Human Freedom, Christian Righteousness: Philip Melanchthon's Exegetical Dispute with Erasmus of Rotterdam

by Timothy J. Wengert

Overview

This book argues the provocative thesis that Philip Melanchthon, so often pictured as hopelessly caught in the middle between Erasmus and Luther, and more "Erasmian" than Lutheran in his thought, was, at least in his theological methods and views, not Erasmian at all, but in fact sharply opposed to Erasmus. Author Timothy J. Wengert builds his case largely on the basis of Melanchthon's Scholia on the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, employing the critically important but seldom used second edition of 1528, which was produced in the aftermath of Luther and Erasmus's famous debate over the free will. Wengert also draws on a wide range of other contemporary sources, many of them well known but, as he argues, frequently misunderstood. Throughout this analysis he subjects a wide range of the secondary literature to sharp critical review.

From the vantage point of a relatively narrow exegetical dispute, the book deals with a number of important topics: the complicated and elusive relationships between humanism and the Reformation, Erasmus and Luther, Erasmus and Melanchthon, and Melanchthon and Luther; the theological issues of proper biblical interpretation, of free will, and of divine and human righteousness; and the hotly contested social problem of political order. Human Freedom, Christian Righteousness will be of interest not only to students and scholars of Reformation theology, but to a broader audience of those concerned with Renaissance and Reformation history and literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195115291
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/08/1998
Series:	Oxford Studies in Historical Theology
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	1540L (what's this?)

About the Author

Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	Abbreviations	xi
I	Background to the Dispute
1	Philip Melanchthon: Alien to or Ally of Erasmus?	5
	The Current Debate	7
	The Printing History of Philip Melanchthon's Lectures and First Commentary on Colossians	14
2	Melanchthon's Relation to Erasmus, 1519-1524	21
II	Ground Rules for an Exegetical Debate
3	Text and Tradition	31
	The Biblical Text	32
	The Sources	36
4	Ratio seu Methodus Melanchthonis	48
	The Pauline Grammar	49
	Paulus Rhetor	50
	Argumentum Magistri Pauli	52
	Contextus Pauli: The Locus communis	56
III	The Controversy Over Human Freedom and Christian Righteousness
5	Melanchthon's Controversy with Erasmus as Reflected in Their Correspondence, 1524-1528	67
6	Colossians against Erasmus on the Freedom of the Will	80
	The Dissertatio on Col. 2:8: Origins of an Argument	82
	The Scholia of 1527: Undercutting Erasmus's Position	87
	The Scholia of 1528: Broadening the Attack	96
	The Translated Scholia of 1529: Revealing the Opponent	101
	Melanchthon contra Erasmum	104
	Luther neben Melanchthon	106
7	Colossians 2:23 as Melanchthon's "Politics"	110
	The Text: Colossians 2:23	113
	The Scholia of 1527: An Exegetical Debate over Romans 13	114
	The Scholia of 1528: Melanchthon's Christian "Politics"	123
IV	The Aftermath
8	Melanchthon at Erasmus's Funeral: 1528-1560	139
	The Doctrines of the Will's Freedom and Civil Authority	139
	The Changing Assessment of Erasmus	148
	After 1536: Not to Speak Ill of the Dead	153
	The Origins of Melanchthon's "Erasmianism"	156
Appendix	The Printing History of the Scholia	159
	Notes	163
	Select Bibliography	219
	Index	227

Editorial Reviews

"This book should appeal to anyone who values a critical but appreciative interpretation of the life and work of the much maligned Melanchthon."—Word and World

"This detailed exegetical study will be of interest to students of Melanchthon in particular and more generally to those concerned with the Reformation."—Choice

"...this volume above all illustrates how the study of exegesis can be used to gain access to theological developments as well as the events of the time. This book is recommended for all college, university, and seminary libraries."—Religious Studies Review

"an important addition to studies in the Reformation and in biblical humanism. It should be read by all who are interested in history, theology, philosophy, and the classics."—Sixteenth Century Journal

"I cannot begin to comment adequately on the richness that comes through Wengert's meticulous following of one clue and another, especially in letters exchanged between Melanchthon and others, to make connections that are as sound in support of his argument as they are original. . . . Wengert's book clearly ranks with the very best studies of Melanchthon that we have in print."—The Journal of Religion

From the Publisher