Wednesday, May 16, 2012

F. Bente - Historical Introductions.
The Bergic Book or the Formula of Concord

Musculus helped with the Confessions.


281. The Bergic Book or the Formula of Concord.

In accordance with the recommendation of the Torgau convention the
Elector of Saxony examined the _Torgau Book_ himself and had copies of
it sent to the various Lutheran princes and estates in Germany with the
request to have it tested by their theologians, and to return their
opinions and censures to Dresden. Of these (about 25) the majority were
favorable. The churches in Pomerania and Holstein desired that
Melanchthon's authority be recognized alongside of Luther's. On the
other hand, Hesshusius and Wigand demanded that Flacius, Osiander,
Major, Melanchthon, and other "originators and patrons of corruptions"
be referred to by name and condemned as errorists. Quite a number of
theologians objected to the _Torgau Book_ because it was too bulky. To
meet this objection the _Epitome_, a summary of the contents of the
_Torgau Book_, was prepared by Andreae with the consent of the Elector.
Originally its title read: "_Brief Summary_ of the articles which,
controverted among the theologians of the _Augsburg Confession_ for many
years, were settled in a Christian manner at Torgau in the month of
June, 1576, by the theologians which there met and subscribed."

After most of the censures had arrived, the "triumvirate" of the
_Formula of Concord_ (as Chytraeus called them 1581), Andreae,
Selneccer, and Chemnitz, by order of the Elector met on March 1, 1577,
at Cloister Bergen, near Magdeburg, for the consideration of the
criticisms and final editing of the new confession. They finished their
work on March 14. Later when other criticisms arrived and a further
revision took place (also at Bergen, in May 1577), Musculus, Cornerus,
and Chytraeus were added to their number. Though numerous changes,
additions, and omissions were made at Bergen, and in Article IX the
present form was substituted for the sermon of Luther, the doctrinal
substance of the _Torgau Book_ remained unchanged. The chief object of
the revisers was to eliminate misunderstandings and to replace ambiguous
and dark terms with clear ones. At the last meeting of the six revisers
(at Bergen, in May) the _Solid Declaration_ was quickly and finally
agreed upon, only a few changes of a purely verbal and formal nature
being made. On May 28, 1577, the revised form of the _Torgau Book_ was
submitted to Elector August. It is known as the _Bergic Book_, or the
_Solid Declaration_, or the _Formula of Concord_, also as the _Book of
Concord_ (a title which was afterwards reserved for the collection of
all the Lutheran symbols). Of course, the _Epitome_, prepared by
Andreae, was also examined and approved by the revisers at Cloister
Bergen.

In order to remove a number of misunderstandings appearing after the
completion of the _Bergic Book_, a "Preface" (Introduction to the _Book
of Concord_) was prepared by the theologians and signed by the princes.
The _Catalog of Testimonies_, added first with the caption "Appendix"
and later without the same, or omitted entirely, is a private work of
Andreae and Chemnitz, and not a part of the confession. Its special
purpose is to prove that the Lutheran doctrine concerning the person of
Christ and the majesty of His human nature as set forth in Article VII
of the _Formula of Concord_, is clearly taught by the Scriptures as well
as by the Fathers of the ancient Church. The _Formula of Concord_
(German) was first published at Dresden, 1580, as a part of the _Book of
Concord_. The first authentic Latin edition appeared in Leipzig, 1584.
(Compare chapter on "The Book of Concord.")

282. Subscription to the Formula of Concord.

Originally Elector August planned to submit the _Bergic Book_ to a
general convention of the evangelical estates for approval. But fearing
that this might lead to new discussions and dissensions, the six
theologians, in their report (May 28, 1577) on the final revision of the
_Bergic Book_, submitted and recommended a plan of immediate
subscription instead of an adoption at a general convention. Consenting
to their views, the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg forthwith sent
copies of the _Bergic Book_ to such princes and estates as were expected
to consent. These were requested to multiply the copies, and everywhere
to circulate and submit them for discussion and subscription. As a
result the _Formula of Concord_ was signed by the electors of Saxony, of
Brandenburg, and of the Palatinate; furthermore by 20 dukes and princes,
24 counts, 4 barons, 35 imperial cities, and about 8,000 pastors and
teachers embracing about two-thirds of the Lutheran territories of
Germany.

The first signatures were those of Andreae, Selneccer, Musculus,
Cornerus, Chytraeus, and Chemnitz, who on May 29, 1577, signed both the
_Epitome_ and the _Thorough Declaration_ the latter with the following
solemn protestation: "Since now, in the sight of God and of all
Christendom, we wish to testify to those now living and those who shall
come after us that this declaration herewith presented concerning all
the controverted articles aforementioned and explained, and no other, is
our faith, doctrine, and confession, in which we are also willing, by
God's grace, to appear with intrepid hearts before the judgment-seat of
Jesus Christ, and give an account of it and that we will neither
privately nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to it but, by
the help of God's grace, intend to abide thereby: therefore, after
mature deliberation we have, in God's fear and with the invocation of
His name, attached our signatures with our own hands." (1103, 40 CONC.
TRIGL. 1103, 40; 842, 31.)

Kolde remarks: "Wherever the civil authorities were in favor of the
_Bergic Book_, the pastors and teachers also were won for its
subscription. That the wish of the ruler contributed to this result
cannot be denied and is confirmed by the Crypto-Calvinistic troubles
reappearing later on in Saxony. But that the influence of the rulers
must not be overestimated, appears, apart from other things from the
frequent additions to the signatures 'With mouth and heart (_cum ore et
corde_).'" Self-evidently the Crypto-Calvinists as well as other
errorists had to face the alternative of either subscribing or being
suspended from the ministry. The very object of the _Formula of Concord_
was to purge the Lutheran Church from Calvinists and others who were not
in sympathy and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions and constituted
a foreign and disturbing element in the Lutheran Church.

As to the manner in which the _Formula_ was submitted for subscription,
it was certainly not indifferentistic, but most solemn and serious, and
perhaps, in some instances, even severe. Coercion, however, was nowhere
employed for obtaining the signatures. At any rate, no instance is
recorded in which compulsion was used to secure its adoption. Moreover,
the campaign of public subscription, for which about two years were
allowed, was everywhere conducted on the principle that such only were
to be admitted to subscription as had read the _Formula_ and were in
complete agreement with its doctrinal contents. Yet it was probably true
that some, as Hutter assumes, signed with a bad conscience [Hutter:
"_Deinde esto: subscripserunt aliqui mala conscientia Formulae
Concordiae";_ Mueller, _Einleitung_, 115]; for among those who affixed
their names are quite a few of former Crypto-Calvinists--men who had
always found a way of escaping martyrdom, and, also in this instance,
may have preferred the retaining of their livings to following their
conviction. The fact is that no other confession can be mentioned in the
elaboration of which so much time, labor, and care was expended to bring
out clearly the divine truth, to convince every one of its complete
harmony with the Bible and the Lutheran symbols, and to hear and meet
all objections, as was the case with respect to the _Formula of
Concord_.

"In reply to the criticism [of the Calvinists in the _Neustadt
Admonition_, etc.] that it was unjust for only six theologians to write
a Confession for the whole Church, and that a General Synod should have
been held before the signing of the Confession, the Convention of
Quedlinburg, in 1583, declared it untrue that the _Formula of Concord_
had been composed by only six theologians, and reminded the critics how,
on the contrary, the articles had first been sent, a number of times, to
all the Lutheran churches in Germany; how, in order to consider them,
synods and conferences had been held on every side, and the articles had
been thoroughly tested, how criticisms had been made upon them; and how
the criticisms had been conscientiously taken in hand by a special
commission. The Quedlinburg Convention therefore declared in its minutes
that, indeed, 'such a frequent revision and testing of the _Christian
Book of Concord_, many times repeated, is a much greater work than if a
General Synod had been assembled respecting it to which every province
would have commissioned two or three theologians, who in the name of all
the rest would have helped to test and approve the book. For in that way
only one synod would have been held for the comparing and testing of
this work, but, as it was, many synods were held; and it was sent to
many provinces, which had it tested by the weighty and mature judgment
of their theologians, in such manner as has never occurred in the case
of any book or any matter of religion since the beginning of
Christianity, as is evident from the history of the Church,'... We are
solemnly told [by Andreae, Selneccer, etc.] that no one was forced by
threats to sign the _Formula of Concord_, and that no one was tempted to
do so by promises. We know that no one was taken suddenly by surprise.
Every one was given time to think. As the work of composition extended
through years, so several years were given for the work of signing. We
very much doubt whether the Lutheran Church to-day could secure any
democratic subscription so clean, so conscientious, so united, or so
large as that which was given to the _Book of Concord_." (Schmauk,
663f.)

283. Subscription in Electoral Saxony, Brandenburg, etc.

In Electoral Saxony, where Crypto-Calvinism had reigned supreme for many
years, prevailing conditions naturally called for a strict procedure.
For Calvinists could certainly not be tolerated as preachers in Lutheran
churches or as teachers in Lutheran schools. Such was also the settled
conviction and determination of Elector August. When he learned that the
Wittenberg professors were trying to evade an unqualified subscription,
he declared: By the help of God I am determined, as long as I live to
keep my churches and schools pure and in agreement with the _Formula of
Concord_. Whoever does not want to cooperate with me may go, I have no
desire for him. God protect me, and those belonging to me, from Papists
and Calvinists--I have experienced it. (Richard, 529.)

The Elector demanded that every pastor affix his own signature to the
_Formula_. Accordingly, in every place, beginning with Wittenberg, the
commissioners addressed the ministers and schoolteachers, who had been
summoned from the smaller towns and villages, read the _Formula_ to
them, exhorted them to examine it and to express their doubts or
scruples, if they had any, and finally demanded subscription of all
those who could not bring any charge of false doctrine against it.
According to Planck only one pastor, one superintendent (Kolditz, who
later on subscribed), and one schoolteacher refused to subscribe. (6,
560.) Several professors in Leipzig and Wittenberg who declined to
acknowledge the _Formula_ were dismissed.

However, as stated, also in Electoral Saxony coercion was not employed.
Moreover, objections were listened to with patience, and time was
allowed for consideration. Indeed, in the name of the Elector every one
was admonished not to subscribe against his conscience. I. F. Mueller
says in his _Historico-Theological Introduction to the Lutheran
Symbols_: "At the Herzberg Convention, 1578, Andreae felt justified in
stating: 'I can truthfully say that no one was coerced to subscribe or
banished on that account. If this is not true, the Son of God has not
redeemed me with His blood; for otherwise I do not want to become a
partaker of the blood of Christ.' Pursuant to this declaration the
opponents were publicly challenged to mention a single person who had
subscribed by compulsion, but they were unable to do so. Moreover, even
the Nuernbergers, who did not adopt the _Formula of Concord_,
acknowledged that the signatures had been affixed without employment of
force." (115.) True, October 8, 1578, Andreae wrote to Chemnitz: "We
treated the pastors with such severity that a certain truly good man and
sincere minister of the church afterwards said to us in the lodging
that, when the matter was proposed so severely, his mind was seized with
a great consternation which caused him to think that he, being near
Mount Sinai, was hearing the promulgation of the Mosaic Law (_se animo
adeo consternato fuisse, cum negotium tam severiter proponeretur, ut
existimaret, se monti Sinai proximum legis Mosaicae promulgationem
audire_).... I do not believe that anywhere a similar severity has been
employed." (116.) But the term "severity" here employed does not mean
force or compulsion, but merely signifies religious seriousness and
moral determination to eliminate Crypto-Calvinism from the Lutheran
Church in Electoral Saxony. The spirit in which also Andreae desired
this matter to be conducted appears from his letter of November 20,
1579, to Count Wolfgang, in which he says: Although as yet some
ministers in his country had not subscribed to the _Formula_, he should
not make too much of that, much less press or persuade them; for whoever
did not subscribe spontaneously and with a good conscience should
abstain from subscribing altogether much rather than pledge himself with
word and hand when his heart did not concur--_denn wer es nicht mit
seinem Geist und gutem Gewissen tue, bleibe viel besser davon, als dass
er sich mit Worten und mit der Hand dazu bekenne und das Herz nicht
daran waere_. (115.)

Also Selneccer testifies to the general willingness with which the
ministers in Saxony affixed their signatures. With respect to the
universities of Wittenberg and Leipzig, however, he remarks that there
some were found who, while willing to acknowledge the first part of the
_Book of Concord_, begged to be excused from signing the _Formula_, but
that they had been told by the Elector: If they agreed with the first
part, there was no reason why they should refuse to sign the second,
since it was based on the first. (Carpzov, _Isagoge_ 20.) While thus in
Electoral Saxony subscription to the _Formula_ was indeed demanded of
all professors and ministers, there is not a single case on record in
which compulsion was employed to obtain it.

In Brandenburg the clergy subscribed unconditionally, spontaneously, and
with thankfulness toward God and to their "faithful, pious ruler for his
fatherly care of the Church." Nor was any opposition met with in
Wuerttemberg, where the subscription was completed in October, 1577. In
Mecklenburg the ministers were kindly invited to subscribe. Such as
refused were suspended and given time for deliberation, with the proviso
that they abstain from criticizing the _Formula_ before the people. When
the superintendent of Wismar and several pastors declined finally to
adopt the _Formula_, they were deposed.

Accordingly, it was in keeping with the facts when the Lutheran electors
and princes declared in the Preface to the _Formula of Concord_ "that
their theologians, ministers, and schoolteachers" "did with glad heart
and heartfelt thanks to God the Almighty voluntarily and with
well-considered courage adopt, approve, and subscribe this _Book of
Concord_ [_Formula of Concord_] as the true and Christian sense of the
_Augsburg Confession_, and did publicly testify thereto with heart,
mouth and hand. Wherefore also this Christian Agreement is not the
confession of some few of our theologians only, but is called, and is in
general, the unanimous confession of each and every one of the ministers
and schoolteachers of our lands and provinces." (CONC. TRIGL. 12f.)

284. Where and Why Formula of Concord was Rejected.

Apart from the territories which were really Calvinistic (Anhalt, Lower
Hesse, the Palatinate, etc.), comparatively few of the German princes
and estates considered adherents of the _Augsburg Confession_ declined
to accept the _Formula of Concord_ because of any doctrinal
disagreement. Some refused to append their names for political reasons;
others, because they were opposed on principle to a new symbol. With
still others, notably some of the imperial cities, it was a case of
religious particularism, which would not brook any disturbance of its
own mode of church-life. Also injured pride, for not having been
consulted in the matter, nor called upon to participate in the
preparation and revision of the _Formula_, was not altogether lacking as
a motive for withholding one's signature. In some instances personal
spite figured as a reason. Because Andreae had given offense to Paul von
Eitzen, Holstein rejected the _Formula_, stating that all the articles
it treated were clearly set forth in the existing symbols. Duke Julius
of Brunswick, though at first most zealous in promoting the work of
pacification and the adoption of the _Book of Concord_, withdrew in
1583, because Chemnitz had rebuked him for allowing his son to be
consecrated Bishop of Halberstadt. (Kolde, 73f.) However, despite the
unfriendly attitude of Duke Julius, some of the Brunswick theologians
openly declared their agreement with the _Formula_ as well as their
determination by the help of God, to adhere to its doctrine. No doubt
but that much more pressure was exercised in hindering than in urging
Lutherans to subscribe to the _Formula_. For the reasons enumerated the
_Formula of Concord_ was not adopted in Brunswick, Wolfenbuettel,
Holstein, Hesse, Pomerania (where however, the _Formula_ was received
later), Anhalt, the Palatinate (which, after a short Lutheran
interregnum, readopted the Heidelberg Catechism under John Casimir,
1583), Zweibruecken, Nassau, Bentheim, Tecklenburg, Solms, Ortenburg,
Liegnitz, Brieg, Wohlau, Bremen, Danzig, Magdeburg, Nuernberg,
Weissenburg, Windsheim, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Worms, Speyer,
Strassburg.

In Sweden and Denmark, Frederick II issued an edict, July 24, 1580,
forbidding (for political reasons) the importation and publication of
the _Formula of Concord_ on penalty of execution and confiscation of
property. He is said to have cast the two elegantly bound copies of the
_Formula_ sent him by his sister, the wife of Elector August of Saxony,
into the fireplace. Later on, however, the _Formula_ came to be esteemed
also in the Danish Church and to be regarded as a symbol, at least in
fact, if not in form.

While some of the original signatories subsequently withdrew from the
_Formula of Concord_ a larger number acceded to it. Among the latter
were Holstein, Pomerania, Krain, Kaernthen, Steiermark, etc. In Sweden
the _Formula_ was adopted 1593 by the Council of Upsala; in Hungary, in
1597. With few exceptions the Lutheran synods in America and Australia
all subscribed also to the _Formula of Concord_.

285. Formula Not a New Confession Doctrinally.

The _Formula of Concord_ purified the Lutheran Church from Romanism,
Calvinism, indifferentism, unionism, synergism, and other errors and
unsound tendencies. It did so, not by proclaiming new exclusive laws and
doctrines, but by showing that these corruptions were already excluded
by the spirit and letter of the existing Lutheran symbols. Doctrinally
the _Formula of Concord_ is not a new confession, but merely a
repetition and explanation of the old Lutheran confessions. It does not
set forth or formulate a new faith or tenets hitherto unknown to the
Lutheran Church. Nor does it correct, change, or in any way modify any
of her doctrines. On the contrary its very object was to defend and
maintain the teaching of her old symbols against all manner of attacks
coming from without as well as from within the Lutheran Church. The
_Formula_ merely presents, repeats, reaffirms explains, defends, clearly
defines, and consistently applies the truths directly or indirectly,
explicitly or implicitly confessed and taught in the antecedent Lutheran
confessions. The _Augsburg Confession_ concludes its last paragraph: "If
there is anything that any one might desire in this Confession, we are
ready God willing, to present ampler information (_latiorem
informationem_) according to the Scriptures." (94, 7.) Close scrutiny
will reveal the fact that in every detail the _Formula_ must be regarded
as just such an "ampler information, according to the Scriptures." The
Lutheran Church, therefore, has always held that whoever candidly adopts
the _Augsburg Confession_ cannot and will not reject the _Formula of
Concord_ either.

As for the _Formula_ itself, it most emphatically disclaims to be
anything really new. In their Preface to the _Book of Concord_ the
Lutheran princes declared: "We indeed (to repeat in conclusion what we
have mentioned several times above) have wished, in this work of
concord, _in no way to devise anything new_, or to depart from the truth
of the heavenly doctrine, which our ancestors (renowned for their piety)
as well as we ourselves have acknowledged and professed. We mean that
doctrine, which, having been derived from the prophetic and apostolic
Scriptures, is contained in the three ancient Creeds, in the _Augsburg
Confession_, presented in the year 1530 to Emperor Charles V, of
excellent memory, then in the _Apology_, which was added to this, in the
_Smalcald Articles_, and lastly in both the Catechisms of that excellent
man, Dr. Luther. _Therefore we also have determined not to depart even a
finger's breadth either from the subjects themselves, or from the
phrases which are found in them_, but, the Spirit of the Lord aiding us,
to persevere constantly, with the greatest harmony, in this godly
agreement, and we intend to examine all controversies according to this
true norm and declaration of the pure doctrine." (CONC. TRIGL. 23.) In
the Comprehensive Summary we read: "We [the framers and signers of the
_Formula of Concord_] have declared to one another with heart and mouth
that we will not make or receive _a separate or new confession of our
faith_, but confess the public common writings which always and
everywhere were held and used as such symbols or common confessions in
all the churches of the _Augsburg Confession_ before the dissensions
arose among those who accept the _Augsburg Confession_, and as long as
in all articles there was on all sides a unanimous adherence to the pure
doctrine of the divine Word, as the sainted Dr. Luther explained it."
(851, 2. 9.) The _Formula of Concord_ therefore did not wish to offer
anything that was new doctrinally. It merely expressed the consensus of
all loyal Lutherans, and applied the truths contained in the existing
symbols to the questions raised in the various controversies.

286. Formula a Reaffirmation of Genuine Lutheranism.

To restore Luther's doctrine, such was the declared purpose of the
promoters and authors of the _Formula of Concord_. And in deciding the
controverted questions, they certainly did most faithfully adhere to
Luther's teaching. The _Formula_ is an exact, clear, consistent, and
guarded statement of original Lutheranism purified of all foreign
elements later on injected into it by the Philippists and other
errorists. It embodies the old Lutheran doctrine, as distinguished not
merely from Romanism and Calvinism, but also from Melanchthonianism and
other innovations after the death of Luther. Surely Luther would not
have hesitated to endorse each and all of its articles or doctrinal
statements. Even Planck, who poured contempt and sarcasm on the loyal
Lutherans, admits: "It was almost beyond controversy that the _Formula_,
in every controverted article, established and authorized precisely the
view which was most clearly sanctioned by the _Unaltered Augsburg
Confession_, by its _Apology_ according to the edition of the year 1531,
by the _Smalcald Articles_, and by the Catechisms of Luther." (6, 697.)
This complete agreement with Luther also accounts for the fact that the
_Formula_ was immediately acknowledged by two-thirds of the Protestants
in Germany.

As for Luther, the _Formula of Concord_ regards him as the God-given
Reformer and teacher of the Church. We read: "By the special grace and
mercy of the Almighty the doctrine concerning the chief articles of our
Christian religion (which under the Papacy had been horribly obscured by
human teachings and ordinances) _were explained and purified again from
God's Word by Dr. Luther, of blessed and holy memory_." (847, 1.) Again:
"In these last times God, out of special grace has brought the truth of
His Word to light again from the darkness of the Papacy _through the
faithful service of the precious man of God, Dr. Luther_." (851, 5.)
Luther is spoken of as "this highly illumined man," "the hero illumined
with unparalleled and most excellent gifts of the Holy Ghost," "the
leading teacher of the _Augsburg Confession_." (980, 28; 983, 34.) "Dr.
Luther," says the _Formula_, "is to be regarded as the most
distinguished (_vornehmste, praecipuus_) teacher of the Churches which
confess the _Augsburg Confession_, whose entire doctrine as to sum and
substance is comprised in the articles of the _Augsburg Confession_."
(985, 41.) Again: "Dr. Luther, who, above others, certainly understood
the true and proper meaning of the _Augsburg Confession_, and who
constantly remained steadfast thereto till his end, and defended it,
shortly before his death repeated his faith concerning this article [of
the Lord's Supper] with great zeal in his last Confession." (983, 33.)
Accordingly, only from Luther's writings quotations are introduced by
the _Formula_ to prove the truly Lutheran character of a doctrine. In
this respect Luther was considered the highest authority, outweighing by
far that of Melanchthon or any other Lutheran divine. Everywhere
Luther's books are referred and appealed to, _e.g._, his "beautiful and
glorious exposition of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians," his
book concerning Councils, his _Large Confession_, his _De Servo
Arbitrio_, his _Commentary on Genesis_, his sermon of 1533 at Torgau,
etc. (925, 28; 937, 67; 823, 21; 897, 43; 827, 2; 1051, 1; cf. 1213ff.)

Luther's doctrine, according to the _Formula of Concord_, is embodied in
the old Lutheran symbols, and was "collected into the articles and
chapters of the _Augsburg Confession_." (851, 5.) The _Augsburg
Confession_, the _Apology_, the _Smalcald Articles_, and the _Small_ and
the _Large Catechism_, says the _Formula_, "have always been regarded as
the norm and model of the doctrine which Dr. Luther, of blessed memory,
has admirably deduced from God's Word, and firmly established against
the Papacy and other sects; and to his full explanations in his
doctrinal and polemical writings we wish to appeal, in the manner and as
far as Dr. Luther himself in the Latin preface to his published works
has given necessary and Christian admonition concerning his writings."
(853, 9.) According to the _Formula_ there were no dissensions among the
Lutherans "as long as in all articles there was on all sides a unanimous
adherence to the pure doctrine of the divine Word _as the sainted Dr.
Luther explained it_." (851, 2.) Melanchthon, Agricola, Osiander, Major,
and the Philippists, departing from Luther, struck out on paths of their
own, and thus gave rise to the controversies finally settled by the
_Formula of Concord_.

As for the _Formula of Concord_ itself, the distinct object also of its
promoters and authors was to restore, reaffirm, and vindicate the
doctrine of Luther. In a letter of July 24, 1576, to Hesshusius and
Wigand, Andreae giving an account of the results of the Torgau
Convention, remarks: "For this I dare affirm and promise sacredly that
the illustrious Elector of Saxony is bent on this alone that the
doctrine of Luther, which has been partly obscured, partly corrupted,
partly condemned openly or secretly, shall again be restored pure and
unadulterated in the schools and churches, and accordingly Luther shall
live, _i.e._, Christ, whose faithful servant Luther was--_adeoque
Lutherus, hoc est, Christus, cuius fidelis minister Lutherus fuit,
vivat_. What more do you desire? Here [in the _Torgau Book_] nothing is
colored, nothing is dressed up, nothing is concealed, but everything is
in keeping with the spirit of Luther which is Christ's. _Nihil hic
fucatum, nihil palliatum, nihil tectum est, sed iuxta spiritum Lutheri,
qui Christi est_." (Schaff 1, 339.) Also the _Formula of Concord_,
therefore, contains Luther's theology.

It has been asserted that the _Formula of Concord_ is a compromise
between Luther and Melanchthon, a "synthesis or combination of the two
antagonistic forces of the Reformation, a balance of mutually
destructive principles," etc. The _Formula_, says also Seeberg
represents a "Melanchthonian Lutheranism." But the plain truth is that
the _Formula_ is a complete victory of Luther over the later Melanchthon
as well as the other errorists who had raised their heads within the
Lutheran Church. It gave the floor, not to Philip, but to Martin. True,
it was the avowed object of the _Formula_ to restore peace to the
Lutheran Church, but not by compromising in any shape or form the
doctrine of Luther, which, its authors were convinced, is nothing but
divine truth itself. In thesis and antithesis, moreover, the _Formula_
takes a clearly defined stand against all the errorists of those days:
Anabaptists, Schwenckfeldians, Antitrinitarians, Romanists, Zwinglians,
Calvinists, Crypto-Calvinists, Adiaphorists, Antinomians, Synergists,
Majorists, the later Flacianists, etc. It did not acknowledge, or leave
room for, any doctrines or doctrinal tendencies deviating in the least
from original genuine Scriptural Lutheranism. At every point it occupied
the old Lutheran ground. Everywhere it observed a correct balance
between two errors (_e.g._, Romanism and Zwinglianism, Calvinism and
synergism, Majorism and antinomianism); it steered clear of Scylla as
well as Charybdis avoiding errors to the right as well as pitfalls to
the left. The golden highway of truth on which it travels was not
Melanchthon nor a middle ground between Luther and Melanchthon, but
simply Luther and the truths which he had brought to light again.

Melanchthonianism may be defined as an effort to inoculate Lutheranism
with a unionistic and Calvinistic virus. The distinct object of the
_Formula_, however, was not merely to reduce, but to purge the Lutheran
Church entirely from, this as well as other leaven. The _Formula's_
theology is not Lutheranism modified by, but thoroughly cleansed from,
antinomianism, Osiandrianism, and particularly from Philippism.
Accordingly, while in the _Formula_ Luther is celebrated and quoted as
the true and reliable exponent of Lutheranism, Melanchthon is nowhere
appealed to as an authority in this respect. It is only in the _Preface
of the Book of Concord_ that his writings are referred to as not to be
"rejected and condemned", but the proviso is added, "in as far as
(_quatenus_) they agree throughout with the norm laid down in the _Book
of Concord_." (16.)

287. Scripture Sole Standard and Rule.

From the high estimation in which Luther was held by the _Formula of
Concord_ it has falsely been inferred that this Confession accords
Luther the "highest authority" as Hase says, or considers him "the
regulative and almost infallible expounder" of the Bible, as Schaff
asserts. (_Creeds_ 1, 313.) But according to the _Formula_ the supreme
arbiter and only final rule in all matters of religion is the inspired
Word of God; and absolutely all human teachers and books, including
Luther and the Lutheran symbols, are subject to its verdict. When, after
Luther's death, God permitted doctrinal controversies to distract the
Church, His purpose, no doubt, being also to have her fully realize not
only that Luther's doctrine is in complete harmony with Scripture, but,
in addition, that in matters of faith and doctrine not Luther, not the
Church, not the symbols, nor any other human authority but His Word
alone is the sole rule and norm. The _Formula_ certainly learned this
lesson well. In its opening paragraph we read: "We believe, teach, and
confess that the sole rule and standard according to which both all
doctrines and all teachers should be estimated and judged are the
prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament
alone.... Other writings, however, of ancient or modern teachers,
whatever name they bear must not be regarded as equal to the Holy
Scriptures, but all of them together be subjected to them." (777, 1.)
And in this, too, the _Formula_ was conscious of being in agreement with
Luther. Luther himself, it declares, "has expressly drawn this
distinction namely, that the Word of God alone should be and remain the
only standard and rule of doctrine, to which the writings of no man
should be regarded as equal, but to which everything should be
subjected." (853, 9.) Scripture is, and always must remain, the only
_norma normans_, the standard that rules everything,--such was the
attitude of the _Formula of Concord_.

Accordingly, the proof proper for the truth of any doctrinal statement
is taken by the _Formula_ neither from the Lutheran symbols nor the
writings of Luther, but from the Word of God. And the only reason why
the promoters and framers of the _Formula_ were determined to restore
the unadulterated teaching of Luther was because, in the controversies
following his death, they had thoroughly convinced themselves that, on
the one hand, the doctrines proclaimed by Luther were nothing but the
purest gold mined from the shafts of God's Word, and that, on the other
hand, the various deviations from Luther's teaching, which had caused
the dissensions, were aberrations not only from the original Lutheran
Confessions, but also from Holy Scripture. The thirty years of
theological discussion had satisfied the Lutherans that to adhere to the
Bible was tantamount to adhering to the teaching of Luther, and _vice
versa_. Accordingly, the _Formula_ also declared it as its object to
prove that the doctrines it presented were in harmony with the Bible, as
well as with the teaching of Luther and the _Augsburg Confession_. (856,
19.) This agreement with the Word of God and the preceding Lutheran
symbols constitutes the _Formula_ a Lutheran confession, which no one
who is a true Lutheran can reject or, for doctrinal reasons, refuse to
accept.

288. Formula Benefited Lutheran Church.

It has frequently been asserted that the _Formula of Concord_ greatly
damaged Lutheranism, causing bitter controversies, and driving many
Lutherans into the fold of Calvinism, _e.g._, in the Palatinate (1583),
in Anhalt, in Hesse, and in Brandenburg (1613). Richard says: "The
_Formula of Concord_ was the cause of the most bitter controversies,
dissensions, and alienations. The position taken by the adherents of the
_Formula of Concord_ that this document is the true historical and
logical explanation of the older confessions and is therefore the test
and touchstone of Lutheranism, had the effect, as one extreme generates
a counter-extreme, of driving many individual Lutherans and many
Lutheran churches into the Calvinistic fold, as that fold was
represented in Germany by the Heidelberg Catechism as the chief
confession of faith." (516.)

But this entire view is founded on indifferentism and unionism flowing
from the false principle that quality must be sacrificed to quantity,
eternal truth to temporal peace and unity to external progress and
temporary success. Viewed in the light of God's Word, error is the
centrifugal force and the real cause of dissension and separations among
Christians, while divine truth always acts as a centripetal or a truly
unifying power. The _Formula_ therefore, standing clearly as it does for
divine truth only, cannot be charged with causing dissension and
breeding trouble among Christians. It settled many controversies and
healed dissensions, but produced none. True, the _Formula_ was condemned
by many, but with no greater justice and for no other reasons than those
for which the truths of God's Word have always been assailed by their
enemies.

Nor is the statement correct that the _Formula of Concord_ drove loyal
Lutherans out of their own churches into Calvinistic folds. It clearly
stated what, according to God's Word and their old confessions,
Lutherans always will believe, teach, and confess, as also what they
always must reject as false and detrimental to the cause of the Church
of Christ; however, in so doing, it did not drive Lutherans into the
ranks of the Calvinists, but drove masked Calvinists out of the ranks of
loyal Lutherans into those folds to which they really belonged. Indeed,
the _Formula_ failed to make true Lutherans of all the errorists; but
neither did the _Augsburg Confession_ succeed in making friends and
Lutherans of all Papists, nor the Bible, in making Christians of all
unbelievers. However, by clearly stating its position in thesis and
antithesis, the _Formula_ did succeed in bringing about a wholesome
separation, ridding the Lutheran Church of antagonistic spirits, unsound
tendencies, and false doctrines. In fact, it saved the Church from slow,
but sure poisoning at the hands of the Crypto-Calvinists; it restored
purity, unity, morale, courage, and hope when she was demoralized,
distracted, and disfigured by many dissensions and corruptions.
Whatever, by adopting the _Formula of Concord_ the Lutheran Church
therefore may have lost in extension, it won in intention; what it lost
in numbers, it won in unity, solidity, and firmness in the truth.

True, the _Formula of Concord_ completely foiled Melanchthon's plan of a
union between the Lutheran and Reformed churches on the basis of the
Variata of 1540,--a fact which more than anything else roused the ire of
Philippists and Calvinists. But that was an ungodly union, contrary to
the Word of God; a union involving a denial of essential Christian
truths; a union incompatible with the spirit of Lutheranism, which
cannot survive where faith is gagged and open confession of the truth is
smothered; a union in which Calvinism, engrafted on Lutheranism, would
have reduced the latter to a mere feeder of a foreign life. However,
though it shattered the ungodly plans of the Philippists and Calvinists,
the _Formula_ did not in the least destroy the hope of, or block the way
for, a truly Christian agreement. On the contrary, it formulated the
only true basis for such a union, which it also realized among the
Lutherans. And if the Lutheran and Reformed churches will ever unite in
a true and godly manner it must be done on the basis of the truths set
forth by the _Formula_.

289. Necessity of Formula of Concord.

Several Lutheran states, as related above, declined to accept the
_Formula of Concord_, giving as their reason for such action that there
was no need of a new confession. The fact, however, that the _Formula_
was adopted by the great majority of Lutheran princes, professors,
preachers, and congregations proves conclusively that they were of a
different opinion. A new confession was necessary, not indeed because
new truths had been discovered which called for confessional coining or
formulation, but because the old doctrines, assailed by errorists, were
in need of vindication, and the Lutheran Church, distracted by prolonged
theological warfare, was sorely in need of being restored to unity,
peace, and stability. The question-marks suspended everywhere in Germany
after Luther's death were: Is Lutheranism to die or live? Are its old
standards and doctrines to be scrapped or vindicated? Is the Church of
Luther to remain, or to be transformed into a unionistic or Reformed
body? Is it to retain its unity, or will it become a house divided
against itself and infested with all manner of sects?

Evidently, then, if the Lutheran Church was not to go down ingloriously,
a new confession was needed which would not only clear the religious and
theological atmosphere, but restore confidence, hope, and normalcy. A
confession was needed which would bring out clearly the truths for which
Lutherans must firmly stand if they would be true to God, true to His
Word, true to their Church, true to themselves, and true to their
traditions. A confession was needed which would draw exactly, clearly,
and unmistakably the lines which separate Lutherans, not only from
Romanists, but also from Zwinglians, Calvinists, Crypto-Calvinists,
unionists, and the advocates of other errors and unsound tendencies.
Being essentially the Church of the pure Word and Sacrament, the only
way for the Lutheran Church to maintain her identity and independence
was to settle her controversies not by evading or compromising the
doctrinal issues involved, but by honestly facing and definitely
deciding them in accordance with her principles: the Word of God and the
old confessions. Particularly with respect to the doctrine of the Lord's
Supper, Melanchthon by constantly altering the _Augsburg Confession_,
had muddied the water to such an extent that the adoption of the
_Augustana_ was no longer a clear test of Lutheran orthodoxy and
loyalty. Even Calvin, and the German Reformed generally subscribed to
it, "in the sense," they said, "in which Melanchthon has explained it."
The result was a corruption of Lutheranism and a pernicious Calvinistic
propaganda in Lutheran territories. A new confession was the only means
of ending the confusion and checking the invasion.

290. Formula Fully Met Requirements.

The _Formula of Concord_ was just such a confession as the situation
called for. The Preface to the _Apology of the Book of Concord_, signed
by Kirchner, Selneccer, and Chemnitz, remarks that the purpose of the
_Formula_ was "to establish and propagate unity in the Lutheran churches
and schools, and to check the Sacramentarian leaven and other
corruptions and sects." This purpose was fully attained by the
_Formula_. It maintained and vindicated the old Lutheran symbols. It
cleared our Church from all manner of foreign spirits which threatened
to transform its very character. It settled the controversies by
rendering a clear and correct decision on all doctrinal questions
involved. It unified our Church when she was threatened with hopeless
division, anarchy, and utter ruin. It surrounded her with a wall of fire
against all her enemies. It made her a most uncomfortable place for such
opponents of Lutheranism as Crypto-Calvinists, unionists, etc. It
infused her with confidence, self-consciousness, conviction, a clear
knowledge of her own position over against the errors of other churches
and sects, and last, but not least, with a most remarkable vitality.

Wherever and whenever, in the course of time, the _Formula of Concord_
was ignored, despised, or rejected, the Lutheran Church fell an easy
prey to unionism and sectarianism; but wherever and whenever the
_Formula_ was held in high esteem, Lutheranism flourished and its
enemies were confounded. Says Schaff: "Outside of Germany the Lutheran
Church is stunted in its normal growth, or undergoes with the change of
language and nationality, an ecclesiastical transformation. This is the
case with the great majority of Anglicized and Americanized Lutherans,
who adopt Reformed views on the Sacraments, the observance of Sunday,
church discipline, and other points." But the fact is that, since Schaff
wrote the above, the Lutheran Church developed and flourished nowhere as
in America, owing chiefly to the return of American Lutherans to their
confessions, including the _Formula of Concord_. The _Formula of
Concord_ fully supplied the dire need created by the controversies after
Luther's death; and, despite many subsequent controversies, also in
America, down to the present day, no further confessional deliverances
have been necessary, and most likely such will not be needed in the
future either.

The _Formula of Concord_, therefore, must ever be regarded as a great
blessing of God. "But for the _Formula of Concord_," says Krauth, "it
may be questioned whether Protestantism could have been saved to the
world. It staunched the wounds at which Lutheranism was bleeding to
death; and crises were at hand in history in which Lutheranism was
essential to the salvation of the Reformatory interest in Europe. The
Thirty Years' War, the war of martyrs, which saved our modern world, lay
indeed in the future of another century, yet it was fought and settled
in the Cloister of Bergen. But for the pen of the peaceful triumvirate,
the sword of Gustavus had not been drawn. Intestine treachery and
division in the Church of the Reformation would have done what the arts
and arms of Rome failed to do. But the miracle of restoration was
wrought. From being the most distracted Church on earth, the Lutheran
Church had become the most stable. The blossom put forth at Augsburg,
despite the storm, the mildew, and the worm, had ripened into the full
round fruit of the amplest and clearest Confession in which the
Christian Church has ever embodied her faith." (Schmauk, 830.)

291. Formula Attacked and Defended.

Drawing accurately and deeply, as it did, the lines of demarcation
between Lutheranism, on the one hand, and Calvinism, Philippism, etc.,
on the other, and thus also putting an end to the Calvinistic propaganda
successfully carried on for decades within the Lutheran Church, the
_Formula of Concord_ was bound to become a rock of offense and to meet
with opposition on the part of all enemies of genuine Lutheranism within
as well as without the Lutheran Church. Both Romanists and Calvinists
had long ago accustomed themselves to viewing the Lutheran Church as
moribund and merely to be preyed upon by others. Accordingly, when,
contrary to all expectations, our Church, united by the _Formula_, rose
once more to her pristine power and glory, it roused the envy and
inflamed the ire and rage of her enemies. Numerous protests against the
_Formula_, emanating chiefly from Reformed and Crypto-Calvinistic
sources, were lodged with Elector August and other Lutheran princes.
Even Queen Elizabeth of England sent a deputation urging the Elector not
to allow the promulgation of the new confession. John Casimir of the
Palatinate, also at the instigation of the English queen, endeavored to
organize the Reformed in order to prevent its adoption. Also later on
the Calvinists insisted that a general council (of course, participated
in by Calvinists and Crypto-Calvinists) should have been held to decide
on its formal and final adoption!

Numerous attacks on the _Formula of Concord_ were published 1578, 1579,
1581, and later, some of them anonymously. They were directed chiefly
against its doctrine of the real presence in the Lord's Supper, the
majesty of the human nature of Christ, and eternal election,
particularly its refusal to solve, either in a synergistic or in a
Calvinistic manner, the mystery presented to human reason in the
teaching of the Bible that God alone is the cause of man's salvation,
while man alone is the cause of his damnation. In a letter to Beza,
Ursinus, the chief author of the Heidelberg Catechism, shrewdly advised
the Reformed to continue accepting the _Augsburg Confession_, but to
agitate against the _Formula_. He himself led the Reformed attacks by
publishing, 1581, "_Admonitio Christiana de Libro Concordiae_, Christian
Admonition Concerning the Book of Concord," also called "_Admonitio
Neostadiensis_, Neustadt Admonition." Its charges were refuted in the
"Apology or Defense of the Christian Book of Concord--_Apologia oder
Verantwortung des christlichen Konkordienbuchs_, in welcher die wahre
christliche Lehre, so im Konkordienbuch verfasst, mit gutem Grunde
heiliger, goettlicher Schrift verteidiget, die Verkehrung aber und
Kalumnien, so von unruhigen Leuten wider gedachtes christliche Buch
ausgesprenget, widerlegt worden," 1583 (1582). Having been prepared by
command of the Lutheran electors, and composed by Kirchner, Selneccer,
and Chemnitz, and before its publication also submitted to other
theologians for their approval, this guardedly written _Apology_, also
called the Erfurt Book, gained considerable authority and influence.

The Preface of this Erfurt Book enumerates, besides the Christian
Admonition of Ursinus and the Neustadt theologians, the following
writings published against the _Formula of Concord_: 1. _Opinion and
Apology_ (_Bedencken und Apologie_) of Some Anhalt Theologians; 2.
_Defense_ (_Verantwortung_) of the Bremen Preachers; Christian Irenaeus
on Original Sin; _Nova Novorum_ ("ein famos Libell"); other libelli,
satyrae et pasquilli; _Calumniae et Scurrilia Convitia of Brother Nass_
(_Bruder Nass_); and the history of the _Augsburg Confession_ by
Ambrosius Wolf, in which the author asserts that from the beginning the
doctrine of Zwingli and Calvin predominated in all Protestant churches.
The theologians of Neustadt, Bremen, and Anhalt replied to the Erfurt
Apology; which, in turn, called forth counter-replies from the
Lutherans. Beza wrote: _Refutation of the Dogma Concerning the
Fictitious Omnipresence of the Flesh of Christ_. In 1607 Hospinian
published his _Concordia Discors_," [tr. note: sic on punctuation] to
which Hutter replied in his _Concordia Concors_. The papal detractors of
the _Formula_ were led by the Jesuit Cardinal Bellarmin, who in 1589
published his _Judgment of the Book of Concord_.

292. Modern Strictures on Formula of Concord.

Down to the present day the _Formula of Concord_ has been assailed
particularly by unionistic and Reformed opponents of true Lutheranism.
Schaff criticizes: "Religion was confounded with theology, piety with
orthodoxy, and orthodoxy with an exclusive confessionalism." (1, 259.)
However, the subjects treated in the _Formula_ are the most vital
doctrines of the Christian religion: concerning sin and grace, the
person and work of Christ, justification and faith, the means of grace,
--truths without which neither Christian theology nor Christian religion
can remain; "Here, then," says Schmauk, "is the one symbol of the ages
which treats almost exclusively of Christ--of His work, His presence,
His person. Here is the Christ-symbol of the Lutheran Church. One might
almost say that the _Formula of Concord_ is a developed witness of
Luther's explanation of the Second and Third Articles of the Apostles'
Creed, meeting the modern errors of Protestantism, those cropping up
from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, in a really modern way."
(751.) Tschackert also designates the assertion that the authors of the
_Formula of Concord_ "abandoned Luther's idea of faith and established a
dead scholasticism" as an unjust charge. (478.) Indeed, it may be
questioned whether the doctrine of grace, the real heart of
Christianity, would have been saved to the Church without the _Formula_.

R. Seeberg speaks of the "ossification of Lutheran theology" caused by
the _Formula of Concord_, and Tschackert charges it with transforming
the Gospel into a "doctrine." (571.) But what else is the Gospel of
Christ than the divine doctrine or statement and proclamation of the
truth that we are saved, not by our own works, but by grace and faith
alone, for the sake of Christ and His merits? The _Formula of Concord_
truly says: "_The Gospel is properly a doctrine which teaches what man
should believe_, that he may obtain forgiveness of sins with God,
namely, that the Son of God, our Lord Christ, has taken upon Himself and
borne the curse of the Law, has expiated and paid for all our sins,
through whom alone we again enter into favor with God, obtain
forgiveness of sins by faith, are delivered from death and all the
punishments of sins, and eternally saved." (959, 20.) Says Schmauk: "The
_Formula of Concord_ was ... the very substance of the Gospel and of the
_Augsburg Confession_, kneaded through the experience of the first
generation of Protestantism, by incessant and agonizing conflict, and
coming forth from that experience as a true and tried teaching, a
standard recognized by many." (821.) The _Formula of Concord_ is truly
Scriptural, not only because all its doctrines are derived from the
Bible, but also because the burden of the Scriptures, the doctrine of
justification, is the burden also of all its expositions the living
breath, as it were, pervading all its articles.

Another modern objection to the _Formula_ is that it binds the future
generations to the _Book of Concord_. This charge is correct, for the
_Formula_ expressly states that its decisions are to be "a public,
definite testimony, not only for those now living, but also for our
posterity, what is and should remain (_sei und bleiben solle--esseque
perpetuo debeat_) the unanimous understanding and judgment of our
churches in reference to the articles in controversy." (857, 16.)
However, the criticism implied in the charge is unwarranted. For the
Lutheran Confessions, as promoters, authors, and signers of the
_Formula_ were fully persuaded, are in perfect agreement with the
eternal and unchangeable Word of God. As to their contents, therefore,
they must always remain the confession of every Church which really is
and would remain loyal to the Word of God.

293. Formula Unrefuted.

From the day of its birth down to the present time the _Formula of
Concord_ has always been in the limelight of theological discussion. But
what its framers said in praise of the _Augsburg Confession_, _viz._,
that, in spite of numerous enemies, it had remained unrefuted, may be
applied also to the _Formula_: it stood the test of centuries and
emerged unscathed from the fire of every controversy. It is true today
what Thomasius wrote 1848 with special reference to the _Formula_:
"Numerous as they may be who at present revile our Confession, not one
has ever appeared who has refuted its chief propositions from the
Bible." (_Bekenntnis der ev.-luth. Kirche_, 227.)

Nor can the _Formula_ ever be refuted, for its doctrinal contents are
unadulterated truths of the infallible Word of God. It confesses the
doctrine which Christians everywhere will finally admit as true and
divine indeed, which they all in their hearts believe even now, if not
explicitly and consciously, at least implicitly and in principle. The
doctrines of the _Formula_ are the ecumenical truths of Christendom; for
true Lutheranism is nothing but consistent Christianity. The _Formula_,
says Krauth, is "the completest and clearest confession in which the
Christian Church has ever embodied her faith." Such being the case, the
_Formula of Concord_ must be regarded also as the key to a godly peace
and true unity of entire Christendom.

The authors of the _Formula_ solemnly declare: "We entertain heartfelt
pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and
anxious to advance with our utmost power that unity [and peace] by which
His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the
Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor
sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith,
confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone
through the sole merit of Christ." (1095, 95.) Such was the godly peace
and true Christian unity restored by the _Formula of Concord_ to the
Lutheran Church. And what it did for _her_ it is able also to do for the
Church at large. Being in complete agreement with Scripture, it is well
qualified to become the regeneration center of the entire present-day
corrupted, disrupted, and demoralized Christendom.

Accordingly Lutherans, the natural advocates of a truly wholesome and
God-pleasing union based on unity in divine truth, will not only
themselves hold fast what they possess in their glorious Confession, but
strive to impart its blessings also to others, all the while praying
incessantly, fervently, and trustingly with the pious framers of the
_Formula_: "May Almighty God and the Father of our Lord Jesus grant the
grace of His Holy Ghost that we all may be one in Him, and constantly
abide in this Christian unity, which is well pleasing to Him! Amen."
(837, 23.)

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

[tr. note: original printed text ends with a 10 page index that is not
included in this transcription]





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Historical Introductions to the
Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, by Friedrich Bente