It can easily be said that John Calvin (1509-1564), was one of the most influential men of that century. The reason was his strict Calvinist theology. Calvin believed that people should live lives pleasing to God. However, he also saw that humanity was completely sinful and that each person's “afterlife” was predestined by the omniscient God. Therefore, through intense research, he managed to come up with several life principles. These principles have since been organized into five key points: total depravity of man, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. (John Calvin) So, it was these five points that most people of that time period became accustomed to. The first point, The Total Depravity of Man, tells us that humanity is almost entirely evil. It is simply not in our nature to do any kind of goodness. Therefore, since we know that God is all about goodness, there seems to be no way to connect with him. This tells us that we will have no desire to pursue goodness (God), unless we can somehow see something in it for ourselves (Grace). This brings us to the second point, unconditional election. If we have no intention of pursuing God's goodness, the only chance we have of being saved from the depths of Hell is for God to grant us this right. This is exactly what God does. According to Calvinism, before a person is born, God has already decided whether he wants to grant us salvation or not. He called them his “chosen ones” or “chosen ones.” Now, although this seems to mean that "free will" does not exist in Calvinism, this is not entirely clear to the author. One thing that can be certain, however, is that these first Americans...... middle of paper......od" in the first Americans. In fact, this is more than likely why this "fear " or " respect" is still felt by God's people today. After all, He is still the final judge of eternity. Therefore, His people will always respect His judgment and love Him for His gracious gift of grace. Works Cited Bradstreet , Anne. “Contemplations.” Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 99-100 American Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 198.John Calvin.html> .New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 137.