The Calvinist International
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 […]
Today’s post includes theses 12-13. The first has to do with the transference of the day of religious worship from Saturday to Sunday. Like Zanchi, Hemmingsen asserts that this was done by the apostles. In principle, the day could have been any day, but Sunday was chosen as the most fitting, because on that day […]
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. […]
Today’s post includes theses 7 and 8 of Hemmingsen’s Assertions concerning the Jewis Sabbath and the Festivals of Christians, in which he defines Sabbath days that were of particular importance due to their association with the great festivals of the Old Testament calendar. Assertions concerning the Jewish Sabbath and the Festivals of Christians (Continued) 7. […]
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 […]
Today we come to the last post in this series and, boy howdy, it’s a fascinating one. Zanchi moves on from the dominical festivals, of which he approves, to the feast days of apostles and martyrs. These belong, in his view, to a lower rank. One way we know this is that they were not […]
We continue with Zanchi on Christian festivals such as the Nativity, the Passion, the Ascension, and Pentecost. Today’s passage has a number of interesting features. Here are a few: Zanchi notes the pedagogical use of church festivals. There are, um, Very Important Events that are narrated in the gospels, and it is salutary for people […]