The Calvinist International
Our next installment in our series from Zacharias Ursinus’s teaching on the doctrine of God (see also part 1 and part 2) is his defense of the traditional theological explanation against the detractors of his day. You will notice that the Reformed churches were opposed by the “biblicists” of their day. Ursinus does respond by […]
Given the recent widespread confusion about the doctrine of God among Reformed theologians, we thought it would be helpful to post some excerpts on the basic concepts of theology proper from Zacharias Ursinus. Ursinus gives a scholastic treatment of the question, one that is both traditional and succinct. The following comes from his Commentary on […]
The Reformed often employed a sort of communicatio idiomatum for the sacraments, applying the name of the thing signified to the sign. The obvious example is “This is my body.” In his Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharias Ursinus gives three reasons explaining why this is valid. Number 3 is important for understanding the term exhibitio as […]
A few years ago, Dr. Kenneth Stewart published a paper which sought to rebut the charge that the doctrine of “regeneration,” due to the effects of Revivalism, had been dramatically transformed into something different from its meaning at the time of the Reformation. His paper is well worth your reading, but in it he makes […]
There is much more to be said about Zacharias Ursinus’s view of adiaphora and worship. Our previous post on the issue was widely read, but it did raise a number of important questions. The most interesting is in regards to Ursinus’s relationship to the so-called “regulative principle of worship.” To allow for man-made “ceremonies” in […]