Reformation Thought

Alister E. McGrath is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, UK. He is an acclaimed scholar, theologian, intellectual historian, lecturer, and author. He has written several bestselling books, and a number of popular textbooks on theology, including The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation and Luther’s Theology of the Cross.

• Preface to the Fifth Edition xHow to Use This Book xiii1 Introducing the Age of Reformation 1The Concept of “Reformation” 2The Lutheran Reformation 4The Reformed Church 5The Radical Reformation (Anabaptism) 7The Catholic Reformation 9The English Reformation 10The Call for Reform 12The Growth of Anti-Clericalism 12The Need for Doctrinal Reform 14A Failed Attempt to Reform: Conciliarism 16The Growth of Regional and National Power 16The Religious Agendas of the Reformers 17For Further Reading 19Part One: The Context of the Thought of the Reformation 212 A Changing World: The Cultural Backdrop to the Reformation 23The Rise of the Individual: The Demand for Personal Relevance 24Alternative Theologies: Folk Religion and Magic 26Religious Democratization: The Use of the Vernacular 28The Importance of Printing 30The Urban Context of the Reformation 32Sacralizing the Secular: Christianity as a World-Engaging Faith 36Doctrinal Confusion: A Crisis of Authority Within the Church 38Receptivity Toward the Reformation: The Case of Lollardy 40For Further Reading 413 Renaissance Humanism and the Reformation 43The Concept of “Renaissance” 44The Concept of “Humanism” 45Classical Scholarship and Philology 46The New Philosophy of the Renaissance? 47Paul Oskar Kristeller’s View of Humanism 49Ad fontes: Returning to the Fountainhead 50Northern European Humanism 52The Northern European Reception of the Italian Renaissance 52The Ideals of Northern European Humanism 53Eastern Swiss Humanism 54French Legal Humanism 55Erasmus of Rotterdam 56Erasmus’ Critique of the Vulgate Text of the New Testament 59Erasmus’ Editions of Patristic Texts 61Networks of Influence: Erasmus’ Circle 62Humanism and the Reformation: An Evaluation 63Humanism and the Hebrew Bible 64Humanism and the Swiss Reformation 65Humanism and the Wittenberg Reformation 67Tensions Between Reformation and Humanism 68For Further Reading 714 Scholasticism and the Reformation 74The Characteristics of Scholasticism 75Scholasticism and the Universities 78Types of Scholasticism 79Realism Versus Nominalism 80Intellectualism Versus Voluntarism 81Pelagianism Versus Augustinianism 82The Via Moderna 84The Schola Augustiniana Moderna 86The Impact of Medieval Scholasticism upon the Reformation 88Luther’s Relation to Late Medieval Scholasticism 88Calvin’s Relation to Late Medieval Scholasticism 89Protestant Scholasticism: Paradox or Inevitability? 91For Further Reading 925 The Reformers: Seven Biographical Sketches 94Martin Luther (1483–1546) 95Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) 100William Tyndale (c.1494–1536) 102Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) 103Martin Bucer (1491–1551) 104Katharina Schütz Zell (c.1497–1562) 106John Calvin (1509–64) 107For Further Reading 110Part Two: The Core Themes of Reformation Thought 1136 The Return to the Bible 115Scripture in the Middle Ages 116Medieval Hermeneutics: The Four Senses of Scripture 118The Vulgate Translation of the Bible 119Medieval Vernacular Versions of Scripture 120The Humanists and the Bible 121The Bible and the Protestant Reformation 123The Canon of Scripture 124The Authority of Scripture 126The Role of Tradition 128Methods of Interpreting Scripture 131The Right to Interpret Scripture 134The Translation of Scripture 139Encouraging Engagement with the Bible 141The Catholic Response: Trent on Scripture 142For Further Reading 1437 The Doctrine of Justification by Faith 147A Foundational Theme: Redemption Through Christ 147Justification and Martin Luther’s Theological Breakthrough 150Luther’s Early Views on Justification 151The Nature of Justifying Faith 153Justification and the Indulgence Controversy (1517) 155The Concept of “Forensic Justification” 158Justification and the Early Swiss Reformation 161The Reformed Approach: Bucer and Calvin on Justification 164Justification in the English Reformation 166The Colloquy of Regensburg (1541): “Double Justification” 168The Catholic Response: Trent on Justification 170The Nature of Justification 171The Nature of Justifying Righteousness 172The Nature of Justifying Faith 173The Assurance of Salvation 173For Further Reading 1758 The Doctrine of the Church 177The Background to the Reformation Debates: The Donatist Controversy 180The Context of the Reformation Views on the Church 182Luther on the Nature of the Church 183The Radical View of the Church 185Tensions Within Luther’s Doctrine of the Church 187Calvin on the Nature of the Church 188The Two Marks of the Church 189The Structures of the Church 190Calvin on the Church and the Consistory 191Calvin on the Role of the Church 193The Debate over the Catholicity of the Church 194The Council of Trent on the Church 197For Further Reading 1989 The Doctrine of the Sacraments 199The Background to the Reformation Debates about the Sacraments 200A Shared Emphasis: The Sacraments and the Promises of Grace 202Luther on the Sacraments 204Luther’s Views on the Real Presence 208Luther on Infant Baptism 210Zwingli on the Sacraments 212Zwingli on the Real Presence 214Zwingli on Infant Baptism 216Luther versus Zwingli: A Summary and Evaluation 218Anabaptist Views on the Sacraments 220Calvin on the Sacraments 222Thomas Cranmer: The Real Presence in the English Reformation 225The Catholic Response: Trent on the Sacraments 227For Further Reading 22910 The Doctrine of Predestination 231The Background to the Reformation Debates over Predestination 232Zwingli on the Divine Sovereignty 234Melanchthon’s Changing Views on Predestination 236Calvin on Predestination 237Predestination in Later Reformed Theology 242The Weber Thesis: Predestinarian Anxiety and the Origins of Capitalism 243For Further Reading 24511 The Political Thought of the Reformation 247The Radical Reformation and Secular Authority 248Luther’s Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms 250Zwingli on the State and Magistrate 256Bucer and Calvin on Magistrate and Ministry 258The “Godly Prince” and the English Reformation 261For Further Reading 26412 Reformation Thought: Its Diffusion and Impact 266Agencies of Diffusion 266Books: The Transgression of International Boundaries 267Refugees and the Movement of People 267The Vernacular 269Consolidating the Ideas of the Reformation: Some Key Texts 270Catechisms 270Confessions of Faith 272Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion 274The Impact of Reformation Thought 277The Protestant Work Ethic 277The Reformation and Political Change 279The Reformation and the Emergence of the Natural Sciences 281Protestantism and the Rise of Modern Atheism 283Reformation Ecclesiologies and the Modern Church 285Conclusion 287For Further Reading 288Appendix 1 A Glossary of Theological and Historical Terms 290Appendix 2 English Translations of Major Primary Sources 296Appendix 3 Standard Abbreviations of Major Journals and Sources 299Appendix 4 How to Refer to Major Primary Sources 302Appendix 5 Referring to the Psalms in the Sixteenth Century 306Appendix 6 Updating Reformation Bibliographies 308Appendix 7 Chronology of Political and Intellectual History 310Notes 315Index 319