The Lord’s return was so imminent, claimed Luther and Melanchthon, that there was no time to conduct missions. Calvin maintained that it was God’s, not people’s, duty to reach the lost (election). Zwingli believed those “called of God” should be sent out by the church. Third, they were preoccupied with wars between Protestants and Catholics. Fourth, the newly formed Protestant governments were not really interested in reaching pagans. Fifth, Protestants lacked a monastic structure (rejected by Luther) that could make missions happen, and no alternatives (such as modern mission agencies) had
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