Exam 1 Obejectives Flashcards
Terminology:
Protestant
Protesting the decision of the Catholic majority 1529
Terminology:
Lutheran
Followers of Luther, Augsburg Confession 1530
Terminology:
Reformed
Zwinglians and Calvinists, see themselves truly coming from the word of God
Terminology:
Evangelicals
radical reformation, Anabaptists
Ulrich Zwingli
Contemporary of Luther’s
Influenced by humanism Erasmus
Secular priest (not a monk)
Affair of the Sausages
1522
Zwingli defends the rights of Christians to eat meat during Lent
Debates of 1523
All basis for debate should come from Scripture
Zurich City Council distributes Zwingli’s Short Christian Instruction
What was Zwingli’s approach to scripture?
Biblicist, not literalist
- Wants all Scripture to interact with one another; the Spirit will help you understand the deeper meaning
How does Zwingli address the issue of images in the church?
Calls for an abolition of Images
see “Short Christian Instruction”
How does Zwingli address the language in scripture passages about the Eucharist?
Word “is” functions as alloeosis, transposition of attributes – should be read as “this signifies my body”
What is the Eucharist, according to Zwingli?
an important ritual for the Christian community to unite around – the celebration of the Eucharist is a testament and memorial of Christ’s sacrifice
Describe Zwingli’s approach to scripture in regards to Law and Gospel.
The law is the “leading and instructing which God offers to us out of a true understanding of his word.”
There is a moral law within the Gospel, which Christians should follow – that differs from Luther.
What are three key points of Zwingli’s understanding of justification?
The right believing person will willing submit himself to the Law
A person of true faith will also have true integrity
Justification as an actualization of righteousness
How does Zwingli’s understanding of justification differ from Luther’s?
Luther regards everyone is a sinner and cannot be holy; faith justifies
Zwingli believes that people of true faith can actually be righteous
How does Luther wish to see reform progress?
Luther wants to see change in a slow, organic way without offending the weak
Wants to avoid social upheaval and revolution
What are some of Luther’s radical views on reform?
- argues for closure of monasteries and convents
- breaks with medieval priesthood,
- radical re-imagination of scripture
How could Luther’s stance on church reform be described?
Theologically radical but socially conservative
Why does Luther oppose authority in the church?
Luther thinks Christ is speaking to us through the scriptures
What doctrine was essential to Luther’s understanding of scripture?
Pauline doctrine of justification
Elaborate on how Luther identifies the “Word of God” and the “Bible.”
- Describes the Word of God as the real content of the Bible but with out identifying the content with the external form in which we encounter scripture
- Describes a dialectic between the Word of God and the Bible, describing one as the creator and one as creature
According to Luther, what is the center of the scriptures?
Christ is the center of the scriptures, “take out Christ and what will you find in them?”
Luther: “ Scripture ______ itself, and _____ everything else.”
interprets
illuminates
How did Luther understand the clarity of scripture? (3 points)
Scripture does possess a certain clarity.
Could determine if a passage was clear or obscure in terms of it’s witness to the central truths of faith – the incarnation, cross, resurrection
Did NOT believe scripture gives a clear answer to all questions
What does Luther say about the NT in relation to the OT?
NT has priority in that it fully reveals the meaning of the OT
What idea underlies Luther’s entire understanding of scriptural interpretation?
The division of law and gospel.
“Is it law or gospel?”
How does Luther understand the division of Law and Gospel? (3 points)
o Word of God contains both law and gospel (commandments and promises)
o Cannot equate OT with law and NT with gospel but division is not between the canons
o You can see the whole content of scripture from the very first chapter from the Bible
What does Luther consider as a summary of the Decalogue and a summary of all God’s demands for us?
1st commandment
- sees it as God’s promise
- with Christ we can understand the true meaning of this command
What made Luther’s support of sola scripture a strong point in his argument for reform?
- The medieval church never doubted the authority of scripture
- Luther’s argument held weight because people already held scripture as authoritative
- Difficult for the church to argue with Luther because the argument of scripture vs. tradition had never been raised in this way so they ended up just asserting papal authority
According to Luther, Scripture should not be understood as meaning anything else other than ______.
people are nothing and Christ is everything.
Luther: The Word of God is proclaimed primarily ______.
through preaching
Which of the original sacraments does Luther decide to keep?
Baptism and Eucharist
What were the 4 criteria of a sacrament according to Luther?
- Promise of divine grace
- Sacrament must have a visible sign
- Instituted by Christ
- Effectual nature requires faith sacrament independent of the worthiness of priest /celebrant** (Distinctive of Luther)
How does Luther argue for infant baptism?
- Argues based on the faith of their parents and community
* Least corrupt of the sacraments
How does Luther shift the understanding of sacraments?
Moves from focus being on the mediator and shifts focus to the individual participating
- Divine work instead of work of the priests - Salvation is not dependent on a clerical class