This book examines the contentious relationship between oath-taking, confessional subscription, and the binding of the conscience in reforms led by John Calvin. Calvin and his closest Reformed colleagues routinely distinguished what they believed were impious rules and constitutions in the Roman Church--human traditions claiming to bind the consciences of the faithful by putting them in fear of losing their salvation--and legitimate church observances, such as oaths and formal subscription to Reformed confessional standards. Doctrinal and moral reform in the cities became difficult, however, when friends and foes alike accused Calvin and his partners of burdening consciences with extra-Scriptural statements of faith composed by human authorities--a claim that, if true, would necessarily shape our assessment of the integrity of Calvin's Reformation.
In light of these conflicts, author Timothy R. Scheuers offers a close reading of the texts and controversies surrounding Calvin's struggle for reform. In particular, he shows how they reveal the unique challenges Calvin and his colleagues encountered as they attempted to employ oath-swearing and formal confession of faith in order to consolidate the reformation of church and society. This book demonstrates how oaths and vows were used to shape confessional identity, secure social order, forge community, and promote faithfulness in public and private contracts. It also illustrates the complex and difficult task of protecting the individual conscience as Calvin sought to bring his new take on Christian freedom into Reformed communities.
Recenzijos
'Let your yes mean yes, your no mean no.' In the history of biblical interpretation, very few commands of Christ have been more vigorously debated or roundly ignored than Jesus' statement on oaths. Scheuers' detailed and critical study uses Calvin's approach to and demands for oath taking as a strategic way to pry open the reformers' understandings of communal reform, liberty, and the conscience in the Reformation era. * David M. Whitford, Professor of Reformation Studies, Baylor University * This rich investigation explores tensions between freedom of conscience and appreciation for church constitutions, subscription to confessions, and oath swearing. Focusing on Calvin and situating Geneva's theoretical and practical negotiations among wider protestant movements, Scheuers paints a nuanced portrait of the relationships among biblical authority, conscience, and human traditions in the Reformation era. * Barbara Pitkin, author of Calvin, the Bible, and History: Exegesis and Historical Reflection in the Era of Reform * Pitkin's study provides a window into the historical consciousness of Calvin the exegete and reveals a sophisticated method of biblical interpretation that effectively rendered ancient texts relevant to the lives and faith of early modern believers. * Raymond A. Blacketer, Theology and History * A thorough investigation into the Early Modern meaning of objectivity. * W.H.Th. Moehn, Theologia Reformata *
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Notes on Translation and Texts
Introduction
Section One: Calvin and the Reformers' Inherited Legal Tradition
Chapter 1: Before Calvin: Oaths, Religious Coercion, and the Freedom of Conscience from the Medieval Church to the Reformation
Section Two: Answering Conscientious Objectors: Calvin and the Reformers Against Radical Dissent and Religious Compromise
Chapter 2: Conscience, Confession, and the Consolidation of Early Public Reform in Strasbourg, 1530-1535
Chapter 3: "Vera pietas veram confessionem parit": Confession, Conscience, and Charity in the Anti-Nicodemism of Calvin and the Reformers
Chapter 4: Confession, Conscience, and Christian Freedom in the Later Anti-Nicodemite Writings of Calvin and the Reformers, 1540-1562
Section Three: Oaths, Confessional Subscription, and the Binding of the Conscience in Reformation Geneva
Chapter 5: Citizen's Oath and Confession of Faith in Reformation Geneva, 1536-1538: Necessary, indifferent, or a tertium quid?
Chapter 6: "Make Them Afraid of Bearing False Witness": Oaths, Conscience, and Discipline in the Registers of the Genevan Consistory, 1541-1564
Chapter 7: After Calvin: Oaths, Subscription, Conscience, and Compromise in the Genevan Academy, 1559-1612
Conclusion
Bibliography
Timothy R. Scheuers received his PhD in Historical Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2021. He is presently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at Providence Christian College (Pasadena, CA), and the Associate Pastor of First United Reformed Church (Chino, CA). Scheuers' research and publications have focused on the theology and pastoral ministry of John Calvin, as well as various loci of systematic theology.
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