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John Calvin [1509-1564]
- Diarmaid McCulloch [born 1951]
Calvin's Predestination taught that the Catholic route to Heaven was hopelessly awry; Calvin's Protestants believed that a select few were chosen and that the rest were cast into hell.
Wealth was the best evidence of God's favor; private and spiritual capital were linked.
Benjamin Franklin [1706-1790] popularized the Protestant work ethic:
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
More Franklin here.