a kind of Judaism, partly because they had filled
the minds of the people with superstition, and could not possibly
remain without doing the greatest damage to the piety which it
was their duty to promote.
I would have you again consider on what grounds you can blame
our people for studying and trying to understand the Scriptures.
For you are aware that by this study they have shed such light on
the Word of God, that they should be praised rather than
criticized. You are dishonest when you say that we have seduced
the people by thorny and subtle questions. What? Do you
remember what kind of information priests learned in the schools
before the reformers started calling for changes in the Church?
You yourself know that it was mere sophistry, and sophistry so
complicated and puzzling, that the study of Christianity might be
described as a type of secret magic. The denser the darkness in
which a clergyman hid a subject, and the more he puzzled himself
and others with ridiculous riddles, the greater his fame was for
intelligence and learning.
Before the reformers began their work, what one sermon was
there from which old wives might not carry off more foolish lies
than they could come up with at their own fireside in a month?
piety: devotion to God
scriptures: books of the Christian Bible
thorny: very difficult or complicated
sophistry: the use of reasoning or arguments that sound correct
but are actually false
old wives: in this context, ignorant old (probably peasant) women

Source: John Calvin wrote this letter to Cardinal Sadoleto in

August of 1539, in response to a letter that Sadoleto, an
influential church official from southern France, had sent to the
city of Geneva urging the city to return to the Catholic Church
and abandon Protestantism.

Luther versus Calvin Structured Academic Controversy

Guiding Questions
Document A:
1. (Sourcing): Who wrote this document, and for what purpose?

2. (Close Reading): According to Document A, was Martin Luther a

rebel? Why or why not?
3. (Sourcing): How reliable do you find Document A? Please
explain.

Document B:
1. (Sourcing): What are some of the benefits of reading a textbook
passage as evidence? What are some of the downsides?

2. (Close Reading): According to Documents A and B, who was a

bigger rebel, Martin Luther or John Calvin?

Document C:
1. (Sourcing): is Document C a reliable source of information on
the Protestant Reformation? Why or Why not?

2. (Corroboration): Does Document C corroborate the story about

the 95 Theses being posted on the church door? What do you
think actually happened?
3. (Close Reading): According to Document C, what were Martin
Luthers main contributions to the Protestant Reformation?

Document D:
1. (Sourcing): Who wrote Document D, and what was their
purpose for writing it?

2. (Close Reading): According to the author of Document D, what

aspects of constitutionalism did John Calvin support?

Document E:
1. (Sourcing): Who wrote Document E, and what was their
purpose for writing it?

2. (Corroboration): Based on what you know of the Roman

Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation, what was radical
about Martin Luthers statements in this document? Point to
specific evidence in the text.
3. (Close Reading): What about Document E would likely have
been most upsetting to the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church
at the time he wrote it?

Document F:
1. (Sourcing): Who wrote Document F, and for what purpose?

2. (Close Reading): What do you think the author means in his

reference to Judaism?

3. (Contextualization): What about Document F do you think

would be most upsetting to the Roman Catholic clergy at the time
it was written?
Organizing your evidence
Use this space to write down your main points and record the points made
by the other side.
Martin Luther was a bigger rebel: list the 4 main points/evidence that
support this side.
1) From document _____:

2) From document _____:

3) From document _____:

4) From document _____:

John Calvin was a bigger rebel: list the 4 main points/evidence that
support this side.
1) From document ____:

2) From document ____:

3) From document ____:

4) From document ____:

Consensus
You may now abandon your original position and argue for either side.
Use the space below to outline your groups agreement. Your agreement
should address evidence and arguments from both sides.