Calvin, Farel, and the Anabaptists: On the Origins of the Brieve Instruction of 1544
2014; Volume: 88; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0025-9373
Autores Tópico(s)Religious Education and Schools
ResumoAbstract: The fact that both Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin felt compelled to write refutation of Schleitheim Articles of 1527, and to do so only seventeen years apart, establishes importance of these texts, not only for Anabaptism but also for history of emerging Reformed tradition. Through fresh reading of primary sources, following essay illuminates for first time: 1) steps leading up to Calvin's Brieve Instruction of 1544 within larger context of theology of John Calvin and William Farel; 2) details regarding Anabaptist movement in French-speaking Switzerland, which has not yet been adequately studied; and 3) context surrounding publication of 1543 French version of Schleitheim Articles, which is no longer extant. WHAT'S IN A NAME? In his Vita Calvini of 1564, Theodor Beza fervently affirmed rhetorical abilities of his friend and predecessor, John Calvin: believe there is no old, warmed-over, or newly-invented heresy that he did not destroy at its very foundations.(1) The spectrum of theological controversies that theologian from Geneva engaged is broad indeed. On right, Calvin attacked theologians of papacy from Paris to Trent along with religious politics of emperor (1536-1550). In center, he called on those who were indecisive--known as Nicodemites--to declare themselves (1537-1562). And on left, he distinguished himself firmly over against those whom he identified in his writings 152 times as anabaptistes and five more times as catabaptistes, though he hardly ever bothered to provide coherent definition of these terms.(2) According to Karl H. Wyneken, Calvin used these labels to characterize radicals in genera1, (3) even though, as George H. Williams has made clear, terms did not provide clear profile of his opponents. In words of Williams, the Radical Reformation was loosely interrelated congeries of reformations and restitutions which, besides of various types, included Spiritualists and spiritualizers of varying tendencies, and Evangelical Rationalists, largely Italian in origin.(4) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although Anabaptism was rarely uniform movement anywhere, it was least uniform in French-speaking regions where, according to Lucien Febvre, pre-confessional Reformation movement expressed itself as a long period of grand religious anarchy.(6) For Calvin, whose life work was ultimately characterized by focus on church [ecclesia] and society [civitas], it was precisely this chaotic character that irritated him about Anabaptists. Their teachings appeared to him as an abyss from which I would never escape, a whole sea of insane views, and a forest from which no one should ever emerge.(7) That Calvin classified Anabaptists absolutely as heretics is not nearly as surprising as fact that he did this so early. Already in letter of dedication to Francis I in first edition of Institutes in 1536, Calvin--who was then barely 25 years old and writing in context of persecution--assured king that current confusion and obscuring of Gospel was not fault of Reformers, but of Satan himself through his [catabaptistes] and people of their type.(8) Once Calvin had settled on this judgment, he would never again revise it. Scholars have not yet explored influence of contemporary anti-Anabaptist writings on Calvin. He likely was aware of early polemical writings of Zwingli and Bullinger, at least those in Latin, since he did not understand German.(9) This is evident, in any case, by fact that his rebuttal of Anabaptist views on sacraments and civil government in 1536 edition of Institutes corresponds to large extent with Articles I and VI of Schleitheim Confession, in same way that Zwingli cited and rejected them in his own polemic, In Catabaptistarum Strophas Elenchus (Against Schemes of Anabaptists) of 1527. …
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