Caspar Schwenckfeld: Eight Writings on Christian Beliefs - 5310

"Caspar Schwenckfeld was a devout early follower of Luther and, later, one of the key Spiritualist leaders of the Reformation in Germany. This translated and edited collection of his confessional writings seeks to correct the presumption that since he was a Spiritualist par excellence, he was therefore anti-confessional. The selected texts also demonstrate that he believed Scripture to be the basis of confessions and the standard against which all confessional statements must be judged. That so few of his writings are available in English, despite the enormity of his corpus and his importance for both the Lutheran and radical Reformation movements, makes this volume of general importance for English language Reformation scholarship." - Jonathan Seiling in the Conrad Grebel Review Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig was born in 1489 into a noble family in Silesia. He became an early convert to evangelical reform, initially a follower and supporter of Martin Luther's reforms. By 1526, Schwenckfeld's spiritualist understanding of the Lord's Supper provoked vehement rejection from Luther, a breach which would never be healed. By 1529, Schwenckfeld had left his homeland and remained a religious refugee for the rest of his life. He remained a stubbornly individual thinker and biblical exegete, and a prolific writer of letters and treatises. Caspar Schwenckfeld has been described as a "spiritualist" because of his conviction that saving faith entails the spiritual transformation of believers. However, he retained an intense interest in Scripture and the creedal traditions of the Church, which he believed confirmed his convictions. The representative doctrinal writings translated in this volume demonstrate how Caspar Schwenckfeld appropriated and interpreted the apostolic creedal tradition, and also how he read and interpreted Scripture. The earliest of the eight doctrinal writings translated here dates from 1529, the year of Schwenckfeld's exile from Silesia; the latest dates from 1561, the year of his death. They thus provide a broad chronological representation of Schwenckfeld's early and mature thought.
ASIN: 1894710649
VSKU: BVV.1894710649.VG
Condition: Very Good
Author/Artist:Williams III, H.H. Drake
Binding: Paperback