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[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/702686]
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For the fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man's house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.
AUTHOR: John Calvin (French: Jean Calvin, born Jehan
Cauvin: 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and
pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the
development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism.
Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic
Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising
against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where he
published the first edition of his seminal work The Institutes of the Christian
Religion in 1536. In that year, Calvin was recruited by William Farel to help
reform the church in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of
Calvin and Farel's ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of
Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of a
church of French refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in
Geneva, and was eventually invited back to lead its church. Following his
return, Calvin introduced new forms of church government and liturgy, despite
the opposition of several powerful families in the city who tried to curb his
authority. During this time, the trial of Michael Servetus was extended by
libertines in an attempt to harass Calvin. However, since Servetus was also
condemned and wanted by the Inquisition, outside pressure from all over Europe
forced the trial to continue. Following an influx of supportive refugees and
new elections to the city council, Calvin's opponents were forced out. Calvin
spent his final years promoting the Reformation both in Geneva and throughout
Europe. Calvin was a tireless polemic and apologetic writer who generated much
controversy. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many
reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition to
the Institutes, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, as well as
theological treatises and confessional documents. He regularly preached sermons
throughout the week in Geneva. Calvin was influenced by the Augustinian
tradition, which led him to expound the doctrine of predestination and the
absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and
eternal damnation. Calvin's writing and preachings provided the seeds for the
branch of theology that bears his name. The Reformed and Presbyterian churches,
which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread
throughout the world.
