The relation between church and civil community in Bucer's reforming work

Greschat, Martin

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511554810.003

Cited by 4 publications

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“…Those still within the city-state who will not submit to the reign of Christ, are progressively expelled, and meanwhile are isolated socially from the community of the godly. 78 But it is mainly the surrounding Romanists who are seen as the unconverted, not the Protestant baptised who have not yet had a deep enough experience of the 'spirit of bondage'. In a context of rigorous church discipline, judicial categories predominated over regenerationist ones.…”

Section: The 'Wide-angle' Lens Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calvin Versus the Calvinists? The Case of John Preston (1587-1628)

Moore¹

2004

Reformation & Renaissance Review

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It has long been popular when considering the relationship between Reformation and Post-Reformation theology, to emphasize doctrinal discontinuities to the extent that even John Calvin is pitted against the Calvinists. R.T. Kendall's influential thesis in this regard is still seen as authoritative by some, despite numerous critiques. This article presents a new critique of Kendall's thesis by focusing on John Preston, one of Kendall's case studies for the alleged defection of English Calvinism from Calvin. Kendall uses Preston as an example of how Calvinism's doctrine of limited atonement, in contrast to Calvin's doctrine of universal redemption, allegedly resulted in a compromising of Reformed teaching on faith and assurance. It is here demonstrated that, ironically, Preston actually held to a form of universal redemptionism, and hence Kendall's argument backfires. In an attempt to understand how such a misreading of history could have arisen, this article cautions against a 'zoom lens' approach that all too often trades in short quotations taken out of context. It goes on to explore, through the 'wide angle lens,' aspects of the broader historical context of Reformation and Post-Reformation theologians, taking Martin Bucer as a further example. It is argued that ecclesiology and sacramentology-factors that Kendall intentionally avoided-are crucial in fostering a more historically and theologically sensitive appraisal of the appropriation of Reformation theology in a postReformation world. *This article is an expanded version of a paper originally delivered at the 5th Annual Conference of the Society for Reformation Studies, Westminster College, Cambridge, 15 April 1998. The theme of this conference was the Reformation in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales in continental perspective.

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Section: The 'Wide-angle' Lens Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calvin Versus the Calvinists? The Case of John Preston (1587-1628)

Moore¹

2004

Reformation & Renaissance Review

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Two Swords, Two Powers, or Two Kingdoms

Tuininga¹

2017

Calvin's Political Theology and the Public Engagement of the Church

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Martin Bucer’sKingdom of Christ

Amos

2020

The Oxford Handbook of Reformed Theology

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Martin Bucer’s Kingdom of Christ [De Regno Christi] was written while he was in exile in England. It served as advice to King Edward VI (ruled 1547–53) on how to pursue more effectively reform of the English Church and commonwealth, and as constructive criticism of what had been done. The treatise was a summary of Bucer’s thinking on the relationship between church and society, and on how the Gospel should influence every aspect of life, resulting in the establishment of the rule of Christ in this world. The treatise is in two books; the first describes what constitutes the Kingdom of Christ, the second is a plan of action built on fourteen laws for reform of church and all of society. Though it is not a theological treatise in a narrow sense, the work makes substantial contributions to the doctrine of the church, church–state relations, and the conduct of the Christian life (especially church or Christian discipline).

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The relation between church and civil community in Bucer's reforming work

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Calvin Versus the Calvinists? The Case of John Preston (1587-1628)

Calvin Versus the Calvinists? The Case of John Preston (1587-1628)

Two Swords, Two Powers, or Two Kingdoms

Martin Bucer’sKingdom of Christ

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