Reformation Questions, Reformation Answers

95 Key Events, People, and Issues

Donald K. McKim

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781611647822
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

What does "Protestant mean? What are the differences in worship among Protestants? Who were the Huguenots? What does the Reformation mean for us today? This new book by best-selling author Don McKim answers these questions and many more, providing the essential history of the Protestant Reformation.

In an easy-to-use question-and-answer style, Reformation Questions, Reformation Answers highlights the key facts, people, and theologies of the Protestant Reformation, as well as major legacies of the historical movement. Published in time for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, this new resource will help readers understand a critical moment in Christian history that still deeply affects who the church is today.

Theology

4

Theological Expressions

43 What was Scholasticism?

In the medieval period, the theology of the schools (Lat. scholae) was called “scholasticism.” After the capture of Jerusalem by Islamic invaders (638) until its recapture in the Christian crusades (1099), Christian theology was largely the work of monks who studied the Scriptures, the early Christian theologians, and classical literature as part of their calling and devotion.

Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) taught that theology began in faith and led to further understanding. This had also been the method of the great early theologian St. Augustine (354–430). But balances between faith and reason were difficult to maintain.

Peter Abelard (1079–1142) and his student, Peter Lombard (c. 1100–1160) applied the tools of reason to divine revelation. Lombard used this method and wrote what became the standard textbook on theology for four centuries. Thomas Aquinas (1224 or 1225–1274) produced his Summa theologica, through 24 volumes, 631 questions, and 10,000 objections. Aquinas believed reason and revelation are compatible. God’s grace does not destroy nature; it perfects it.

Scholasticism stressed human rationality and the use of reason (though admitting that some Christian doctrines transcended reason). Renaissance humanists such as Desiderius Erasmus and Lorenzo Valla were critical of scholastic method.

Luther and Calvin criticized medieval scholastic theology for regarding human reason too highly and relying too much on Aristotle. The emphasis of Protestant Reformers on Scripture—received in faith—as the source for faith and theological understanding put theology on a different basis from medieval scholasticism.

Scholastic method was used by second-generation Protestant theologians—both Lutheran and Reformed—to systematize and organize insights from earlier reformers. This led to the seventeenth-century era being characterized as a period of post-Reformation Protestant scholasticism. The emphasis was on careful analysis of biblical texts as well as the use of reason to derive further theological insights.

44 What was Renaissance Humanism?

The period of the Renaissance, beginning in the fourteenth century, was marked by a rebirth of learning and new directions for education. During this period in Europe, “humanism” emerged as a method of learning focused on rediscovering and recovering literary sources from classical antiquity—Roman and Greek, as well as Christian. The humanist motto was: Ad fontes! “To the sources!”

The humanist movement emphasized studies related to the life of the world, what we today would call the humanities, rather than the speculative issues that marked the content of much medieval education. Humanists emphasized rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, rather than dialectic, the art of logic, or abstract reasoning associated with scholasticism—the methods of the schools.

The focus of humanists on recovering the literature of the ancient world and interpreting it with an eye toward its meaning for life was important for Protestant Reformers. The most famous humanist scholar was Desiderius Erasmus (1467–1536). Erasmus produced editions of classical texts, including the Greek New Testament (1516). The humanist emphasis was on study of original source documents, interpreted in their linguistic and social contexts. Reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin were trained as humanists and brought the tools of this approach to learning to their theological studies and emphases.

Humanism was an important background influence on Protestant Reformers. Many humanists were critical of the Roman Catholic Church for its speculative, scholastic theology. But while humanism provided tools for Protestant scholars to approach texts—especially the Bible—the Renaissance humanist movement itself did not adopt the theological understandings that marked the Protestant Reformation. Erasmus collided with Luther over the question of free will and differed over the nature of God’s grace. Over time, a clear divergence developed between humanists who remained in the Roman Catholic Church and those who adopted Protestantism.

45 What were indulgences?

The immediate trigger for Luther and the beginning of the Reformation was the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel in 1516 and 1517. Tetzel (c. 1465–1519) was a Dominican priest, touring European cities selling indulgences to raise money for construction of what became St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. A famous slogan associated with this indulgence was “When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.”

In medieval Roman Catholic theology, purgatory was the place where souls of the faithful dead experienced painful purification and cleansing from sin before they could enter heaven. In the church, “indulgences” could be issued on behalf of the departed as a pardon for the temporal punishments that remained for them after repentance and forgiveness of sins by a priest. Friends and relatives of the deceased could pay to have part of the deceased’s “debt” decreased and thus reduce the time spent in purgatory. The church began to use revenues from indulgences to fund building projects.

Luther protested the doctrine of indulgences and made his views known to the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg. This led to Luther’s issuing his Ninety-five Theses, traditionally said to have been posted on the church door in Wittenberg on the eve of All Saints’ Day, on October 31, 1517. These were theological propositions Luther proposed for academic debate, an established practice.

Among other things, Luther’s theses challenged the church’s claims for indulgences and also raised the question of the values of indulgences at all. He questioned the power of the pope to extend the power of indulgences to souls in purgatory. Theologically, Luther was questioning how salvation is given by a righteous God. Ecclesiastically, Luther was questioning the jurisdiction of the pope. These two dimensions continued throughout Luther’s conflict with Rome as theological disputes were coupled with clashes over the nature of the church.

46 What were Luther’s Ninety-five Theses?

Luther’s Ninety-five Theses were the opening act in the drama of Luther and the Roman Catholic Church. When he posted these ninety-five propositions for academic discussion on October 31, 1517, Luther assumed that the issues he was raising as a theology professor would be debated and where he could show that the church had erred in its teachings, changes would be made. But this was not to be.

While Luther’s initial concern was with indulgences, the Ninety-five Theses ranged over other areas. These went beyond the critiques of clergy shortcomings or practical abuses raised by others. For Luther, the eternal salvation of God’s people was at stake because the church had not rightly presented the true teachings of the Christian gospel. This set a major confrontation in motion.

Among the topics that Luther’s theses touched on were sin and salvation. Instead of the church’s formal penitential process where priests prescribed acts of satisfaction, Luther believed sin and its consequences must be dealt with throughout life as one’s relationship with God is formed (thesis 1). Throughout the theses, Luther questioned and challenged the penitential system, saying the church’s focus should be on faith and repentance. It is not a “treasury of merits” that the church possesses in order to pay for the release of souls from purgatory. Instead, the church’s true treasure is “the Most Holy Gospel of the glory of God” (thesis 62). Christians must follow Christ, their head (thesis 94).

Luther’s theses were written in Latin. Some of his students translated them into German and had them printed. They became a bestseller and were translated into most other European languages. Luther became a “celebrity.”

Pope Leo X was not pleased. Theological debates followed at Leipzig and Augsburg. The pope excommunicated Luther. Luther developed his theological understandings based on Holy Scripture. His Ninety-five Theses led to many other writings where he explained his understanding of the Christian gospel. The Ninety-five Theses are often considered to mark the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, which has permanently affected the Christian church.

47 What was the Augsburg Confession?

The Augsburg Confession is the major Lutheran statement of faith (1530, Lat. Confessio Augustana), which became the primary confession of Lutheran churches. An “Altered” Augsburg Confession (Confessio Augustana variata) was published by Philipp Melanchthon (1540). It contained an article 10 on the Lord’s Supper, which could be read as a change from Luther’s position on the presence of Christ in the Supper.

The final version of the 1530 Augsburg Confession was written by Melanchthon in preparation for the Diet of Augsburg. Emperor Charles V demanded the Wittenberg theologians present a statement of faith to affirm the emerging Protestant theology. On June 25, 1530, Melanchthon presented a Latin and German edition of the confession to the emperor.

The confession was intended to distinguish Luther and Melanchthon’s views from those of Huldrych Zwingli and others in regard to the Lord’s Supper. It was also to mark the differences between their views and those of the emerging Anabaptist movements. Positively, Melanchthon wanted to show the confession was in continuity with the theology of the early church while also being differentiated from Roman Catholic theology.

The confession was composed of twenty-eight articles in two parts. Articles 1 through 21 focused on the “Chief Articles of the Faith.” Here main doctrines such as original sin, justification, church and sacraments, and free will and good works were covered. The final seven articles considered the abuses that needed remedied in the church. These were Communion with both bread and wine, clerical celibacy, the Mass, confession of sins to a priests, monastic vows, and ecclesiastical power.

While the Augsburg Confession bolstered the faith of Lutherans, it did not achieve a doctrinal consensus with Roman Catholics. Leading Catholic theologians published a Confutation of the Augsburg Confession (1530) to which Melanchthon responded with his Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531).

Melanchthon’s altering of article 10 sought common ground among conflicting theological parties. John Calvin was able to sign the altered confession (1541). But the original confession came to be considered the more preferred confessional standard.

48 What was the Book of Concord?

On the fiftieth anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, the Book of Concord (also Concordia) was published on June 25, 1580. This book was adopted as the definitive collection of Lutheran confessions as well as authoritative for Lutheran preaching, teaching, and polity (church government).

The Book of Concord was occasioned by the ratification of the Formula of Concord (1577), a confession designed to foster theological unity in Lutheranism in the years after the deaths of Luther (d. 1546) and Melanchthon (d. 1560). The Formula set forth the acceptable range of theological views for Lutheran churches. It treats topics under twelve headings. Its two parts were the “Solid Declaration” and the “Epitome” (summary).

The Book of Concord is composed of ten documents. There are three ancient ecumenical standards: the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. Documents from the Reformation era are the Augsburg Confessio...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Also by Donald K. McKim
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Time Line
• History
• Theology
• Legacy
• For Further Reading
• Excerpt from Moments with Martin Luther, by Donald K. McKim