The Calvinist International
This post wraps up the series on Hemmingsen on the Sabbath and Christian festivals. In these four assertiones, he concludes with some remarks on change, continuity, and authority. Of special significance is the hard distinction he makes between “worship” (cultus) and “ceremonies” (ceremoniae) in assertio 33. Some might quibble with certain of his examples in […]
In today’s theses, Hemmingsen discusses the very important topic of adiaphora, or things indifferent, for that is what undergirds his comments on “ceremonies.” What Zanchi does in the case of festivals, Hemmingsen does in the case of ceremonies, distinguishing between two types, viz. those instituted by God and those instituted by man. Divinely ordained ceremonies […]
In today’s post, consisting of assertiones 27 and 28, Hemmingsen distinguishes his view of Christian festivals from what he considers both gentile and Romanist perversions. Here, one can clearly see how he separates his advocacy for the edifying effect of the “memorials of the saints” from the “invocation of the saints,” which he believes to […]
Three more theses for today; these are short. In fact, the first isn’t really even a thesis or assertio. Hemmingsen just kind of slips it in there as a point of transition. In these comments, Hemmingsen starts to turn to what the Sabbath and Christian festivals are now, while the church, following the First Advent, […]
Here are Hemmingsen’s next three assertiones. Hemmingsen unfortunately lumps all Jews together in claiming that they completely misunderstood the Sabbath, which is obviously false. In assertio 20, it becomes clear what his actual target is: the Pharisees as described in the gospels, who attacked Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Assertions concerning the Sabbath and […]
Today we get theses 16 and 17 as Hemmingsen continues to unpack the symbolic significance of the Sabbath according to “threefold time.” Thesis 16 refers to time past and, especially, time present, and consists mostly of a quotation of Augustine’s twentieth Tractate on the Gospel of John, where Augustine argues that Christians observe the Sabbath […]
Today’s post includes theses 14 and 15, on the symbolic significance of the Old Testament Sabbath as it relates to the first two parts of Hemmingsen’s “threefold time,” the past and the present. Thesis 15 shows broad overlap and continuity with what is usually referred to as the “continental” view of the Sabbath. Assertions on […]
In today’s post, consisting of theses 9-11, Hemmingsen defines what it means to “sanctify” something and then applies that definition to the Old Testament observance of the Sabbath. He then goes on to note a rupture between the Old Testament observance of the Sabbath and the way in which the Sabbath commandment applies to Christians. […]
In today’s post, which includes assertiones 4-6, Hemmingsen defines the proper meaning “Sabbath” and then shows how, from that primary meaning, it is transferred as a title to days, weeks, and years. Assertions concerning the Jewish Sabbath and the Festivals of Christians (Continued) “Sabbath” properly signifies rest or cessation. From this meaning, the term is […]
Now that I have concluded the series on Zanchi on festivals, I’m going to turn my attention back to an old favorite of mine, the Danish Lutheran “crypto-Calvinist” Niels Hemmingsen. Hemmingsen was a disciple of Philip Melanchthon, and so this series will give us a good window into how Protestant Philippists thought about such things […]