The Calvinist International
In today’s selection, Melanchthon affirms both that the church has never ceased to exist, from its establishment in the time of Genesis all the way up to the present, and that it nevertheless has often been quite small. This he proves from, for example, the case of Noah. Still, God does not let the church […]
In today’s post, Melanchthon cites one more patristic source (Origen) as an example of how the church’s authority is rightly deployed. He then proceeds to sketch his understanding of the relation of the church to the Word and to give his definitions of what the church (1) is not, and (2) is. The church at […]
In today’s post, Melanchthon begins to marshal patristic support for his understanding of the relative weight of various authorities in theology. Melanchthon’s high view of both Scripture and patristic antiquity are clear in what follows from his use of Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Basil. On the Church and the Authority of the Word of God (Continued) […]
This is just a short one for today. In this passage, Melanchthon sketches how one ought to affirm the supreme authority of Scripture without going overboard. His concern for antiquity echoes Zanchi’s wonderful statement that “I, certainly, do not depart from antiquity unless I have been compelled.” Of particular note in this regard is the […]
A new week; time for a new series. This one, which will last for a while, will be on Melanchthon’s treatise De ecclesia et autoritate verbi dei (“On the Church and the Authority of the Word of God”), first published in 1539. My translation, which will be the first into English (I think? I could […]
In The Advancement of Learning 2.7.2, Sir Francis Bacon acknowledges that he’s using old terms in new ways (e.g., “physic” and “metaphysic”). He claims that this is part of an effort to remain as close to tradition and antiquity as he can, even when he must depart from it in substance (at least in certain respects), […]
It almost goes without saying that the state of play in the study of the fourth century Arian controversy has undergone a sea change over the course of the last century. This might lead one to conclude that the older writers are no longer worth reading. But that conclusion would be a mistake. To draw a […]
I’ve written a bit before about Irenaeus and some of his comments about tradition in Against Heresies. We return to him again–this time in The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. In Demonstration 3, Irenaeus writes: Now, that we may not suffer ought of this kind, we must needs hold the rule of the faith without deviation, and do […]
This is part 2 of a two-part reply. The first part is here. In my previous post I indicated that it would be helpful to provide a model for how the Jews could know the OT canon without an infallible magisterium, and in the following I will suggest how this process occurred. Any explanation for how […]
I thought I would add a brief appendix to Andrew’s excellent rejoinder to Feyerabend and Feser on the principle of sola scriptura. Richard Hooker (since we’re being judicious) upheld three authorities for Christians: Scripture, reason, and church tradition. Andrew explains how the first two work together to uphold the principle of sola scriptura. The last one, church […]