Calvinism

Calvinism, Protestant doctrine formulated by John Calvin and stated chiefly in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536). Its basic tenets are that God is omnipotent; His will is supreme and governs all actions; each person's life is predestined, the salvation or damnation of each soul determined by God before creation; God's elect will be saved and given eternal life, and those He has damned can find no release (justification) from the consequences of their sins except by dedicating themselves to His service. The strict Calvinist maintains that God sees humankind as loathsome and corrupt, with feeble delusions of virtue and worth. Calvinism preaches that the Bible is the only source of God's laws and refers more often to the Old Testament than the New, emphasizing the judgment of sinners more than the love and compassion of God.