Key Theologians
Key Theologians
The age of Reformation is widely regarded as one of the most creative in the history of Christian theology. We shall begin by considering the three theologians who are usually singled out as being of particular significance in the first period of this age: Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli. Of these, the first two are of especial importance. Although Zwingli was a major figure in his own right, he was overshadowed by the creative talent and greater theological impact of Luther and Calvin. We shall then consider some theologians who were significant in the later phases of this period, and note their contributions to the development of theology.
Martin Luther (1483–1546)
Luther first came to public attention in 1517, through the publication of his “Ninety-five Theses” on indulgences. This was followed by the Leipzig Disputation (June–July 1519), in which Luther established a reputation as a radical critic of scholasticism. In 1520, he published three treatises which consolidated his growing reputation as a theological reformer. In the Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther argued passionately for the need for reform of the church. In both its doctrine and its practices, the church of the early sixteenth century had cast itself adrift from the New Testament. His pithy and witty German gave added popular appeal to some intensely serious theological ideas.
Encouraged by the remarkable success of this work, Luther followed it up with The Babylonian Captivity of the Christian Church. In this powerful piece of writing, Luther argued that the gospel had become captive to the institutional church. The medieval church, he argued, had imprisoned the gospel in a complex system of priests and sacraments. The church had become the master of the gospel, where it should be its servant. This point was further developed in The Liberty of a Christian, in which Luther explored the implications of the doctrine of justification by faith for the Christian life.
Luther was perhaps the most creative of the reformers. Yet his theological impact does not rest upon any major work of theology. Most of Luther's writings were produced in response to some controversy. Only his two Catechisms (1529) can really be thought of as systematic presentations of the basic ideas of the Christian faith. Their largely pastoral role probably disqualifies them from being taken seriously as works of academic theology. Nevertheless, aspects of Luther's theology have had a deep impact upon western Christian thought. For example, his “theology of the cross,” set out briefly in a document of 1518 (the Heidelberg Disputation), has had a considerable impact upon twentieth- and twenty-first-century theology, as works such as Jürgen Moltmann's (born 1926) Crucified God indicate (see p. 184).
Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531)
The Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli was educated at the universities of Vienna and Basel before taking up parish duties in eastern Switzerland. (There is some variation in the spelling of Zwingli's forename, with “Ulrich” and “Huldreich” often being used in preference to “Huldrych.”) It is clear that he took a keen interest in the agenda of Christian humanism, especially the writings of Erasmus (c.1466–1536), and believed strongly in the need to reform the church of his day. In 1519, he took up a pastoral position in the city of Zurich, where he used the pulpit of the Great Minster, the chief church within the city, to propagate a program of reform. Initially, this program was primarily concerned with the reformation of the morals of the church. However, it soon extended to include criticism of the existing theology of the church, especially its sacramental theology. The term “Zwinglian” is used especially to refer to the belief, associated with Zwingli, that Christ is not present at the Eucharist, which is best seen as a memorial of Christ's death.
Zwingli was of major importance in relation to the early propagation of the Reformation, especially in eastern Switzerland. However, he never achieved the same impact as Luther or Calvin, lacking the creativity of the former and the systematic approach of the latter.
John Calvin (1509–64)
Calvin was born in Noyon, northeast of Paris. Educated at the scholasticism-dominated University of Paris, he subsequently moved to the more humanist University of Orléans, at which he studied civil law. Although initially inclined to a career of scholarship, he underwent a conversion experience in his mid-twenties which led to his becoming increasingly associated with reforming movements in Paris, and he was later forced into exile in Basel. Eventually, he settled in the city of Geneva, which had recently achieved its independence from the Duchy of Savoy and had converted to Protestantism in 1535. By the time of his death in 1564, Calvin had made Geneva the center of an international movement that came to bear his name. Calvinism is still one of the most potent and significant intellectual movements in human history.
The second generation of reformers was far more aware of the need for works of systematic theology than the first. Calvin, the major figure of the second period of the Reformation, saw the need for a work which would clearly set out the basic ideas of evangelical theology, justifying them on the basis of Scripture and defending them in the face of Catholic criticism. In 1536, he published a small work entitled Institutes of the Christian Religion, a mere six chapters in length. For the next quarter of a century, Calvin worked away at this, adding extra chapters and rearranging the material. By the time of its final edition (1559), the work had 80 chapters and was divided into four books. By then, it was firmly established as one of the most important religious works of the sixteenth century.
Teresa of Avilà (1515–82)
Most of the writers noted in this chapter were systematic theologians. Teresa of Avilà represents a quite different approach to theology, which needs to be noted and respected – namely, “mystical theology” or spirituality. For Teresa, theology was about a transformed personal relationship with God, which cannot adequately be expressed in human words. Teresa was a Carmelite, part of the great revival of spirituality that took place in Spain during the second half of the sixteenth century. Her most famous work is The Interior Castle of the Soul (1577), in which she uses a fundamentally trinitarian theological framework to explore how God illuminates and transforms the life of the believer. Growth in prayer enables the individual believer to enter into deeper intimacy with God, using the image of a progressive journey through the apartments (or mansions) of the castle from the outermost to the luminous center. Teresa was declared to be a “doctor of the church” by Pope Paul VI (1897–1978) in 1970 – the first woman to be accorded this honor.
Theodore Beza (1519–1605)
Beza (also known by his French name Théodore de Bèze), a noted Calvinist writer, served as professor of theology at the Genevan Academy from 1559 to 1599. The three volumes of his Theological Treatises (1570–82) present a rationally coherent account of the main elements of Reformed theology, using Aristotelian logic. The result is a tightly argued and rationally defensible account of Calvin's theology, in which some of the unresolved tensions of that theology (chiefly relating to the doctrines of predestination and atonement) are clarified. Some writers have suggested that Beza's concern for logical clarity lead him to misrepresent Calvin at a number of critical points; others have argued that Beza merely streamlined Calvin's theology, tidying up some loose ends.
Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621)
Of the theologians to achieve eminence during the golden period of Catholic theology after the Council of Trent, the most important is probably Robert Bellarmine, who entered the Society of Jesus in 1560 and subsequently became professor of controversial theology at Rome in 1576. He remained in this position until 1599, when he became a cardinal. His most significant work is generally regarded to be his Disputations Concerning the Controversies of the Christian Faith (1586–93), in which he argued forcefully for the rationality of Catholic theology against its Protestant (both Lutheran and Calvinist) critics.
Johann Gerhard (1582–1637)
Gerhard was perhaps the most important Lutheran orthodox theologian. In 1616 he was appointed professor of theology at the University of Jena, where he remained for the rest of his teaching career. Gerhard recognized the need for a systematic presentation of Lutheran theology in the face of intense Calvinist opposition. The basic form of Lutheran works of systematic theology had been laid down in 1521, when Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) published the first edition of his Commonplaces, in which subjects were treated topically rather than systematically. Gerhard continued this tradition but felt able to draw increasingly upon Aristotelian works of logic. His Theological Commonplaces (1610–22) remained a classic of Lutheran theology for many years.
Jonathan Edwards (1703–58)
It is universally agreed that Jonathan Edwards was America's first great theologian. Edwards played a major role in the “Great Awakening,” probably the most significant revivalist movement of his age. In 1757, Edwards was invited to become president of the College of New Jersey, Princeton (now Princeton University). Following an unsuccessful inoculation against smallpox, he died at Princeton on March 22, 1758.
Edwards is remembered as a remarkable theologian. He can be seen as a Puritan writer who gave intellectual and spiritual stamina to a movement often noted for its anti-intellectualism and moral excesses. Perhaps more importantly, Edwards was a theologian who was aware of the challenges to traditional Christian theology that were emerging from the Enlightenment, and had the foresight and theological acumen to provide an alternative way of conceptualizing and proclaiming the Christian faith within a rationalist culture.