Final answer:
John Calvin's teachings center on the concept of Predestination, where God chooses the elect for salvation, a belief that influenced the daily conduct and community structure of his followers. This central aspect of Calvinism rejects the idea of free will in terms of salvation and suggests that humans cannot alter their predestined fate.
Step-by-step explanation:
John Calvin's Beliefs
The belief system of John Calvin is best described by A) Predestination. Calvin's theology emphasized that all events, including salvation, had been decided by God. As a central figure in the Protestant Reformation, he established the doctrine of predestination, which posited that God had already chosen the elect who were predestined for salvation. This belief suggested that humans had no power to change their predestined outcome. Calvinists looked for signs in their ways of living and success in their endeavors as indicators of being among the elect. In Geneva, Calvin helped establish a community that lived strictly according to their interpretations of the Bible, with societal and ethical implications drawn from his teachings. The impact of Calvinism and its core belief of predestination spread widely, influencing various Protestant groups.
Calvinism was markedly different in its emphasis on predestination compared to the ideas of free will and good works propounded by the Catholic Church at the time. According to Calvin, only God knew who the elect were, and nothing humans could do in life could alter their predetermined fate. Nevertheless, Puritans, deeply influenced by Calvinist thought, were meticulous in documenting their lives and actions in the hope of deducing signs of their “election” for salvation.