Luther’s Only Truly Congenial Disciple

It was said of famed Luther-scholar Karl Holl that he regarded John Calvin as "Luther's only truly congenial disciple." This high estimation of Calvin shocked the Lutherans, who have always nursed a grudge against Calvin and Calvinists. It might have surprised Luther, who was inclined to lump Calvin with the despised "sacramentarians." Luther and Calvin were contemporaries, although Calvin was twenty-six years younger than Luther. For about ten years, until Luther's death in 1546, they labored...