The Life of Philip MelanchthonLedderhose, Karl Friedrich
History
The Life of Philip Melanchthon
Ledderhose, Karl Friedrich
Melanchthon, Philipp, 1497-1560
But now there arose another man with a doctrine somewhat different,
which was adopted by many. This was the sagacious, learned, and pious
JOHN CALVIN, who was born in the year 1509. The Lutherans had hitherto
regarded him as belonging to their own party, especially since he had
been teaching with Bucer and Capito in Strasburg. When he had returned
to Geneva in 1541, from which city he had been banished before, and had
there built up the Evangelical Church with great zeal, he wrote a
Confession in regard to the Lord's Supper, in the year 1549. The
Zurichers had formerly suspected him of being a Lutheran, but now all
their doubts vanished, and they could call him their own, and harmony
was completely restored between German and French Switzerland. But that
which produced harmony in Switzerland caused dissensions in Germany,
although not immediately. Here they had enough to dispute in regard to
the so-called indifferent things, (Adiaphora,) and the heresies of
Osiander.
In the year 1552, a pastor in Hamburg, named JOACHIM WESTPHAL,
published a work in which he proved that the Reformed had given no less
than eight-and-twenty explanations of the words of institution in the
Lord's Supper, from the time of Zwingli to that of Calvin. In the
following year he published a work against Calvin, entitled: "The true
faith in regard to the Lord's Supper." This publication began to arouse
the zeal of the Lutherans against Calvin and his friends, which was
still more inflamed by one JOHN VON LASCO, who, together with a band of
French and Dutch Protestants, had been banished from England by that
severe Romanist, Queen MARY. He had confessed himself a follower of
Calvin, and therefore could not find a resting-place for himself and his
friends, either in Denmark or Germany. They were denounced from the
pulpits in every quarter. Calvin now published a work defending them and
his doctrine. He declared that, according to his doctrine, the Lord's
Supper was no empty ceremony, even though he did not believe in a
participation of the body and blood of Christ, in and under the bread
and wine. Westphal and JOHN TIMANN, pastor in Bremen, arrayed themselves
against Calvin; who, assisted by Bullinger of Zurich, and Lasco, soon
published a refutation. Most of the cities of Lower Saxony sided with
Westphal. The fire spread on every side, and Schnepf of Jena, Alber in
Mecklenburg, and Eitzen in Hamburg, attacked Calvin in the most violent
manner, who finally maintained an utter silence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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