IV.
Melanchthon's Alterations of the Augsburg Confession.
30.
Changes Unwarranted.
Melanchthon
continued uninterruptedly to polish and correct the Augsburg
Confession
till immediately before its presentation on June 25, 1530.
While,
indeed he cannot be censured for doing this, it was though
originally
not so intended by Melanchthon, an act of presumption to
continue
to alter the document after it had been adopted, signed, and
publicly
presented. Even the _editio princeps_ of 1531 is no longer in
literal
agreement with the original manuscripts. For this reason the
German
text embodied in the Book of Concord is not the one contained in
the
_editio princeps,_ but that of the Mainz Manuscript, which, as
stated,
was erroneously believed to be the identical German copy
presented
to the Emperor. The Latin text of the _editio princeps,_
embodied
in the Book of Concord, had likewise undergone some, though
unessential,
changes. These alterations became much more extensive in
the Latin
octavo edition of 1531 and in the German revision of 1533. The
Variata
of 1540 and 1542, however, capped the climax as far as changes
are
concerned, some of them being very questionable also doctrinally. In
their
"Approbation" of the Concordia Germanico-Latina, edited by
Reineccius,
1708, the Leipzig theologians remark pertinently:
Melanchthon
found it "impossible to leave a book as it once was."
Witness
his _Loci_ of 1521, which he remodeled three times--1535, 1542,
and 1548.
However, the _Loci_ were his own private work while the
Augustana
was the property and confession of the Church.
Tschackert
is right when he comments as follows: "To-day it is regarded
as an
almost incomprehensible trait of Melanchthon's character that
immediately
after the Diet and all his lifetime he regarded the
Confession
as a private production of his pen, and made changes in it as
often as
he had it printed, while he, more so than others, could but
evaluate
it as a state-paper of the Evangelical estates, which, having
been read
and delivered in solemn session, represented an important
document
of German history, both secular and ecclesiastical. In
extenuation
it is said that Melanchthon made these changes in
pedagogical
interests, namely, in order to clarify terms or to explain
them more
definitely; furthermore, that for decades the Evangelical
estates
and theologians did not take offense at Melanchthon's changes.
Both may
be true. But this does not change the fact that the chief
editor of
the Confession did not appreciate the world-historical
significance
of this state-paper of the Evangelical estates." (_L.c._
288.) Nor
can it be denied that Melanchthon made these changes, not
merely in
pedagogical interests, but, at least a number of them, also
in the
interest of his deviating dogmatic views and in deference to
Philip of
Hesse, who favored a union with the Swiss. Nor can Melanchthon
be fully
cleared of dissimulation in this matter. The revised Apology of
1540, for
example, he openly designated on the titlepage as "diligently
revised,
_diligenter recognita";_ but in the case of the Augsburg
Confession
of 1540 and 1542 he in no way indicated that it was a changed
and
augmented edition.
As yet it
has not been definitely ascertained when and where the terms
"Variata"
and "Invariata" originated. At the princes' diet of Naumburg,
in 1561,
the Variata was designated as the "amended" edition. The Reuss
Confession
of 1567 contains the term "unaltered Augsburg Confession." In
its
Epitome as well as in its Thorough Declaration the Formula of
Concord
speaks of "the First Unaltered Augsburg Confession--_Augustana
illa
prima et non mutata Confessio._" (777, 4; 851, 5.) The Preface to
the
Formula of Concord repeatedly speaks of the Variata of 1540 as "the
other
edition of the Augsburg Confession--_altera Augustanae
Confessionis
editio._" (13 f.)
31.
Detrimental Consequences of Alterations.
The
changes made in the Augsburg Confession brought great distress,
heavy
cares, and bitter struggles upon the Lutheran Church both from
within
and without. Church history records the manifold and sinister
ways in
which they were exploited by the Reformed as well as the
Papists;
especially by the latter (the Jesuits) at the religious
colloquies
beginning 1540, until far into the time of the Thirty Years'
War, in
order to deprive the Lutherans of the blessings guaranteed by
the
religious Peace of Augsburg, 1555. (Salig, _Gesch. d. A. K._, 1, 770
ff.;
_Lehre und Wehre_ 1919, 218 ff.)
On
Melanchthon's alterations of the Augsburg Confession the Romanists,
as the
Preface to the Book of Concord explains, based the reproach and
slander
that the Lutherans themselves did not know "which is the true
and
genuine Augsburg Confession." (15.) Decrying the Lutherans, they
boldly
declared "that not two preachers are found who agree in each and
every
article of the Augsburg Confession, but that they are rent asunder
and
separated from one another to such an extent that they themselves no
longer
know what is the Augsburg Confession and its proper sense."
(1095.)
In spite of the express declaration of the Lutherans at
Naumburg,
1561, that they were minded to abide by the original Augsburg
Confession
as presented to Emperor Charles V at Augsburg, 1530, the
Papists
and the Reformed did not cease their calumniations, but
continued
to interpret their declarations to mean, "as though we [the
Lutherans]
were so uncertain concerning our religion, and so often had
transfused
it from one formula to another, that it was no longer clear
to us or
our theologians what is the Confession once offered to the
Emperor
at Augsburg." (11.)
As a
result of the numerous and, in part radical changes made by
Melanchthon
in the Augsburg Confession, the Reformed also, in the course
of time
more and more, laid claim to the Variata and appealed to it over
against
the loyal Lutherans. In particular, they regarded and
interpreted
the alteration which Melanchthon had made in Article X, Of
the
Lord's Supper, as a correction of the original Augustana in
deference
to the views of Calvinism. Calvin declared that he (1539 at
Strassburg)
had signed the Augustana "in the sense in which its author
[Melanchthon]
explains it (_sicut eam auctor ipse interpretatur_)." And
whenever
the Reformed, who were regarded as confessionally related to
the
Augsburg Confession (_Confessioni Augustanae addicti_), and as such
shared in
the blessings of the Peace of Augsburg (1555) and the Peace of
Westphalia
(1648), adopted, and appealed to, the Augustana, they
interpreted
it according to the Variata.
Referring
to this abuse on the part of the Reformed and
Crypto-Calvinists,
the Preface to the Book of Concord remarks: "To these
disadvantages
[the slanders of the Romanists] there is also added that,
under the
pretext of the Augsburg Confession [Variata of 1540], the
teaching
conflicting with the institution of the Holy Supper of the body
and blood
of Christ and also other corruptions were introduced here and
there
into the churches and schools." (11. 17.)--Thus the changes made
in the
Augsburg Confession did much harm to the Lutheran cause.
Melanchthon
belongs to the class of men that have greatly benefited our
Church,
but have also seriously harmed it. "These fictions" of the
adversaries,
says the Preface to the Book of Concord concerning the
slanders
based on Melanchthon's changes "have deterred and alienated
many good
men from our churches, schools, doctrine, faith, and
confession."
(11.)
32.
Attitude toward Variata.
John Eck
was the first who, in 1541, at the religious colloquy of Worms,
publicly
protested against the Variata. But since it was apparent that
most of
the changes were intended merely as reenforcements of the
Lutheran
position against the Papists, and Melanchthon also declared
that he
had made no changes in "the matter and substance or in the
sense,"
_i.e._, in the doctrine itself, the Lutherans at that time, as
the
Preface to the Book of Concord shows, attached no further importance
to the
matter. The freedom with which in those days formal alterations
were made
even in public documents, and the guilelessness with which
such
changes were received, appears, for example, from the translation
of the
Apology by Justus Jonas. However, not all Lutherans even at that
time were
able to view Melanchthon's changes without apprehension and
indifference.
Among these was Elector John Frederick, who declared that
he
considered the Augustana to be the confession of those who had signed
it, and
not the private property of Melanchthon.
In his
admonition to Brueck of May 5, 1537, he says: "Thus Master Philip
also is
said to have arrogated to himself the privilege of changing in
some points
the Confession of Your Electoral Grace and the other princes
and
estates, made before His Imperial Majesty at Augsburg, to soften it
and to
print it elsewhere [a reprint of the changed Latin octavo edition
of 1531
had been published 1535 at Augsburg and another at Hagenau]
without
the previous knowledge and approval of Your Electoral Grace and
of the
other estates which, in the opinion of Your Electoral Grace, he
should
justly have refrained from, since the Confession belongs
primarily
to Your Electoral Grace and the other estates; and from it
[the
alterations made] Your Electoral Grace and the other related
estates
might be charged that they are not certain of their doctrine and
are also
unstable. Besides, it is giving an offense to the people." (_C.
R._ 3,
365.) Luther, too, is said to have remonstrated with Melanchthon
for
having altered the Confession. In his Introduction to the Augsburg
Confession
(Koenigsberg, 1577) Wigand reports: "I heard from Mr. George
Rorarius
that Dr. Luther said to Philip, 'Philip, Philip, you are not
doing
right in changing Augustanam Confessionem so often for it is not
your, but
the Church's book.'" Yet it is improbable that this should
have
occurred between 1537 and 1542, for in 1540 the Variata followed,
which was
changed still more in 1542, without arousing any public
protest
whatever.
After
Luther's death, however, when Melanchthon's doctrinal deviations
became
apparent, and the Melanchthonians and the loyal Lutherans became
more and
more opposed to one another, the Variata was rejected with
increasing
determination by the latter as the party-symbol of the
Philippists.
In 1560 Flacius asserted at Weimar that the Variata
differed
essentially from the Augustana. In the Reuss-Schoenburg
Confession
of 1567 the Variata was unqualifiedly condemned; for here we
read: We
confess "the old, true, unaltered Augsburg Confession, which
later was
changed, mutilated, misinterpreted, and falsified ... by the
Adiaphorists
in many places both as regards the words and the substance
(_nach den
Worten und sonst in den Haendeln_), which thus became a
buskin,
_Bundschuh,_ pantoffle, and a Polish boot, fitting both legs
equally
well [suiting Lutherans as well as Reformed] or a cloak and a
changeling
(_Wechselbalg_), by means of which Adiaphorists,
Sacramentarians,
Antinomians, new teachers of works, and the like hide,
adorn,
defend, and establish their errors and falsifications under the
cover and
name of the Augsburg Confession, pretending to be likewise
confessors
of the Augsburg Confession, for the sole purpose of enjoying
with us
under its shadow, against rain and hail, the common peace of the
Empire,
and selling, furthering, and spreading their errors under the
semblance
of friends so much the more easily and safely." (Kolde,
_Einleitung,_
30.) In a sermon delivered at Wittenberg, Jacob Andreae
also
opposed the Variata very zealously.
Thus the
conditions without as well as within the Lutheran Church were
such that
a public declaration on the part of the genuine Lutherans as
to their
attitude toward the alterations of Melanchthon, notably in the
Variata
of 1540, became increasingly imperative. Especially the
continued
slanders, intrigues, and threats of the Papists necessitated
such a
declaration. As early as 1555, when the Peace of Augsburg was
concluded,
the Romanists attempted to limit its provisions to the
adherents
of the Augustana of 1530. At the religious colloquy of Worms,
in 1557,
the Jesuit Canisius, distinguishing between a pure and a
falsified
Augustana, demanded that the adherents of the latter be
condemned,
and excluded from the discussions.
33.
Alterations in Editions of 1531, 1533, 1540.
As to the
alterations themselves, the Latin text of the _editio
princeps_
of the Augsburg Confession of 1531 received the following
additions:
sec. 3 in Article 13, sec. 8 in Article 18, and sec. 26 in
Article
26. Accordingly, these passages do not occur in the German text
of the
Book of Concord. Originally sec. 2 in the conclusion of Article
21 read:
"_Tota_ dissensio est de paucis quibusdam abusibus," and sec. 3
in
Article 24: "Nam ad hoc _praecipue_ opus est ceremoniis, ut doceant
imperitos."
The additions made to Articles 13 and 18 are also found in
the
German text of the _editio princeps_. (_C. R._ 26, 279. 564.)
In the
"Approbation" of the Leipzig theologians mentioned above we read:
The
octavo edition of the Augustana and the Apology printed 1531 by
George
Rauh, according to the unanimous testimony of our theologians,
cannot be
tolerated, "owing to the many additions and other changes
originating
from Philip Melanchthon. For if one compares the 20th
Article
of the Augsburg Confession as well as the last articles on the
Abuses:
'Of Monastic Vows' and 'Of Ecclesiastical Authority,' it will
readily
be seen what great additions (_laciniae_) have been patched onto
this
Wittenberg octavo edition of 1531. The same thing has also been
done with
the Apology, especially in the article 'Of Justification and
Good
Works,' where often entire successive pages may be found which do
not occur
in the genuine copies. Furthermore, in the declaration
regarding
the article 'Of the Lord's Supper,' where Paul's words, that
the bread
is a communion of the body of Christ, etc., as well as the
testimony
of Theophylact concerning the presence of the body of Christ
in the
Supper have been omitted. Likewise in the defense of the articles
'Of
Repentance,' 'Of Confession and Satisfaction,' 'Of Human
Traditions,'
'Of the Marriage of Priests,' and 'Of Ecclesiastical
Power,'
where, again, entire pages have been added." (_L.c._ 8, 13; _C.
R._ 27,
437.) In the German edition of the Augsburg Confession of 1533
it was
especially Articles 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 15, and 20 that were
remodeled.
These alterations, however, involve no doctrinal changes,
with the
possible exception of Article 5, where the words "where and
when He
will" are expunged. (_C. R._ 26, 728.)
As to the
Variata of 1540, however, the extent of the 21 doctrinal
articles
was here almost doubled, and quite a number of material
alterations
were made. Chief among the latter are the following: In
Article 5
the words, "ubi et quando visum est Deo," are omitted. In the
10th
Article the rejection of the Reformed doctrine is deleted, and the
following
is substituted for the article proper: "De coena Domini
docent,
quod cum pane et vino vere exhibeantur corpus et sanguis Christi
vescentibus
in Coena Domini." (_C. R._ 26, 357.) The following sentences
have also
given offense: "Et cum hoc modo consolamur nos promissione seu
Evangelio
et erigimus nos fide, certo consequimur remissionem
peccatorum,
et _simul_ datur nobis Spiritus Sanctus." "Cum Evangelium
audimus
aut cogitamus aut sacramenta tractamus et fide nos consolamur
_simul_
est efficax Spiritus Sanctus." (354.) For the words of the 18th
Article:
"sed haec fit in cordibus, cum per Verbum Spiritus Sanctus
concipitur,"
the Variata substitutes: "Et Christus dicit: Sine me nihil
potestis
facere. Efficitur autem spiritualis iustitia in nobis, cum
_audiuvamur_
a Spiritu Sancto. Porro Spiritum Sanctum concipimus, cum
Verbo Dei
assentimur, ut nos fide in terroribus consolemur." (362.)
Toward
the end of the same article we read: "Quamquam enim externa opera
aliquo
modo potest efficere humana natura per sese, ... verum timorem,
veram
fiduciam, patientiam, castitatem non potest efficere, nisi
Spiritus
Sanctus gubernet et _adiuvet_ corda nostra." (363.) In the 19th
Article
the phrase "non adiuvante Deo" is erased, which, by the way,
indicates
that Melanchthon regarded these words as equivalent to those
of the
German text: "so Gott die Hand abgetan," for else he would have
weakened
the text against his own interests. (363.) To the 20th Article
Melanchthon
added the sentence: "Debet autem ad haec dona [Dei] accedere
exercitatio
nostra, quae et _conservat_ ea et meretur incrementum, iuxta
illud:
Habenti dabitur. Et Augustinus praeclare dixit: Dilectio meretur
incrementum
dilectionis, cum videlicet exercetur." (311.)
34.
Alterations Render Confession Ambiguous.
True in
making all these changes, Melanchthon did not introduce any
direct
heresy into the Variata. He did, however, in the interest of his
irenic
and unionistic policy and dogmatic vacillations, render ambiguous
and
weaken the clear sense of the Augustana. By his changes he opened
the door
and cleared the way, as it were, for his deviations in the
direction
of Synergism, Calvinism (Lord's Supper), and Romanism (good
works are
necessary to salvation). Nor was Melanchthon a man who did
not know
what he was doing when he made alterations. Whenever he
weakened
and trimmed the doctrines he had once confessed, whether in his
_Loci_ or
in the Augustana, he did so in order to satisfy definite
interests
of his own, interests self-evidently not subservient to, but
conflicting
with, the clear expression and bold confession of the old
Lutheran
truth.
Kolde,
referring in particular to the changes made in the 10th Article,
says:
"It should never have been denied that these alterations involved
real
changes. The motives which actuated Melanchthon cannot be
definitely
ascertained, neither from his own expressions nor from
contemporary
remarks of his circle of acquaintances" [As late as 1575
Selneccer
reports that Philip of Hesse had asked Melanchthon to erase
the
_improbatio_ of the 10th Article, because then also the Swiss would
accept
the Augustana as their confession]. "A comparison with the
Wittenberg
Concord of May, 1536 (_cum pane et vino vere et
substantialiter
adesse_--that the body and blood [of Christ] are really
and
substantially present with the bread and wine, _C. R._ 3, 75)
justifies
the assumption that by using the form: _cum pane et vino vere
exhibeantur,_
he endeavored to take into account the existing agreement
with the
South Germans (_Oberlaender_). However, when, at the same time,
he omits
the words: _vere et substantialiter adesse,_ and the
_improbatio,_
it cannot, in view of his gradually changed conception of
the
Lord's Supper, be doubted that he sought to leave open for himself
and
others the possibility of associating also with the Swiss." (25.)
An
adequate answer to the question what prompted Melanchthon to make his
alterations
will embrace also the following points: 1. Melanchthon's
mania for
changing and remodeling in general. 2. His desire, especially
after the
breach between the Lutherans and the Papists seemed incurable,
to meet
and satisfy the criticism that the Augustana was too mild, and
to
reenforce the Lutheran position over against the Papists. 3.
Melanchthon's
doctrinal deviations, especially in Reformed and
synergistic
directions.
35.
Variata Disowned by Lutheran Church.
It cannot
be denied that during Luther's life and for quite a time after
his death
the Variata was used by Lutherans without any public
opposition
and recognized as the Augsburg Confession. Martin Chemnitz,
in his
"Iudicum de Controversiis quibusdam circa quosdam Augustanae
Confessionis
Articulos--Decision concerning Certain Controversies about
Some
Articles of the Augsburg Confession," printed 1597, says that the
edition
of 1540 was employed at the religious colloquies with the
previous
knowledge and approval of Luther; in fact, that it was drawn up
especially
for the Colloquy at Hagenau, which the opponents (Cochlaeus
at Worms,
Pighius at Regensburg) had taken amiss. "Graviter tulerant,"
says
Chemnitz, "multis articulis pleniori declaratione plusculum lucis
accessisse,
unde videbant veras sententias magis illustrari et Thaidis
Babyloniae
turpitudinem manifestius denudare--They took it amiss that
more
light had been shed on many articles by a fuller explanation,
whence
they perceived the true statements to be more fully illustrated
and the
shame of the Babylonian Thais to be more fully disclosed."
(Mueller,
_Einleitung,_ 72.)
Furthermore,
it is equally certain that on the part of the Lutheran
princes,
the Variata was employed without any sinister intentions
whatever,
and without the slightest thought of deviating even in the
least
from the doctrine of the original Augustana, as has been falsely
asserted
by Heppe, Weber, and others. Wherever the Variata was adopted
by
Lutheran princes and theologians, it was never for the purpose of
weakening
the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession in any point.
Moreover,
the sole reason always was to accentuate and present more
clearly
the contrast between themselves and the Papists; and, generally
speaking,
the Variata did serve this purpose. True, Melanchthon at the
same
time, no doubt planned to prepare the way for his doctrinal
innovations;
but wherever such was the case he kept it strictly to
himself.
The
complete guilelessness and good faith in which the Lutheran princes
and theologians
employed the Variata, and permitted its use appears
from the
Preface to the Book of Concord. For here they state: "Therefore
we have
decided in this writing to testify publicly, and to inform all,
that we
wished neither then nor now in any way to defend, or excuse or
to
approve, as agreeing with the Gospel-doctrine, false and godless
doctrines
and opinions which may be concealed under certain coverings of
words [in
the Variata]. We, indeed, never received the latter edition
[of 1540]
in a sense differing in any part from the former which was
presented
[at Augsburg]. Neither do we judge that other useful writings
of Dr.
Philip Melanchthon, or of Brenz, Urban Regius, Pomeranus, etc.,
should be
rejected and condemned, as far as in all things, they agree
with the
norm which has been set forth in the Book of Concord." (17.)
Accordingly,
when the Variata was boldly exploited by the Romanists to
circulate
all manner of slanders about the Lutherans; when it also
became
increasingly evident that the Reformed and Crypto-Calvinists
employed
the Variata as a cover for their false doctrine of the Lord's
Supper;
when, furthermore within the Lutheran Church the suspicion
gradually
grew into conviction that Melanchthon, by his alterations had
indeed
intended to foist doctrinal deviations upon the Lutheran Church;
and when,
finally, a close scrutiny of the Variata had unmistakably
revealed
the fact that it actually did deviate from the original
document
not only in extent, but also with regard to intent, not merely
formally,
but materially as well,--all loyal Lutheran princes and
theologians
regarded it as self-evident that they unanimously and
solemnly
declare their exclusive adherence to the Augsburg Confession
as
presented to Emperor Charles at Augsburg, and abandon the Variata
without
delay. At Naumburg, in 1561, the Lutheran princes therefore,
after
some vacillation, declared that they would adhere to the original
Augsburg
Confession and its "genuine Christian declaration and norm,"
the
Smalcald Articles. Frederick III of the Palatinate alone withdrew,
and
before long joined the Calvinists by introducing the Heidelberg
Catechism,
thus revealing the spuriousness of his own Lutheranism.
It was
due especially to the Crypto-Calvinists in Electoral Saxony and
to the _Corpus
Doctrinae Philippicum_ that the Variata retained a
temporary
and local authority, until it was finally and generally
disowned
by the Lutheran Church and excluded from its symbols by the
adoption
of the Formula of Concord. For here our Church pledges
adherence
to "the First, Unaltered Augsburg Confession, delivered to the
Emperor
Charles V at Augsburg in the year 1530, in the great Diet."
(777, 4;
847, 5; 851, 5.) And in the Preface to the Book of Concord the
princes
and estates declare: "Accordingly, in order that no persons may
permit
themselves to be disturbed by the charges of our adversaries spun
out of
their own minds, by which they boast that not even we are certain
which is
the true and genuine Augsburg Confession, but that both those
who are now
among the living and posterity may be clearly and firmly
taught
and informed what that godly Confession is which we and the
churches
and schools of our realms at all times professed and embraced,
we
emphatically testify that next to the pure and immutable truth of
God's
Word we wish to embrace the first Augsburg Confession alone which
was
presented to the Emperor Charles V, in the year 1530, at the famous
Diet of
Augsburg, this alone (we say), and no other." (15.) At the same
time the
princes furthermore protest that also the adoption of the
Formula
of Concord did not make any change in this respect. For
doctrinally
the Formula of Concord was not, nor was it intended to be, a
"new
or different confession," _i.e._, different from the one presented
to Emperor
Charles V. (20.)
