Read more
The Flesh of the Word explores how disputes between Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther over the nature of Christ's body crystalized into a lasting distinction between the Lutheran and Reformed branches of Protestantism. Reformed theologians articulated a view, called the
extra Calvinisticum, that the eternal Son maintains his existence beyond the flesh during his earthly ministry and perpetually. The book investigates how this doctrine that Christ exist both wholly within and wholly beyond his human flesh developed from its first articulation by Zwingli to the end of the sixteenth century and how this affected the Reformed understanding of Christ.
List of contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Zwingli and the Birth of the extra Calvinisticum
- Chapter 2: The extra Calvinisticum from the Marburg Colloquy to the Consensus Tigurinus
- Chapter 3: Peter Martyr Vermigli and the extra Calvinisticum
- Chapter 4: Antoine de la Roche Chandieu and the extra Calvinisticum into Early Reformed Orthodoxy
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
K.J. Drake is Assistant Professor of History at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario.
Summary
The extra Calvinisticum, the doctrine that the eternal Son maintains his existence beyond the flesh both during his earthly ministry and perpetually, divided the Lutheran and Reformed traditions during the Reformation. This book explores the emergence and development of the extra Calvinisticum in the Reformed tradition by tracing its first exposition from Ulrich Zwingli to early Reformed orthodoxy. Rather than being an ancillary issue, the questions surrounding the extra Calvinisticum were a determinative factor in the differentiation of Magisterial Protestantism into rival confessions. Reformed theologians maintained this doctrine in order to preserve the integrity of both Christ's divine and human natures as the mediator between God and humanity. This rationale remained consistent across this period with increasing elaboration and sophistication to meet the challenges leveled against the doctrine in Lutheran polemics.
The study begins with Zwingli's early use of the extra Calvinisticum in the Eucharistic controversy with Martin Luther and especially as the alternative to Luther's doctrine of the ubiquity of Christ's human body. Over time, Reformed theologians, such as Peter Martyr Vermigli and Antione de Chandieu, articulated the extra Calvinisticum with increasing rigor by incorporating conciliar christology, the church fathers, and scholastic methodology to address the polemical needs of engagement with Lutheranism. The Flesh of the Word illustrates the development of christological doctrine by Reformed theologians offering a coherent historical narrative of Reformed christology from its emergence into the period of confessionalization. The extra Calvinisticum was interconnected to broader concerns affecting concepts of the union of Christ's natures, the communication of attributes, and the understanding of heaven.
Additional text
Drake offers helpful case studies illustrating the implications of the extra Calvinisticum that move beyond Christology.
