Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Chur ch Mat ter s : Ret r i ev i ng the Great Trad i t i on

e. Preached regularly throughout Geneva, and wrote commentaries on many books of the Bible

9. The Institutes

a. Instruction in the Christian Religion or The Institutes

b. Went through four major editions during his lifetime (first edition pocketbook length in 1536); the defini tive fourth edition which appeared in 1559 was five times the length of the first edition!

c. Institutes was seen to be a lengthier companion to his more concise commentaries.

10. A contemporary summary of the critical Reformed doctrines of the period are contained in the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563, said to combine Luther’s intimacy, Melanchthon’s charity, and Calvin’s fire. Not bad for the two principal theologians on the project, both in their twenties!

E. The Radical Reformers and the Anabaptists

1. General characteristics: generally known as the “left wing” of the Reformation, and the “Third Reformation” including all the reforming elements not associated with the magisterial reformation

2. Commonality: disappointment with the moral, doctrinal, and spiritual aspects of much of the nationalized Protestant reaction to the RCC; a sense that the magisterial reformation failed to go far enough in rejecting Roman Catholic institutions and doctrines