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4 Calvin and Westphal, Continued, Second Phase of the Debate (1557–1558)
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75 Calvin and Westphal, Continued Second Phase of the Debate (1557–1558) Z Chapter 4 For both Calvin and Westphal, citing the fathers was part of an attempt to authorize a new interpretation of the ancient tradition. In the work of reclaiming the tradition of the early church, references to the ancient fathers dramatically increased in the Lutheran–Reformed debates. The reformers argued over the fathers in order to make parts of the ancient tradition the very building blocks for a Lutheran or Reformed theological heritage. In other words, they had to go back into the past in order to go forward in creating a new church. While the content of the debate between Calvin and Westphal was theological, the consequences of these debates included sociopolitical conflicts. Like many of his contemporaries, Westphal wanted to employ the sword of the magistrate against his Reformed opponents.1 With the well-being (or threat, depending on one’s perspective ) of the Reformed communities in German territories at stake, the debate between Calvin and Westphal continued until 1558. Soon after the debate ended, Calvin composed his final Latin edition of the 1559 Institutes, in which a good deal of new material, including a greater concentration of patristic references, focused on these issues. Calvin’s Ultima Admonitio Calvin directed his response The Last Admonition of John Calvin to Joachim Westphal who if He heeds it not must henceforth be Treated in the Way which Paul Prescribed for Obstinate Heretics (hereafter referred to by the partial Latin title Admonitio), toward Westphal and, in great part, the Magdeburgians who had provided many arguments for Westphal’s Confessio against Calvin 76 Inventing Authority the year before.2 By far the longest of his three responses, the Admonitio, which appeared on August 20, 1557, is a three-part answer, first to Westphal ’s brief Epistola (a precursor to the longer Confessio), next to Westphal ’s use of Augustine in his Collectanea, and finally to the Confessio of the Saxon churches. By tracing all of the explicit references in the Admonitio to early church figures, we can see how each side weighed the authority of the fathers and the efforts they made to incorporate the church fathers in the explanation of their views. As iron sharpens iron, it is in writing against Westphal that Calvin hones his views on the Eucharist. The full development of Calvin’s notions of accommodation and instrumentality are offered in his writings against Lutheran opponents as well as in his New Testament commentaries and his Institutes.3 More specifically, Calvin develops an explanation for the importance of substantial partaking , other than simply saying it is necessary for the life of the soul, over the course of his debate with the Lutherans.4 In addition to the constant motif of nourishment in Calvin’s eucharistic teaching, one of the developments in Calvin’s eucharistic theology is that he becomes more insistent on the flesh of Christ as a reality in the Supper even as he strengthens his notion of eating as a metaphorical concept.5 For Calvin, references to the fathers serve three purposes. First, Calvin defends himself against the accusation of innovation. Since what is ancient carries more value than what is new, it is important for Calvin to prove that his view is an ancient one. In his Admonitio, Calvin argues that his purpose for citing the fathers is to remove the charge of novelty. Because the Lutherans cite the fathers against Calvin, he deems it necessary to produce passages from pious writers to show that the doctrine that he presents is consistent with what the ancients taught without controversy .6 Second, while the church fathers undoubtedly had their share of conflicts, Calvin sets up an image of a common ancient doctrine, even when he knows it did not exist. By describing ancient doctrine as accepted without controversy, Calvin tries to indicate that his own doctrine, which ought to be identified with the ancients, should be received without resistance . Third, if a common doctrine of the Eucharist could be attributed to the ancient fathers, then Calvin can use one father as a representative of the entire early church. Against Westphal’s Letter In the first part of his answer, when responding to Westphal’s brief Epistola , Calvin likens Westphal to Julian the Apostate. By comparing Westphal with a figure condemned by the ancient church, Calvin shows a shift in strategy from his first Defensio, a strategy adopted in the Secunda and [3.235...