Immutable Kingdom – Part 30

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 30

By Scott A. Klaft

Zwingli and Luther Meet

Because of the aggressive Catholic persecution of the Reformation Movement, the Protestants were soon in danger of complete extermination. In 1529, some leaders of the German and Swiss movements met to work out their differences, and to discuss unification for defensive purposes. These representatives discovered that out of the fifteen points Luther considered to be essential, the two groups agreed on fourteen. The two leading reformers came together to discuss that one point.

While both Luther and Zwingli agreed that the Catholic priests could not perform the “miracle of transubstantiation” (where the elements of the Lord’s Supper are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ), Luther contended that the literal body and blood were still present in the elements. His reasoning was, as iron heated red-hot is still iron, yet the heat remains, so also are the elements of the Lord’s Supper. The body and blood are within them. This conception of the Lord’s Supper is called “consubstantiation” and is still held by modern Lutherans under the term “impanation.”

Zwingli contended that the elements were “representative” of Jesus’ body and blood, and that they never actually contain literal flesh or blood. Luther took chalk and wrote “this is my body,” insisting that Jesus meant what he said, but Zwingli pointed out when Jesus said that, He had not yet suffered the things which the broken bread was intended to signify. Zwingli further reasoned that while Jesus said, “this is my blood,” He did not turn it into His literal blood because He continued to say, “I will drink henceforth no more the fruit of the vine” proving that no change had taken place. Luther declared Zwingli had a “different spirit,” and that he would have no fellowship with him.

After a minor conflict between the Catholics of Switzerland and the reformers under Zwingli’s leadership, a brief period of peace was enjoyed. As Zwingli’s influence increased, however, war broke out in 1531. As a chaplain, Zwingli traveled with the army. He was soon killed in a battle. Zwingli understood much of the New Testament teachings, and he accomplished a great deal to reestablish the New Testament church. He never gave up the doctrine of predestination, but he did cast off the teaching of original sin. By relying on town councils to initiate reformation, however, he became dependant on the authority of men to reform whole communities, which is out of harmony with the biblical teaching that conversions are made by individuals hearing and accepting the message of the gospel. Nevertheless, we are indebted to Zwingli for clarifying many points, which was needed before pure un-denominational Christianity could surface.

The Rise of Calvinism

It was not long before John Calvin came into prominence as a leader of the reformation in Switzerland. The followers of Zwingli promptly joined forces with Calvin’s in order to form “The Reformed Churches of Switzerland.” As large an impression as Martin Luther left on religion, John Calvin’s is arguably as big. He was the organizer of a system of theology that continues in the Protestant world today. The term “Presbyterian” was used originally to describe the system of church-government that Calvin adopted to guide the churches in Switzerland. The Presbyterian Church is an outgrowth of this movement.

After a tremendous amount of education, Calvin was converted, following an extremely violent emotional experience, and he determined to spend his life in the service of the Reformation. In 1536, he wrote the first edition of the most systematic volume of religious beliefs ever produced during the Reformation Movement called, Institutes of the Christian Religion.

(Continued Next Week)

Immutable Kingdom – Part 29

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 29

By Scott A. Klaft

Loose Ends of Luther

There are a few things about the efforts of the Lutheran Reformation that are deserving of brief mention. Whether Luther actually realized it or not, he had set in motion a pattern for reformation that spread throughout Western Europe. He set down four basic principles to which Protestantism adhered: 1. Justification by faith; 2. the priesthood of all believers; 3. the right of the individual to interpret scripture; and 4. the final authority in religion is the scripture itself, and not men.

It is said that Luther was always opposed to his followers being called after his name, but after his death, there was nothing more he could do. His followers, at first, did not even claim to have created a new church, but rather were simply trying to correct the unscriptural practices found in the Catholic Church; and, through reformation, they were trying to return to the church as it had been prior to the initiation of Romanism.

Having examined the efforts and purposes of the reformers, it is regrettable that the movement was never able to accomplish what the leaders had hoped. As State religions developed and creeds began to take the place of scripture, the Lutheran movement fell short of the complete truth. Until he was forced to write out his first creed in 1529, Luther was making progress toward a full understanding. Once it was formed, he was forced to spend the rest of his time defending what he had written. It seems likely, if he would have been allowed to continue to pursue his course, he might have actually achieved a restoration of the New Testament church.

The Swiss Reformation

Encouraged by the Dutch scholar, Erasmus to make a study of the Greek New Testament, a man name Huldreich Zwingli (A.D. 1484 – 1531) began to develop an interest in primitive Christianity, which in turn brought his attention toward reform. Between 1516 and 1519, he started to make a study of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, which gave him a better background for his studies in the New Testament. Soon, he was giving a new kind of sermon. Contrary to the custom, he preached a series on the books of the Bible, and it was during this time he had his first encounter with Martin Luther. He read with deep interest everything Luther wrote; and by 1520, he had learned too much to continue as a loyal subject of the Pope. He resigned from Catholic support and began to criticize publicly the Catholic system. He became very vocal in his opposition, addressing many of the same errors that had offended Luther.

In 1522, Zwingli prepared sixty-seven theses; in which, he differed heavily with the Catholic Church, and he offered to debate them publicly. At Zurich, he became a very popular preacher because his sermons were biblically based, and most of them were expository in nature. He condemned many of those Catholic doctrines that had no justification in the scriptures, and he challenged the world to a debate. The city council came to the consensus that they would adopt whatever religion that could prove its point. A series of debates was held; the council decided in favor of Zwingli; and one by one, issue by issue, changes were made in the worship and organization of the church in Zurich. After the third debate, the council asked Zwingli to make any of the necessary changes he felt would be in harmony with scripture, which virtually made him ruler of the city.

The well-educated Zwingli relied heavily on reason and rationality in all of his decisions, but always relied on the Bible as a basis for his rules and wisdom. His view of the scripture would allow in worship only what the New Testament approved. Here is where he and Luther parted ways. Luther would remove from the church only what was specifically condemned, whereas Zwingli would approve only what is specifically stated in the scripture. He published this view in an essay entitled, A Commentary on the True and False Religions.

(The Swiss Reformation Continues Next Week:

Zwingli and Luther Meet – & – The Rise of Calvinism)

Immutable Kingdom – Part 28

The Immutable Kingdom – Part 28

By Scott A. Klaft

(Lutheranism Continued: The Peasant’s War)

As the reformation picked up speed and influence, it is to be expected that many people would begin to use Lutheranism for their own selfish desires. Some of the peasants thought they saw an opportunity to revolt against their governing lords, and the revolution of 1525 became known as The Peasant’s War. At first, Luther had favored the peasants, but when they rebelled with violence, he sided with the lordships. He wrote strongly against what he called “the murderous, thieving bands of peasants,” saying they were like mad dogs and ought to be treated as such. Luther began to question the common people’s reliability to bring about reform in Germany; thus, he began to focus upon the nobility. It was his efforts that eventually led to the institution of a State-run religion.

The Label “Protestant”

In 1526, the Lutheran nobility of Germany called a meeting in the city called Speier where it was decided the princes had the right to choose what religion would be supported in their own principalities. Many of the princes immediately legalized the Reformation, and its advocates went to work, spreading into new territories. Charles V, the emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire,” became rather disturbed over the gains the reformers were making. He called for another meeting at Speier. In 1529, the previous decision was reversed, this time with Catholic nobility now in the majority. During the meeting, the Lutheran princes loudly protested the reversal of the prior decision, bringing upon themselves the term “Protestants.” Realizing Charles V would bring military force upon them, the reformers began to organize for an armed resistance. By this time, the reformation movement had spread into Switzerland, so the followers of Luther contacted them to try to unify the two movements in opposition to Charles, but differences between Luther and the Swiss reform leader, Zwingli, prevented a full unification of forces. (For details, see next week’s installment.)

The Lutheran Catechism

In 1530, another meeting was called in the city of Augsburg where the Lutheran Reformers were asked to present a written statement of their beliefs. The composition came to be known as the Augsburg Confession. This catechism was condemned by the predominantly Roman Catholic council, and Charles V renewed his determination to crush Lutheranism. With another invasion of the Turks from the south, however, he was not able to focus his attention on Germany. He told the German princes he would return in six months, but several years passed before he could get affairs in order.

The Death of Martin Luther

Dying of natural causes in 1546, Luther was spared the anguish of seeing another armed conflict, but Charles carried out his threat a year later. There were national conflicts, defeats, associations, and betrayals. Peace terms were finally drawn in 1555, allowing Lutheranism and Catholicism to coexist in something less than a peaceful harmony.

Luther’s followers began to argue among themselves over the interpretation of certain passages of scripture. The man who stepped up to lead in Luther’s place had always been close with Luther, but he was soon accused of departing from Luther’s doctrine of “faith only,” since he was sure that man had to do his part as well. Heartsick over the internal strife, just before he died, he made the statement that he thanked God that he could now die, and escape the fury of the theologians. Not much later, in an attempt at unity, the Augsburg Confession was altered, and it became a test-creed for fellowship. Many Lutherans began to place more emphasis on conformity to the creed than to study and application of the scripture. Thus, the Lutheran movement lost its vigor.

(Next week: The Swiss Reformation)