John Calvin
1509 - 1564
When Jean Cauvin was ten, he moved into the house of a nobleman to study alongside his sons. At the age of eleven he moved to Paris to receive his education from the College de la Marche, and eventually transferred to various colleges, studying mostly the arts and law until the age of twenty-two. John did not grow up a Protestant, but when a friend became a Lutheran he knew he had to face the new ideas squarely. As John studied the Bible he saw that all his life he had been in error, and passages that he had memorized years ago were now full of meaning. Calvin was almost arrested and fled to his friend's house where he started writing a defense of the Protestant Christian faith. He called the book The Institutes of the Christian Religion.
When The Institutes of the Christian Religion was published, it was so popular among Christians, especially Lutherans and Protestants, that by popularity it spread to Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Scandinavia, and eventually the Americas. Dutch Calvinist settlers were also the first successful European colonizers of South Africa.
When the pilgrims and colonists, including the Puritans and French Huguenot and Dutch settlers came to America, the vast majority of them had a Calvinist upbringing and brought with them to America Calvin's writings. No one came empty minded, and as Calvinists they believed in the rule of God over all things including the depravity of humans, biblical law, and limited government. So when they created a government, they created it according to those beliefs.
In addition to the colonists and founding fathers of America, John Calvin inspired people like John Knox, a Scottish reformer, Huldrych Zwingli, Franciscus Gomarus, and even many later figures such as Jonathan Edwards and John Bunyan. Most of his influence came from the writings of his books, his contributions to confessional documents for use in churches, and his massive out-pouring of commentary on the Bible (He wrote a commentary on every book of the Bible except 2 John, 3 John, Revelation, and some Old Testament books). He wanted to present the plain meaning of the text before his readers. But through the academy he founded, many teachers, evangelists, theologians, and preachers have continued the work he began, reforming church denominations and peoples. Calvin's successor, Theodore Beza, said that Calvin was a "Christian Hercules who subdued so many monsters with the mightiest club of all - the Word of God".
John Paul Jones
1747 - 1792
John Paul, named the father of the American navy, was born to John Paul Sr. on the southern coast of Scotland. At age thirteen he had started his career in sailing, and at age twenty-one he was a captain. Later, being charged with "unnecessarily cruel" behavior, he left Scotland and after changing his name to John Paul Jones he joined the American navy to fight against England. At that time the Americans had virtually no navy, and their coasts were unprotected. So thankfully John Paul came and gave his advice on what kind of ships and men were needed. He also showed them that they could not win the nautical battles against the British on they're own, only three nations had the naval ability to do that. So at his suggestion, they began the construction of thirteen ships, and sent him to France for more help.
Jones was the first man to be assigned to the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the Continental Navy, and took the honor of hoisting, and saluting to, the first U.S. ensign over a naval vessel. After defeating a ship called the Drake and sailing to France, Jones took command of a half-rotten ship called the Bon Homme Richard given to him by the French. On his way back to America, he came into contact with the HMS Serapis, A larger, much stronger ship. After a four hour battle, an Indian called Red Jerry managed to throw a grenade right in between the two decks with all the cannons and cannonballs, igniting and causing a chain reaction! The British finally surrendered, and because of this victory the British were so afraid of the Americans (John Paul in particular) that there was an increasing demand on the British Parliament to declare peace with America.
In 1787 Jones was decorated by the king of France and received the title “Chevalier” along with a gold medal and a sword. While in Britain, on the other hand, he was branded as a pirate.
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The Adherent
